Operation

The syncdat client runs in three steps: scanning, comparing, and synchronizing.

Scanning

The first step is to catalog the files in the local and remote directory.  The local folder is checked for a .syncdat file, which indicates the state of previous synchronizations.  The remote server is checked for compatibility and clock skew.

At the start of the scanning step, you may be prompted to enter a password if the remote server requires it.  Scanning the remote directory involves the first network access, so any problems with connectivity or authentication are most likely to occur here.

During this step, syncdat will display the time of the previous synchronization (if any), the local and remote paths, the server clock skew, and a running total of the files found in each directory.  For example:

===== Step 1: Scanning Last synchronized Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:58:37 CDT Scanning items in local /my/path/one Scanning items in remote user@server:/other/path Local: 6367 Remote: 56594 Remote Host "servedat 1.16.0" on linux with +0 seconds clock skew. Local: 46064 Remote: 61814

Comparing

Once the files on both sides have been cataloged, the lists will be sorted, checked for errors, and compared.  This step may take a while if there are a very large number of files.  Depending on the options selected, syncdat may display warnings or prompt for user input to resolve conflicts.

After the comparisons and any conflict resolution are completed, syncdat will display a report of changes to be made:

===== Step 2: Comparing Comparing 46064 local files (1.64 gigabytes) to 61814 remote files (800 megabytes) Proposing 54065 local changes and 44126 remote changes Local: Ignoring 0 files Deleting 0 files (0 bytes) Replacing 2 files (1.65 megabytes) Adding 54063 files (710 megabytes) Total incoming data: 711 megabytes Remote: Ignoring 0 files Deleting 0 files (0 bytes) Replacing 3146 files (49.8 megabytes) Adding 40980 files (1.49 gigabytes) Total outgoing data: 1.64 gigabytes

Synchronizing

The final step is to perform whatever file transfers or deletions are necessary to make the contents of the two folders identical.  When running in Safe Mode, this step may produce no output unless the Verbose option is set.

Under normal operation, the progress will be periodically displayed during the Synchronizing stage.  Reports about individual actions will only be shown in the case of errors.  To see a report describing every action, set the Verbose option.

===== Step 3: Synchronizing 298289463 bytes ( 12.1%), 40945 actions ( 41.7%) 781469089 bytes ( 31.7%), 57245 actions ( 58.3%) 1508703731 bytes ( 61.2%), 79043 actions ( 80.5%) 2465202176 bytes (100.0%), 98191 actions (100.0%) Actions completed in 136 seconds.

The output above will vary depending on the selected options.  Always read the output carefully, especially when using new options or targets.