Seafile as online backup solution - sync upload only

Seafile Server
#1

Hi, I am not sure whether this is a feature request… Following issue:

A user backs up data from one and only one computer (so server just as permanent online backup). After a client error the sync broke, he worked on for a week or so, then (like advised) unsynced and resynced. That left him with a ton of conflict files of course plus some messed up folders (renamed and deleted files).

Is there an option to force to re-sync with existing folder, upload only? Deleting and re-uploading is obviously possible but the repos are >100GB, so that is actually a bad idea, especially with low bandwidth.

Any ideas on that?

Regards,
Tim

2 Likes
#2

Currently this is not implemented. We’ve heard this feature request from other users (customers) too. We’ll add this feature to our development plan.

4 Likes
#3

Hi @TimS,

i know your problem and have a little and easy workaround for you.

  1. Unsync your library.
  2. Use the seafile webinterface and delete everything in this library, BUT let everything in the trash of this library! This has the impact, that seafile has these files still online available and will recognize that these files don’t have to be uploaded again. (This effect can only take place within a library, not between libraries.)
  3. Sync your library again with your client. Your files on your client are going to be indexed and checked if the files (data blocks) are already available on server. Then they are reestablished; without conflicts, because it is in fact a new sync, but with files being already online. It is also a good solution if you changed some files on your client in the meantime, because the new/changed files (changed blocks) are of course uploaded, but without conflicts.

For my almost 30 GB library this processs took place in only a couple of minutes. Maybe with your 100+ GBs you have to wait a little bit longer, but it will be done very very very very fast in comparison with a complete new upload of your library.
Maybe you could let me know, how long it took for you.

Regards

5 Likes
#4

Thanks for the answers.

@Jonathan: I am looking forward to that feature!

@Nytrm: That seems promising, I’ll create a dummy repo and try that out first.

Regards,
Tim

#5

@Jonathan: Has this been implemented?

@Nytrm , do you know what happens if this folder had previously been synced with another client too and then re-synced after taking the steps you described, i.e., would conflict files be created?

#6

You can try Duplicati

#7

Thank you for the suggestion. I’m not sure I need another application as long as I can understand the behavior of “sync with existing folder” in Seafile. Hopefully someone with knowledge of this will respond.

Thanks again