Local Sync

The Local Sync tool allows you to rely on local files to populate the Agent instead of downloading them from the Vault. This process (which replaces FastMerge used in previous versions) streamlines and simplifies the process by removing confusing configuration items and eliminating the guesswork from the procedure. Local Sync prevents the downloading of information that matches; new files from the Vault and other Agents will still download. Files that existed on that Agent system’s local copy that were not in the Vault will not be copied into the Job.

Local Sync configuration is available via the Create Job interface and on the Local Sync tab in the WAFS Agent Manager for each Job.

Overall functionality when local sync is enabled:

• Compares the local and Vault data during synchronization

• Uses the local repository for synchronization when files match

• Determines a “match” using the last modified time and file size

• Data in the local repository is read only

Local sync setup in new Job creation:

• Option to enable Local Sync during new Job creation

• Ability to specify local data repository

• Manual entry of the local data repository

• Ability to browse to the local data repository

Local sync setup for existing Job:

• Option to enable Local Sync for an existing Job

• Ability to specify local data repository

• Manual entry of the local data repository

• Ability to browse to the local data repository

Example of Using Local Sync:

Suppose you have a main office in San Antonio with a collocated WAFS Agent and WAFS Vault. It is already operational. Your company decides it wants to share out a group of files called PROJECTS to a new office in Seattle. The IT department has the requirement to bring up this new group of files in Seattle in a day or two.

1. The IT department uses robocopy to copy these files from the existing WAFS Job in the main office.

2. The IT department ships the copied files on an NTFS-formatted hard drive to Seattle.

3. When the office in Seattle gets the external hard drive from San Antonio with the file group for the PROJECTS WAFS Job, they can use robocopy to copy the PROJECT files to a folder on the WAFS Agent in Seattle (e.g., called D:\PROJECT.LC),  or use Local Sync to get the data from external hard drive (after mapping the drive):

   1. Create a new Job and move these files into the Job, or create a new Job based on these files. All users, including users in the main office and branch offices, can continue working on these files in the newly created WAFS Job from the Agent in main office.

   2. Copy these files to a mobile drive or DVD-R and ship it to the branch offices.

   3. For each branch office, do the NEW Local Sync based on the files in the mobile drive, which includes the following steps:

      1. Install the Agent.

      2. Link the new created Job to an empty folder. (Users should not be allowed to access files during the Job creation/link process.)

      3. Enable Local Sync for the new Job and set the Local Sync repository.

Now, all users, including users in the main office and branch offices, can work on these files in the new linked Job from their local Agent.

Note: If files are not uploaded to the Vault yet, users won’t see them from the branch offices and no merge will be done on those files. "Count Now" is not required.