On 12/6/05, Jonathan Darton <jdarton at ibigroup.com> wrote: > >I want to build 2 servers (both running samba) to provide file storage to 2 > >offices (approx 100 miles apart, linked via DSL) but all data writen to 1 > >server must also be saved to the other server. > >Both servers would also allow users to access the data via a VPN thus > >allowing 1 office with a failed server to access the other server via the > >vpn and still see the data from both offices. > >I currently have 1 server working but we want to add the second office to > >the system. (Currently 1 office has 10 users and the second office has 1 > >user connected via VPN ) but the second office will have 20 within 12 > months > >and the first will have 35 soon )) > > >Has anyone done anything like this ? > > I am currently synchronizing multiple office locations using a program > called unison. Unison (http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/) is a very > well written program that can perform 2 way file synchronization. There are > many configurable options with unison and I recommend that you check it out. > In each office I have a PII350 128RAM Fedora or CentOS server running unison > and the files are accessed via samba. I also configure samba to hide (veto) > all of the temporary files used during synchronization. For redundancy I > place a slave server with each master server that backs up all the user data > / file system using rsync. This way if one of my $5 PII servers catches fire > I can automatically switch over with no downtime for the users. > > The only downfall I have encountered is with Autocad files not properly > reading the synchronized .dwl lock file and more than one user working on > the same file. As a work around for this I have configured Unison to keep a > backup of the last 20 versions of a file. This way I can always hit my > backups to retreive lost data. As a side note, if anyone knows a work around > for the stubborn autocad dwl lock file let me know :))! > > In any case my implementation has allowed me to synchronize file systems > between 4 offices (3 in Canada, 1 in USA), using recycled hardware that was > otherwise going to be donated/trashed. > > Let me know if you have any further questions. I'm about to do a Unison setup on two CentOS servers, so I'm thrilled to see this response. I also work with Architects sometimes, so I'm interested to hear about the dwl lock file issue. My one compound question: how are you invoking Unison? In batch mode, with cron? How often? Wat other options did you consider before settling on the scheme you use? Thanks!