D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] Offline Files in Linux

 

On Sat, 23 May 2009 09:48:20 +0100, James Fidell <james@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Dave wrote:
> 
>> I may be missing the blindingly obvious here (probably!) but the one
> feature
>> I do like in Windoze in Offline Files (although you have to pay an arm
> and a
>> leg to get a Version which supports it).
>>
>> I know that it is simply a cache of files which are copied off the
> Network
>> before close down but it is the seamless facility of having a particular
>> drive and its files available when you are not connected to the Network
>> (thinking of Laptops here by the way).
>>
>> Is there a way to replicate this functionality in Linux? - I am aware of
>> Synching tools such as RSync but not sure that quite fits since wouldn't
> the
>> drive be different when offline?
> 
> unison?  http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/
> 
> James

Unison is very good, but it doesn't really provide an "offline files"
experience.  (Look Ma, I can use Microsoft speak!).  Since, under Linux,
when you access a remote share (be it SMB, NFS or AFS) it has to be mounted
and given a local directory (/mnt/server1/share, for example), you could
always run one of these sync programs (such as the above mentioned Unison)
and then move the sync'd files to the original mountpoint.  That way they
would be in the same place regardless of whether you were accessing them
directly or remotely.  Just remember to move them back out before you sync
the other way - you can access the files in a given directory if you're
going to be mounting something there as well (or are you going to go down
the route of unionfs?)

Grant.


-- 
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html