Synchronize two computers

[Featureless]

over the internet. I'd like to sync my office computer with my home computer over the internet so that they both stay current. Is that possible and how to do it?

[Uncivil Engineer]

Yes but you don't want to do it. Find a online archive service that has pricing and features you like. Connect both your local and office computer and be done with it.

On the consumer side you have Google drive, ms one drive, box, drop box, etc

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-cloud-storage-and-file-sharing-services

On the business side you have things like Amazon s3, backblaze, wasabi

The problem with rolling your own is that it not as easy as you think , you don't get any support, and you only have the one or two updates and likely won't have versioning with conflict resolution. These online services have already had to deal with all of these issues plus they have reasonably low pricing.

[the86d]

FYI: privacy notice: Services that store your files store their own data from them.

That being said 5GB of Onedrive is free, AFAIK, but I don't use it at home.

[Featureless]

I did the free trial of One Drive awhile back. Totally unsatisfactory. It was not able to back up all the files I identified. Sent a couple support requests in, no answer. Don't need the grief. And call me paranoid, but I don't want to upload my files to an unknown company in an unknown place anyway.

I back up individual files on a portable SSD everytime I use them. I do a complete backup with Acronis a couple times a week and take those backups home when I leave the office.

If there's a way to sync the two efficiently and securely, I'd hire a local tech to do it. I know a number of you here are IT professionals, so I thought I'd ask.

[choprzrul]

I use an online service called iDrive. 5TB for $52.12/year.

You can have unlimited computers....it's mainly for backup services.....but....it also has a 'sync' folder capability.

You configure a sync folder on all of your computers and the contents stay synchronized on all of them. Been working great for me.

.

[DrjonesUSA]

Meaning sync your files & folders on your desktop, my documents, pictures, etc?

Yep! Easy.

Google Drive, SugarSync are just a few that do it.

[Robotron2k84]

Burned into my memory from years of (ab)use:

$ rsync -avrl -e “ssh -i ~/.ssh/special_key” me@somewhere.else:/users/me/sync/ /users/me/sync/

Pick a convenient subfolder to sync, and don’t sync your entire home directory as you will eventually screw yourself by overwriting local configuration.

Set up firewall port forward to an alternate high port on the source computer. +100 by adding port-knock or remote call-back, and hardware keys.

Another option is to set up a VPN and use native RPC folder-sync in your OS.

[Epaphroditus]

Portable SSD with a dock that has SATA connection. Take your drive with you. Much better security and speed than any cloud service.

[instaramen]

The only way to have access to files on your work and home computer without transferring using an external storage is by utilizing a cloud storage service like google drive or dropbox. Otherwise you will have to copy files from one computer to another every time in order to stay current.

[WoodTurner]

+1 for rsync
More complicated than some options listed but it's built to do exactly what you're asking.