FreeBSD Resilio user - what to expect with Syncthing

#1

So, I have been using Resilio (formally known as Bittorrent Sync) since it was invented. As for the most part I have been very happy with it. But, it never seems to get bulletproof you know, always a “syncing issue” bug with it. Their latest version seems to be really flaky.

So I deleted one of my Resilio syncs and replace it with Syncthing. Syncing is occuring between two nodes, but I have mode to add. The first impression is pretty good, and I really like the GUI, its provides a ton of information, and for the remote peers too.

So that aside what should I expect with using Syncthing? What is the good, the bad, the really good, and the really? And can any FreeBSD users offer me their opinions too please? And what about Linux, iOS, and Android machines too? I may very well go all in here, and I just want to learn as much as I can before I consider saying goodbye to Resilio. I don’t currently use their paid “Pro” features.

Installation was a breeze thanks to a fellow FreeBSD’er post online.

#2

First, Syncthing is not available for iOS, so you can expect that. On Android synchronizing data on SD cards is a perennial problem.

Other than that, Syncthing generally works well. As with any popular software used in a large number of different configurations, bugs are sometimes uncovered, and it’s been made apparent to me that topology set-up can have pretty dramatic influence on satisfaction with large deployments.

If you have specific questions, I’m sure someone can provide specific answers.

#3

Thanks JKing

“On Android synchronizing data on SD cards is a perennial problem.”

How so?

“…topology set-up can have pretty dramatic influence on satisfaction with large deployments.”

Could you explain a bit? My setup is not that large currently, but still would be nice to understand this.

Did I read correctly (on a Redditt posting I think it was) that syncthing development on Andoid has come to a stand still? And speaking of Andriod, does synthing support tap-to-sync on a per file basis? So by that I mean when my Android device connects to a sync/share will it try to download the 500 video files and blow itself up, or will the user be presented with a list of files, and can to to download, or clear, a particular file? This is a neat feature on Resilio.

#4

I’m not especially familiar with the issue of SD cards in Android, but essentially it’s impossible to sync to/from an SD card because Go doesn’t allow for access to the Android system APIs to allow it. I understand using adopted storage works, if you’re fine with all the consequences of doing this.

Syncthing in general does not have a concept of what Resilio calls “selective” sync. It’s more or less considered out of scope. There is a separate Android application called “Syncthing Lite” which exists to perform one-time downloads of individual files one at a time, but this is a far cry from what Resilio offers.

Personally I use both Syncthing and Resilio Sync for different things. I’d love to do away with the latter, though.

#5

I see, okay, thanks again JKing. Yeah I will have to put some thought into that. Not a problem for my of my folders because I don’t sync them to Android devices, but a couple do yeah. So I too might have to use both, but I really rather not, I rather go all in on one.

#6

You can sync to sdcards, but need to use the app specific folder on sdcard which the app suggests on folder creation.

#7

Righto, thanks again.

One last question for now I think. :blush:

How is the integrity of syncing? Does it always come to an ‘agreement’ among a set of synced nodes? Or are there scenarios where the nodes cannot sync, and you have to muck with things, like “touch” files, or delete and re-add the files, or even delete the whole folder sync (not the folder itself, but the syncing of the folder) and re-add it back in? So yeah that sort of thing in a nutshell; how is the dependability of sync?

#8

We are biased, as we mostly see people with problems in the forum, but in reality it’s hard for us (maintainers) to judge how stable syncthing is.

The fact there are people on the forum implies it’s not perfect, but I don’t think there is bug free software out there.

#9

My anecdotal experience suggests that you’re not likely to have sync problems unless:

a) one or more nodes uses ignore patterns, or b) a node is low on disk space

In the latter case, Syncthing will stop a folder by default if less than 1% of the host volume is free. This is configurable and easily avoided, but can be surprising.

In the former case, ignore patterns are complicated, and especially if you involve files operating systems like to create automatically (e.g. index.db, .DS_Store, lost+found), which is a common use case, nodes can appear stuck, but they do in fact sync everything they don’t ignore.

#10

I’ve been using syncthing for years and the one recurring gotcha that trips up myself and many new users that requires manual intervention is case-only renames. When a file is renamed and the only change is the case it will not sync and could result in data loss.

Confusingly the error reported by the UI is “file modified but not rescanned; will try again later”.

#11

Note though this is only an issue on case insensitive file systems.

#12

Thanks again. I do a pretty good job of watching disk space, and my synced folders contain olnly files like media, documents, etc so I see no need for funky ignore patterns.

When it comes to renaming files (including case) I found that to be a problematic issue with another syncing program, but I have come to learn to touch my files in those cases. Where my thinking was having a synced folder with lots of files; say hundreds of GB of content, and the syncing is working fine. Then 4 months later you come to realize one day that the syncing had broken sometime ago, for no apparent reason. Last night I went hard on a media folder just to see if I could break it, and wow I was impressed. Did lots of renaming, moving files out/in different folders and so far so good.

I’ll have to get a few more syncs going on a few more machines. But wow, yeah, so far so good. And thanks for the feedback folks.