I’m looking for an alternative to SugarSync, which I find:
Not always reliable (lost files, sync issues, sync stuck, etc.)
Expensive with little storage ($99/y for 250GB)
But SugarSync has one feature which I really love: the ability to decide which folder to sync (or where to sync existing synced folders), anywhere on the device. This opened up possibilities such as:
Syncing folders in different hard drives
Syncing OS-related folders, such as my Voice folder on mobile, where my calls can be recorded
Typically, I won’t use a solution like Dropbox where everything must live in the same folder in one specific location.
Does Syncthing work as I need?
And then, comes the question about how much it costs (being open source, I believe it might be free, but I do have to store those data somewhere regardless), and I wonder what’s a solid and cheap setup, are there any guides around?
Syncthing lets you add as many folders as you want, and you can store them wherever you wish on your drives. This is also connected with your second question, because being P2P software, you are supposed to store files on your own devices (i.e. there is no “cloud”). Of course, you can rent a remote server and run Syncthing there as well, but this is beyond the scope of Syncthing itself.
You asked for guides. This is what I think: It is best to have one “hub” with which all my devices sync. (Other devices might sync with each other as well, but that is strictly a bonus.) The hub needs to have enough disk space to fit all folders. It should be powered on all (or most) of the time. An extra bonus of this setup is that you only need to backup the hub, because it has all the data. (Remember that a synchronized copy is not backup.)
I’d personally suggest to have at least two “hubs”, or otherwise the infrastructure may be too fragile (as with the hub down, the whole sync stops working).
I’ve got two such “hubs” (or, in other words, servers) in two different locations, and I’ve already been in situations where one of them had to be shut down, but this was not a problem with the other one still working.
Coming from SugarSync, I’m used to have a server in the middle, which has a few benefits:
No need to have all devices online at the same time, they sync on their own at any time
One of my worries is the lost of my main device (the one I’m actively using), and knowing the data is sync as soon as it gets created (e.g: photos, etc.) is reassuring
I’ve got two such “hubs” (or, in other words, servers) in two different locations, and I’ve already been in situations where one of them had to be shut down, but this was not a problem with the other one still working.
So, I guess you’re renting servers? Could you share your hosting provider? I’ve looked at a few, but I couldn’t find something cheap/reliable enough.
No, these are just my own file-server-type computers (or, in other words, just repurposed old desktop PCs with enough disk space to store all the folders) located in two separate houses. They are on 24/7/365 running Syncthing connected to all my other devices, and between themselves as well.