I really must echo lockheed’s concerns. I too attempted to convert a shared folder between several devices from BTSync 1.4 to Syncthing v0.11.22 (23) and failed. I ran into two main issues:
At first, the initial indexing took forever. My share is around 300gb with 1750 files in just over 100 folders. I have thirty or so 5gb to 10gb files and it appeared as if Syncthing was attempting to “hash” four files at the same time causing massive hard disk thrashing as the heads had to seek back and forth between the four files. Changing the “hashers” value to “1” significantly increased the performance and lowered the hashing time (on multiple platforms/computers). I’m unsure how Syncthing determines the right number of “hashers” and the right number of files to hash at the same time, but is this expected behavior? One computer was sitting right next to me and I could plainly HEAR the hard drive noise (thrashing) practically disappear after changing the “hashers” value to “1”
Constructive suggestion 1: Perhaps Syncthing can be made to only “hash” one “large” file at a time (sequential read vs random read).
Once the initial scan/hash was complete, I ran into a second issue. Ram usage with Syncthing is, what I would consider to be, abnormally high. My share is around 300gb and after the initial scan (and a few application reboots due to configuration changes), Syncthing was reporting almost 800mb ram usage (both in the GUI and Task Manager). By comparison, BTSync 1.4 consumed less than 50mb on an x86-64 Windows platform with 8gb of ram. BTSync 1.4 consumed even less on an ARM Linux platform.
Speaking of the ARM architecture, I had deployed BTSync 1.4 on three of those little “Pogo Plug” Marvell Kirkwood ARM computers with only 256mb of ram. It ran very well, often consuming less than 50mb of ram and a measly 10 watts. Conversely, Syncthing on the same hardware sharing the same exact folder/files consumed close to 170mb of ram (almost all that was available) and then spilled over into the SWAP space. Once the initial sync was complete, it idled at over 400mb of ram according to the web GUI and HTOP.
Constructive suggestion 2: Ram usage needs to be brought down significantly to make this application practical for lower powered platforms such as NAS devices and other ARM powered computers.
To make a long story short, I really want to like Syncthing. I find the open source nature, the continuous development and constant stream of updates, the helpful community support and the great documentation all extremely appealing. Unfortunately, my application experience, so far, has been a little less than thrilling mainly due to the program’s massive resource usage.