tuxpoldo

OK - I found the cause of the problem. Basically it is due to the fact, that btsync is not able to wirk properly with a relative path set in the "storage_path" variable. This makes it impossible to wirk with a central configuration file for all users. But I know how to fix this. The next version will solve that problem.

On one of my test machines running under Ubuntu 13.04, I have the same problem. I already sent the debug files to the BitTorrent developer team. As soon as I got some answer, I will let you know. p.S.: I found some hint what's happening - It seems that this strange misbehaviour is caused by some environmental factors. I'm testing...

Obviously there is a way. You can manually edit the config file located in /etc/btsync-user/btsync-user.conf The reason I decided not to ask for a username and password for the user version, is that also the windows and mac versions do not ask for credentials when opening the UI. Since the web ui is not reachable from outside ("listen" : "127.0.0.1:9999"), I see no real security implication in this, but if you like, you can still enable the asking for credentials by adding it manually to the config file. Enabling LAN encryption can also be done in the config file - since I added no specific option to enable it in the server version, I suppose that you enabled it manually also in the server version. I think that enabling LAN encryption may be a good default option. According to the manual on page 10, it seems already to be enabled by default.

OK - the arm packages are available nowadays only for wheezy. In the meantime I was able to install also squeeze in a QEMU machine - so stay tuned also for squeeze packages...

Hi! Thank you for the improvement! I will add it to the next release.

The packages for server and desktop use now support both armhf and armel

That's correct, As I told you in my previous post AND in the original message ("When installed, an instance of BitTorrent Sync will automatically start when the user logs in."), btsync is started automatically when you log in. You do not need to start it manually. The only reason to start btsync manually, is to do it immediately after installation, since the installation program does not start it. Also this is correct. The desktop version hosts the configuration on a different port number in order to keep the possibility open to run both a user and a server version. As I wrote in the original message ("The BitTorrent Sync management interface is made available as a normal application icon in the desktop environment.") you can launch the web ui from unity. Look: This icon launches the web ui. But if you prefer to enter it manually in your browser: http://localhost:9999 Also this is correct, There is nothing to configure during the installation. You customise everything through the web ui.

That's ok, since you had not previously installed the broken package version. The location in the specified command was the location of the badly installed binary. BTsync is started automatically on login. I cannot launch the app from the DEB package, since the installation is done under root permissions and it would be started as root, but it must run under the users credentials - for this reason you have to log out and log in again. Then BTsync is started automatically, since the application is registered as autostarted application. Perhaps I should add a dialog telling the user that he has to logout and login again in order to start BTsync? BTW: if you want to start it manually after the first installation: # go to you home directory cd # and start it from there /usr/lib/btsync-user/btsync-agent --config /etc/btsync-user/btsync-user.conf

ADVISORY: Due to a serious bug in the installation and uninstallation routine of version 1.0.134-1 of the btsync-user packages, the software will not start and (sorry for that !) will also not uninstall or update. PLEASE SKIP THIS (1.0.134-1) VERSION! An update (1.0.132-2) has already been built and is available in this moment for Debian. Since the build machines on Launchpad are quite busy, the Ubuntu versions will be available in a few hours from now. In the meantime the defect Ubuntu archives have been revoked in order to avoid further installations. If you already have installed btsync-user version 1.0.134-1, you must apply the following workaround before updating or uninstalling the broken package: # move to your home directory cd # launch btsync as the start script should have done it /usr/lib/btsync/btsync-agent --config /etc/btsync-user/btsync-user.conf Explanation: The broken package installed btsync-agent in the wrong location. For this reason the agent is not automatically started when logging in. Since the uninstall/update routine of the package tries to stop the agent (but it does not find it in the expected location) the agent must be started manually before updating. I apologize for any inconvenient.

Packages updated to 1.0.134

Packages updated to 1.0.134 In Debian there are now also packages for armhf and armel.

Nice video, but a little bit off topic in this thread since the thread is related to packages for Ubuntu and Debian that do all of this automatically: you have not to care about creating a config file, starting the software manually, securing it with a firewall (since the version installed by the ubuntu packages configures the software to be accessible only from local machine), etc. Your video shows an installation from scratch and for this reason I would suggest that you open a separate topic to announce it since people would more likely search directly for this useful information.

If you want to use btsync in a desktop environment as normal user, you should try the desktop version. Look here.

Good news! The updated packages are now online and also a set of packages for desktop usage are now available. More about this can be found in this topic. The new packages support Ubuntu in all currently supported versions (from precise to saucy) and for the first time, there will be also packages for raspberrypi (armhf) available for Debian wheezy. I'm still searching for a way to create armel packages, so stay tuned!

*** BREAKING NEWS *** The new full featured BitTorrent Sync GUI for Linux has been released! If you want to switch or are a new user, you should look at this posting. In future btsync-user may be replaced by the new btsync-gui. BTSYNC PACKAGES FOR DEBIAN, UBUNTU AND OTHER DERIVED DISTRIBUTIONS If you are using Ubuntu, Debian, Raspian or other derived distributions based on Debian and you are searching for an easy way to deploy BitTorrent Sync on your systems, this topic is definitively for you. Here you will find information about a family of easy to install deb-packages that offers both a solution for the need of typical server/cloud operators as for interactive users. The desktop user packages are explicitly intended for desktop usage and provide a user experience similar to BitTorrent Sync on Windows or Mac OSX by still giving the user the possibility to customise his installation if he has special needs. The server packages offer full debconf-support for the automated creation and maintenance of an optional default configuration as well as the possibility to manually configure single or multiple BitTorrent Sync instances with highly customised configurations. This topic covers only the desktop user packages. If you are searching for the server packages, please look here. THESE PACKAGES ARE UNOFFICIAL AND NOT THE WORK OF BITTORRENT® INC. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE BITTORRENT® INC. SUPPORT WITH QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE USE OF THE PACKAGES. YOU WILL FIND COMPETENT HELP AND SUPPORT IN THIS THREAD INSTALLATION ON DEBIAN, UBUNTU, LINUX MINT, RASPBIAN OR OTHER DEBIAN DERIVATES The most easy and fast way to install the repository is to paste that at a terminal prompt: sh -c "$(curl -fsSL http://debian.yeasoft.net/add-btsync-repository.sh)"The script explains what it will do and then pauses before it does it asking for your permission. If you encounter any problems or prefer to do it manually, please look here.Now update the package index and install btsync by pasting that at a terminal prompt: `which sudo` apt-get update`which sudo` apt-get install btsync-userAfter the successful installation, you have to initially start BitTorrent Sync. You have different possibilities to do this:Log out and login again. Since BitTorrent Sync is started on logon, it will start automatically.Select BitTorrent Sync from the menu or Unity-LauncherStart it from the terminal prompt by issuing the command:btsync startUSAGE NOTES This package of BitTorrent Sync is explicitly intended for generic desktop usage and provide a user experience similar to BitTorrent Sync on Windows or Mac OSX: When the user logs in, an instance of BitTorrent Sync is automatically launched under the user's credentials and a tray applet is launched to show the status and manage the running instance. By default the user instance has an automatical created configuration file in ~/.config/btsync/btsync-auto.conf and keeps its internal data in the directory ~/.btsync A user specific desktop shortcut to the web UI is installed into the system. Since every user has it's web UI on a different port number, only the desktop shortcut or the indicator applet should be used to invoke the web UI. In order to give more freedom to the advanced user, there is also a possibility to launch BitTorrent Sync with a custom configuration file instead of the automatically created file: the startup routine of BitTorrent Sync checks, if there is a file named btsync-user.conf in the configuration directory ~/.config/btsync of the user. If this file is found, then it is used as configuration file. If not, BitTorrent Sync uses the automatically created default configuration file ~/.config/btsync/btsync-auto.conf that will be recreated on every restart. The most easy way to create a custom configuration file, is to create a copy of the automatically created configuration file and then to edit it according to your needs: cp ~/.config/btsync/btsync-auto.conf ~/.config/btsync/btsync-user.confnano -w ~/.config/btsync/btsync-user.confWhen you are ready with your modifications, you can restart BitTorrent Sync by executing: btsync restarton the command line.In addition to the desktop shortcuts and menu functions in the indicator applet, BitTorrent Sync can also be controlled from the command line using the tool btsync. The tool provides usage instructions by issuing the command: btsync -hMore comprehensive help can be found on the corresponding manpage: man btsyncCOMPATIBILITY The legacy desktop packages are available for the same architectures as released by BitTorrent Inc.: i386 Intel/AMD 32 Bitamd64 Intel/AMD 64 Bitarmel ARM EABIarmhf ARM hard floatpowerpc PowerPCSince the packages still have not been tested with KDE, LXDE, Cinnamon and Linux Mint, any related feedback is highly appreciated.BUG REPORTS, CONTRIBUTION AND SOURCES If you want to contribute to the development of the packages or if you are curious how this all works, you may find the current sources of the deployment scripts and packaging on GitHub under the following URL: https://github.com/tuxpoldo/btsync-deb The full source of the great indicator applet written by Mark Johnson, is also hosted on GitHub and can be found under the following URL: https://github.com/marxjohnson/btsyncindicator If you have experienced a reproducible issue that is related to the packaging and not to BitTorrent Sync itself you are strongly encouraged to open an issue on the project's GitHub Page. Issues related to the indicator should be reported on the indicator's GitHub page. Issues related to the native functionality of BitTorrent Sync should rather by creating a new topic or partecipating to an already existing topic in the BitTorrent Sync Forum.

Any Idea? btsync running on Ubuntu Linux 13.04 i386 leo@ubuntu:~/.btsync$ tail -f sync.log [20130414 22:28:42] Loading config file version 1.0.132 [20130414 22:28:42] Loaded folder /home/leo/Development [20130414 22:28:45] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (5dfd063ba089d734f7388097bd4591ba9426c52a)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:28:45] Banned 10.65.7.15:26085 until forever [20130414 22:28:45] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (48ed12fbdfdca721b959cbc5dc52e3562e78c10e)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:28:45] Banned 10.65.7.15:26085 until forever [20130414 22:28:45] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (51eec2912c1b243f49d060fc98ae62a365cf8f5d)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:28:45] Banned 10.65.7.15:26085 until forever [20130414 22:29:32] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (35a03a12d730e6e2376d82c040eac96b2788c05b)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:29:32] Banned 10.65.2.1:26185 until forever [20130414 22:29:32] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (796f5235f5f1d7ae53a1ae00bb49f9cbf8b565cf)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:29:32] Banned 10.65.2.1:26185 until forever [20130414 22:29:32] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (d27883ae6b12776cc6475fa57cb8afa48c7e9dd0)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:29:32] Banned 10.65.2.1:26185 until forever [20130414 22:29:32] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (22b04cc7261bb0cb9f1dc6dd701e81f2bd1a7a47)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:29:32] Banned 10.65.2.1:26185 until forever [20130414 22:29:32] BAN peer: Responsible for 'magnet (90843377e4d98489578c68240476bf4dda6523c4)' metadata not being loaded! [20130414 22:29:32] Banned 10.65.2.1:26185 until forever

Hi dsl! The ARM packages are still not ready. Please stay tuned. I will announce them as soon as they are available.

Hallelujah! My Raspberry-Pi has just arrived! Now I can start with the packaging for ARM...

Hi guys! Sorry for the late answer. Today I spent 6 hours in the train from Munich to Berlin and a few hours at the opera... Now I'm in the hotel and I can answer ;-) I have some great news, but let's first answer some questions. Interesting. It seems that you are using a newer version of Ubuntu that has some differences. In the next release I will modify the script in order to avoid such conflicts... Do you read my mind? Yesterday I've ordered one from Amazon. When I'm back in Munich, it should be arrived, so stay tuned. I'm really curious how Debian runs on raspberry pi ;-) No Problem - The next build will also support Saucy. OK. As I wrote in one of my previous mails, I learned, that there are two different use cases for btsync packages on Linux: server usage and normal desktop usage like in Windows or MacOSX. So I'm pleased to announce, that I will also create a package for desktop usage with the target to provide a user experience similar to the Windows and Mac OSX Version. As soon as I'm back from my business trip, I will start by installing a current desktop version of ubuntu and debian linux on virtual machines and trying to figure out how the perfect installation has to be done. So stay tuned for news. A last question to the ARM people out there: what is your typical usage? Which kind of devices do you use? A good night to everybody out there!

I think, you are right. For Desktop usage, it should work the same way, it works for Windows and Mac OSX. The application is installed somewhere with autostart, a default configuration file is placed in the home directory of the user and in the /etc/skel directory and a menu entry is created for opening the web ui in the browser. I will start next week developing also such a package.

Hi Gilles! I'm glad to head about that. I saw that you uncommented my debug output in start_btsync () - right approach to solving problems! I'm still wondering about that problems, but I think that the main cause is, that I operate linux only as server and I work mainly on mac workstations. I will install a full desktop linux virtual machine in order to test this stuff from a user perspective... This is definitively an approach that every user can deploy, if he likes: create the user btsync, define the configuration file in the form myconfig.btsync.btsync.conf and then you have exactly what you want. But unfortunately this does not solve the main problem: btsync is not able: to preserve file ownership through the replication process to preserve all file attributes (ACL and permissions) btsync is designed as a single user tool, that has to be executed in the context of a logged in user in a typical desktop session. My approach to deploy it as a system service is more intended to satisfy the following two fundamental use cases: Realtime replication of internal server content in a server farm. e.g.: I use btsync to synchronise common configuration information, important documents and the PXE boot system area (about 10 GB) across all sites of my virtual company locations (Locations: data center, my residence in Munich, residence of my parents in Lucca, and two residences of connected friends that share my infrastructure). In this case running as root is OK, since all this stuff is stored as root:root with permissions 0x644 Realtime replication of some precious personal content (the one that is managed on the desktop computers with the desktop versions of btsync) on a central location in the data center. That is - simply spoken - the "cloud storage feature" of btsync ;-) These instances run also on the data center servers under the credentials of their respective users. This includes also instances running on my NAS devices at home.

This is not so simple... I need an arm machine in order to create arm packages with debuild or pbuilder. Any idea?

That's strange. I've tested it on my Debian sid amd64 installation and it works. The only problem I encountered was some syntax errors in /etc/btsync/samples/user.jdoe.conf If you take that file, and simply rename it for your user name and change some settings inside, it will not work, since there are internal syntax errors... BTW: I check the sample files in the next release. In any case, please try the following in a shell running under the user account of the user as which you want to run the daemon: /usr/sbin/btsync-daemon --nodaemon --config /etc/btsync/<filename>.conf Perhaps we will see, what's the problem.... BTW: What are the permissions of the configuration file? If you have a password (for the web ui) stored inside, it makes sense to have permissions like 400, but the problem is that the daemon will not be able to read the file. In that case I would suggest to change also the owner of the configuration file to the user...

The bug in the debian versions have been fixed and it's now possible to install them on debian squeeze, wheezy and sid. There was a dependency problem, that caused the package to throw an error during installation. Starting from now, there will be also a repository available for debian. See the initial posting for instructions on activating it on your machine.

Updated packages to 1.0.132 - Initial post updated