Bittorrent Sync Best Practices ?

[mblaa]

I have installed Sync 2.0 on 3 different NAS units (different types of Synology NAS), my macbook, desktop PC, ipad and android phone (A Samsung S4 mini).

 

I learn as I go along, but feel also I need to thread carefully, in order not to waste too much time and risk mismanagement of my files because I miscomprehend what's going on. Would like to hear "best practices" for what I want to achieve, so I may learn from your example and experience too :-)

 

So far I want to Sync just one folder across these devices, so that files are quickly accessible on these synced devices. (I guess that's what BT Sync is for!)

 

My setup is this :

 

• Most production of files is done on the macbook and my phone. Secondarily my Desktop PC which I plan to use more.
• The ipad is primarily used for accessing files, and only once in a while for production of files (camera, Evernote clippings etc.)
• I also have a desktop PC, which is used once mostly for printing.
• The three NAS units are the family NAS and two units at work for different groups.
• The NAS'es are used a lot for streaming video and music across our devices, mainly using Synology's apps DS File and DS Audio.

 

My workflow is somewhat like this :

 

As I work I'd like to offload files from primarily the macbook to the personal NAS and two work NAS devices, and continuously be able to access stuff from the mobile devices.

I'd also like to offload photos and other stuff from my phone on the fly, and easily access podcasts and other stuff from the phone.

 

I'd like to be able to easily share stuff (folders as well as individual files) with colleagues and students, also on the fly, from most devices.

 

My plan is to :

Make one folder "MO" across the 3 NAS, the macbook and the PC, which is always in full sync, with all files available from all three NAS units at all times, and with the PC and Macbook with access to all files in the folder (but not waste space on stuff which are not importantly needed), and with the capability to add new stuff (instantly synced across devices).

What would be best practice here :

 

1) Suffice with the one shared folder, and set the NAS'es to "Sync All ON" and the macbook/PC to "Sync All OFF" ?

 

2) Use one “work" folder which is completely in sync at all times (all devices set to "Sync All ON") and an archive folder, which is also synced, but where the NAS'es har set to "Sync All On" and the macbook/PC to "Sync All Off" ? Can't realize if this would mean that I could still organize stuff from the macbook and move files from the work folder to the archive folder (which in turn would be synced to the NAS'es) og if this choice would bar me from doing the organizing on the macbook.

 

If 1) is used would deleting a file locally mean that a placeholder icon appears, if the file has been synced to the NAS’es ? Is there an easy way to see, if and when it may be "safe" to delete files locally while keeping the files intact on the NAS'es ?

 

In short what are the main benefits/drawbacks of "sync all on" and "sync all off" in a scenario where I'd like the NAS'es to take the heavy weight of the load, but keep make changes and add files on the other units, while keeping everything accessible? I am slightly confused.

 

Other questions so far :

 

Toggled the ipad photo backup as well as the android photo backup on. In the last case no photos was backed up, since the wrong DCIM folder was backed up (all photos are on the SD card on the phone - not the phone's storage). Is there a simple way to direct BTSync to the right folder using the automatic photo backup for Android?

What are the real benefits of the paid/pro version of BitTorrent Sync over the free version? Would it be appropriate for the use cases described above?

Thank you for taking your time to answer!

[mblaa]

Additional workflow questions :

I'd like to have additional class folders for each of my classes inside the "MO" folder, for easier workflow.

 

I've read somewhere, that if a subfolder of a shared folder is shared, it won't share the "mother" folder with the peers who hold the key to the shared subfolder. Is this correct?

 

Would it be feasible to share each of these subfolders in a private message to each class, so that each student in the class may install BTSync and access that subfolder (but not the mother folder) ?

 

In my dream scenario, each student should be able to read files in that folder - but not delete files from it. So that when they delete a file, it is replaced by it's placeholder file. On the other hand, I'd like students to be able to add new material, so if they move a file to the class folder, it will by synced to the "MO/class" subfolder on the NAS'es, which all will be set to "sync all on". Am I right in assuming that I can do this? So that files may be "sucked up" by the "MO/class" folder and be redistributed among all peers with access to that folder, but can't be deleted by individual students? This will require some cleaning up from the "owner" side occasionally, I realize that, but as long as it is part of my workflow with the MO folder, this will not be too hard.

 

How can I control whether peers can write to the "MO/class" folder or not?

 

I can live with it, if they are just capable of accessing the MO/class folder and cannot delete files in it. They can upload files via WebDAV to the NAS, but in that case (because of the architecture of the Synology NAS), the class folders cannot be placed within the MO master folder, but will have to reside outside of it, in another folder, which students have r/w access to on the NAS.