macOS two users

[smoldersonline]

This has been discussed here before, but I'm still uncertain how I best configure this. My set-up: two Mac's, one of which has two users. Is it best to run Sync for both users and duplicate the data?

Thank you!

[Moe]

Well I am not quite sure what the setup should be.

As I understand it you have the following setup:

* Mac A with 1 User 
* Mac B with 2 Users Tom and Jerry

What issue are you hitting now? Please elaborate.

[smoldersonline]

Thanks a lot!

Your understanding is correct. Tom is (Resilio) syncing folder X (from Mac B) with Mac A and sharing folder X with Jerry. When Jerry works on folder X, I have to switch user (to Tom) before folder X syncs with Mac A. Not a big issue, but maybe there is a better way?  

Edited October 14, 2017 by smoldersonline

[Moe]

Ok so when I read that right, you have a Folder on Mac B that you want to Sync between Tom and Jerry through the Mac A?

Or is it that Mac A and Mac B with user Jerry have a Sync share and if you work with user Tom and need the new files to be synced you have to switch to user Jerry first?

As I understand there is no way of having the Resilio Application run for all users on a Mac syncing the same folders but for different users.

[smoldersonline]

I thought I got it sorted (sort of). To further clarify: on Mac B, only Tom is running Sync. In the event Jerry has worked on folder X, I have to switch to Tom to sync folder X with Mac A. As I see it now, this is the only way this can work. But I have noticed that in the event that Jerry creates a new file in folder X, this file will not sync. After I switched to Tom, Sync will show these files as locked. I'm sure that  Jerry has closed the application (Word) before switching user. Both Tom & Jerry have admin privileges on Mac B.

 

Any thoughts? Thank a lot!

[Moe]

On 17.10.2017 at 7:20 PM, smoldersonline said:

I thought I got it sorted (sort of). To further clarify: on Mac B, only Tom is running Sync. In the event Jerry has worked on folder X, I have to switch to Tom to sync folder X with Mac A. As I see it now, this is the only way this can work.

This is correct. I would log out and not switch the user then you can make sure that the lock is removed 100%.

[smoldersonline]

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

I may still be missing something here. In the event that Jerry creates a new file in folder X, this file remains locked, even after I log out Jerry. I will have to give Tom read/write access to this file.  

[JS8]

Here is my setup, FWIW.  I haven't experienced any issues with file locks. But my setup is marginally different.

I have two laptops, an iMac, a NAS and a couple of phones connected to Resilio.

The iMac has multiple users, Tom and Jerry (and more).

I keep the Tom user logged in at all times as my primary "Resilio server" - even when Jerry is logged in. On MacOS I find the overhead of Tom+Resilio to be pretty small. You don't need to do this, but it works for me.

Both user profiles on the iMac have Resilio Pro set up to sync Folder X with each other, as well as Folder X on the laptops and NAS.

In my case I connected an external drive to the iMac. I use it for many purposes, including for my duplicated Resilio folders (such as Jerry's copy of Folder X). This reduces disk loads if Resilio were trying to write large files simultaneously to /Users/Tom/FolderX and /Users/Jerry/FolderX on the same disk. If I use Folder X often then I simply keep a shortcut to it on my desktop and in Finder Favorites.

External drives are pretty cheap, and this works for me since the iMac is stationary. If you have Macbooks then the external drive option may not be suitable for you.

I also share folder X (and other folders) on the iMac between the Tom and Jerry user profiles using MacOS file sharing (System Preferences - -Sharing - File Sharing). This gives Jerry the option of accessing Folder X directly from Tom's profile even when logged in as Jerry. I get the higher performance of the Fusion drive, and Resilio doesn't care where I edit the file. But if you use it this way you really want to be sure that the Tom profile is running so that Resilio syncs Jerry's changes.

Sounds complicated, but it wasn't so hard to set up taking it one step at a time. The critical issue for me was whether Resilio would run happily in two instances for Tom and Jerry, while they were both logged in. And the answer (for the last year++) has been yes. 

 

This is the basic setup. I've got a few more features to my specific situation (e.g. the NAS), but those are not likely important for what you are trying to do.

[smoldersonline]

@JS8- thank you very much for sharing this. This makes a lot of sense, although I don't really understand the benefits of using the external drive. Anyway, both Tom & Jerry sync their own FolderX (/Users/Tom/FolderX and /Users/Jerry/FolderX). In my case not a big deal, but I will have duplicate Folder X's on the HD.

 

Thanks again!