Resilio mainly now, soon Syncthing?

[Andy+]

Since BTsync 1.4.111 I have been a productive user of Resilio, now with version 2.6.4. Resilio runs on 4 Synology servers, 5 Windows clients, 3 smartphones, 2 Tablets. The software is very reliable, constant observation was not necessary in the past. But the advances in Linux, Windows and Android mean new problems and bugs are coming up again and again. Unfortunately, the update cycle at Resilio is no longer up to date.

Two simple examples with big consequences: The app keeps freezing on Android and the Windows service cannot be installed in some cases.

The former meant that I was forced to weave in Syncthing, which is possible with the right ignore patterns, so that the Android systems work smoothly - just embarrassing. One of the servers has now been completely switched to Syncthing and the coexistence of Resilio and Syncthing is working smoothly.

If the update cycles continue like now, I will have to change completely in the long run, although I don't really want to, but since the administration is correspondingly more complex. In addition, Resilio wasted a lot of time and allowed Syncthing to become just as good and reliable, which was not always the case. It has also become more flexible in terms of features. The only real advantage would be the selective synchronization.

So I say: Resilio takes care of your community intensively, making it the best advertisement in many companies. If you allow Syncthing to completely overtake you, it's your own fault.

[fink]

I am on the edge tbh. I lost files too many times with resilio (permanently or deleted to Archive w/o any notice) to sleep well. On the other hand file placeholders work great. I need them and syncthing has nothing like this on their roadmap. 

Maybe Cryptomator and a public cloud... 

[Andy+]

I don't really understand such things.

I keep reading that files and directory contents are lost. Today I manage almost 60 peers in Resilio with a total of well over 2 TB. I haven't lost anything yet. In an archive directory there were already complete directories etc. for me, but only when I accidentally deleted on another device is this a normal function. Otherwise there are only files in the archive that are archived by updates.

Otherwise, what would be your explanation?

[fink]

If you read through the forum you will notice certain cases and some of them are detailed. I witnessed two. One was disk / filesystem corruption on one node that propagated across all, wiping files inside folders (no, nothing was archived). The other one was about renaming folders while being synced. Certain scenario resulted in files deleted and moved to the archive, but w/o any notice. So after the max time passed, they would be purged. I got that escalated, analysed by the team and rejected, as "it can't be fixed". And with all my respect for this great product that keep using, this is not the answer I was expecting.

Edit: but funny enough, for me the android app is flawless and never freezes. So go figure...

[Andy+]

Time like this, time like this ... 😇 ... anyway, I'm following how Resilio is going.

I see some Resilio loyalty in the Syncthing Forum, who are no longer satisfied with the support here and are also waiting for updates. On the other hand, Syncthing Forum is a fighting with every problem and you can see a clear difference in how discussed things are tested and incorporated into the RCs or releases. A new final will appear every 4 weeks at the latest, along with corresponding RCs, in which everyone can participate. This is a great forum.

Resilio was once similar, today you can no longer see it and serious updates are no longer visible despite bugs etc. Nobody really understand that.

[Andy+]

Now v2.7.0 is released. I'm curious to see if the update cycles change. I believe that an update should be made at least once every quarter, even if there are only minor changes.

[luomat]

7 months later and no reply, I find myself wondering if I should be checking out Syncthing too.

Is there a quick overview/summary of the differences (especially what Resilio features I would give up if I switched)?

 

[Andy+]

Mainly there are Pro features such as

• Local folder sync
• Selective sync
• Encrypted folders (but I´m not fully sure)
• Scheduler

The first two of the points you can solve with tricky things, the last two are not so easy. If you dont use any of that points, is no problem to switch, in the main the tools are the same. Its the thinking about, in which way is the handling of the tools. The main difference between is,

• Resilio is a Peer related tool and
• Syncthing is a Device related tool

Thats it. I find Syncthing is also more for technicians, because GUI and all have much more informations about all, and needs in relation to the Resilio Pro a little more assistance for setting up.

[Andy+]

3 hours ago, luomat said:

7 months later and no reply, I find myself wondering

 

Take a look around in that forum to see who is involved from the Resilio staff. In principle, the forum is supported by the members and they often have no solution because no Resilio staff play along, or far too rarely. That's a big problem.

I recommend you to have a look in the Syncthing forum, it is much more dynamic, because Syncthing staff also work intensively on problems. The result is that their software is at least as good now and that more and more Resilio users are migrating to Syncthing even though they have a license.

It's sad how Resilio deals with the community, which is also a driver of innovation.

[luomat]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:25 AM, Andy+ said:

• Local folder sync

I do use Local Folder sync, but only on one of my computers. I guess I can continue to use Resilio Sync for those folders on that computer, but otherwise… I think it’s time to start looking elsewhere. I’ve already found myself not recommending Resilio Sync to people when I would have in the past because its status is so unclear and we haven’t seen any staff or new builds for so long. 

[Andy+]

No comment of staff ....

[athinaok]

Hello , 

I just bought my license and I got surprised by this topic.

Could you please tell us when the new wave of updates is programmed to be released? 

[Andy+]

If you have a look to the update steps the next update could expect in maybe one or two years.

[Shiruba]

While I also agree that Resilio could offer more active support for this product, for me it works as advertised, and with very few problems.  

I hope if they decide not to do any more updates, they will at least open source it.  If not, I expect them to release about an update every 6 - 12 months as they have been.  They have taken steps like local sync, supporting Apple's M1 Chip, etc., so there are changes happening slowly.  The product already does most of what you would expect it to, so I would expect new releases to be mainly bugfixes anyway.  

SyncThing is still not nearly as good in some basic features, especially SelectiveSync.  The workaround often given "Oh, just use .ignore files" is not realistic to the average user who wants to have a folder on their desktop that has dozens or hundreds of GB of data, and just sync a small portion to their laptop or mobile on demand for a short period of time.  

With ResilioSync, you can have a huge folder and easily just sync the parts you need to work on today to your laptop by clicking on the placeholder files.  When you are done working and the changes have synced, you can delete them from your local copy with a right-click "remove from this device".  I use this workflow for davichi (video editing) projects all the time, and it works fantastically.  If I want the files back after I have already deleted my local copy, I just double click them again, and they will be back with amazing speed since they are synched from my NAS and 2 other computers I use as RS servers.  

Sure, I could edit the .ignore files and then delete the files manually (hope I get the order right, and no typos!), but at that point I could also just use use rsync or scp.  

Another real-world use case: You have a folder with 300 DVD Rips.  You have this selective synched to your partners laptop.  When she wants to watch a video, she double-clicks, and it downloads and opens after about a minute.  There isn't enough room to sync the entire DVD library, nor any reason to want to.  You also don't want to ask your partner to fiddle with .ignore files just to watch a movie.  You could use a webserver or something like Plex, but whether that is the style you wan to go with is another issue.  If you want to have a local copy so you can download some movies before getting on the plane, then RS is a much faster way to do it than downloading via web, etc.  

At any rate, there is no need to take my word for it - This feature is heavily desired enough that almost all commercial competitors have it already.  Every year or so I check back, figuring "Surely Syncthing must have added it by now" - but they haven't - and to me, that means they are not even a serious contender.  

I will admit, for server to server syncing of entire folders, the situation is different, and SyncThing makes a lot more sense.  

 

[Andy+]

Overall, this is almost correct, except for the update policy. The software works without restrictions on servers, where the progress in technologies is partly not so big. However, in the device area it looks different and the forum is basically full of them. It's just that even from update to update not all bugs are taken care and that's sad. I had a few problems myself, e.g. a Windows service that could only be installed by good coaxing, the Android APP that does not start or maybe only after a reinstallation.

There are other known bugs that I have not had to experience now. But it is also clear that the already very good software base v2.7.2 from before 2020 was already burdened in this respect and yet almost 2 years have passed until v2.7.3 and yet there are bugs in it. Do not misunderstand, of course, every software has its errors and bugs, but it is worked on in detail and with minor updates these are worked out. This is the right way and so does Syncthing.

You are of course right with the ignore lists, from a function like selective sync to want to make, but there is actually a plug-in, which manages this. For local copies Resilio is clearly ahead, I want to replace that and do not want to use Resilio there, the 2nd Syncthing instance is a reliable facility. People are creative with things like this.

I already made posts years ago in this forum that Resilio may move and force updates, as they can only have advantages overall. Besides, some of the problems also exist because of advances in operating systems, which is another reason for updates at least once every six months. Then, once you understand that Resilio is focusing on the Connect payed software, it is understandable from a business point of view. If one has noticed that Sync and Connect still had the same engine in 2020 with v2.7.2 each, but today in 2023 Sync v2.7.3 and Connect v3.5.1 is up to date, everyone can think the own part. I have multiple licenses for Sync, so I want to feel like I'm in good hands and that I haven't paid for something that I have to watch every day to make sure it's running. If Sync was only Free, it would all look a little different.

Well then, as of BTsync I am a convinced user of this software, for several years with the above limitations. But today therefore also convinced user of Syncthing on Linux servers, Windows computers, Linux computers, Androiddevices. We will see.

[Axel Juárez]

On 2/8/2023 at 6:30 AM, Andy+ said:

Hola alguien me podría decir cómo funciona la carpeta de archivo en la ubicación .sync?, tenía archivos ahí y ya no están