Wishlist (Archive)


aurika

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Hi everyone,

a few suggestions:

  • virtual storage devices; with individual block sizes and encryption (algorithm/strength), basically special root folders that inherit those settings to all child objects. This would give the user more control over data safety & security; specialised virtual storage devices for different purposes and fields of application.
  • locking of files/folders; when sharing large amounts of data, e.g. linux distro images or holiday picture archives (RAW) among friends, hardware errors (more common in personal, than in enterprise hardware), e.g. disk read errors, disk failures, should not be synced to peers. data integrety validation through torrent block hashes.
  • public cache; a fraction of the local storage, as defined by the user, is made available for public distribution. an user can chose to share (still encrypted) data with the public for the benefit of relieability and availability at the cost of security, where applicable and desired. This would enhance the available storage capacity, but management of the cache could be tricky.
  • version control; not much of an explanation needed here. devices could be configured to just hold the current version or all versions (or a predefined set of versions), based on their role within the network. one might want to configure a NAS or desktop pc to hold multiple versions, whereas mobile devices only sync the up-to-date versions.

Cheers

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I have a suggestion for greatly expanding BTSync's functionality at marginal effort.

Many users use "thin clients" type of devices everyday (due to portability etc.) and they use these thin clients to generate input files on a daily basis. However, these thin clients devices do not usually have generous disk space.

The current BTSync is more a pure sync software - however, by taking a tiny step further, it can also add a powerful backup function.

For example, I have three projects and I record conference talks on them regularly. The recording files are quite large and I would like to back them up regularly so I can clean them out of my disk in time to prevent disk space fillup.

It would be very nice if I have this folder on both my "thin client" laptop and home server (which is on 24/7) named "Proj1_conference_talk". And whenever I drag a file (say 2013-04-25_proj1_conference_talk_recording.mp3) into this folder on my thin client notebook and it will start to send this file into the corresponding folder on my remote home server. After the transfer is complete, this file on my notebook will be deleted.

I can currently find a rough workaround by using the windows's native robocopy in CMD. I think by wrapping the commands in a script the process can be even made more automatic. So the workaround is to create a folder called Proj1_conference_talk_Temp on my remote server (synced to the folder on my thin client laptop) and ask the robocopy to move out everything in it except for file with .sync extension to another folder named Proj1_conference_talk_Final. This can be done on a per-day basis if the script is integrated with task scheduler. However, this is still quite distant from ideal: for example, if I place another file with same name of an existing file, the robocopy will not prompt if you want to overwrite it although you can specify so in the script (does not allow flexibility).

If anyone has more thought on this, please do not keep it to yourself. Currently I think I have not seen any other one suggesting this kind of things so far

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I'm sure it's been suggested, but I think adding a gui like the new updated dropbox application would be nice. Expecially the option to open the parent folder BTSync from the menubar icon.

Thanks for the amazing app!

Can you take a screenshot of said 'update'? I've not used dropbox in awhile due to the fact I've had to stop using my main computer for a temporary period.

Oh, and, I haven't used the dropbox settings/webinterface in years, just when I first login to my account and never again.

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Can you take a screenshot of said 'update'? I've not used dropbox in awhile due to the fact I've had to stop using my main computer for a temporary period.

Oh, and, I haven't used the dropbox settings/webinterface in years, just when I first login to my account and never again.

Here is the said 'update'

post-24628-0-83395700-1367172194_thumb.j

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Oh, I've seen the bottom right menu, not the top left one.

Looks interesting, I'd never use it.

Yea the sub-menu is kinda annoying to have to click, but I never use it. Just a nice look, but was more referring to just an option to the sync folder that doesn't exist in the menu from the current version.

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Hi there

Here are some items (most probably already mentioned) for my whishlist :

1. Performance enhancements
* In my experience, indexing is very slow and cpu consuming, especially on older hardware (Core 2 Duo 1.6Ghz, not an issue on Core i7)
* Network usage is very strange : less than 30kB/s on Gibagit lan, 300kB/s when turning off lan encryption and using lan tcp. I suspect once indexing is finished, this will be better.
* Globally, on a scenario where I sync a dozen of folders accross 3 Windows 7 machines, most of the time on Lan or behind symetric Fiber Optic lines, each folder containing between 1 and 150 GB of data accross between 1500 and 85000 files, I would say that Cubby is quite fast, Windows Live Mesh was slow in initial releases, ok in the latest and Bittorrent Sync is ok to slow, especially for initial sync when folders already contain a lot of data
* I'm not sure the sharing algorithm chooses the most efficient route: sometimes, it clearly choose to transfer files from computer A to B whereas A is cpu taxed and networked over WIFI and computer C has the same data, is not cpu taxed and is connected over ethernet.


2. Conflict support
Even Live Mesh style conflict support is better than nothing (copy of both conflicted versions with the device name appended).


3. Folder share priority
Ability to set priority on folders; for the moment, which folders get synchronized first seems arbitrary.

4. A better GUI
When indexing uses all cpu (see 1.), GUI is crawling and difficult to use, sometimes does not even react to clicks or keystrokes (buffer lost!).
The Shared Folders view is misleading: it seems information is wrong until synchronization is done (e.g. some folders show 0 B in 0 files), resulting in different size and file counts over different devices.
The History view has some strange messages, such as "Finished synching with DEVICE", when clearly, there remain some folders to sync with DEVICE. When a lot of activity is logged in the history window, it would be nice if the history does not automatically scroll (refresh) to last item when we have already scrolled down: as of now, it is impossible to read a specific message when other are populated very quickly. I would personnaly prefer to have last items at the bottom.

5. Versioning

6. Growl support on Windows
Or did I miss something obvious since it seems to be available on OSX?

7. Peek view and selective retrieval feature
When adding a secret, it would be good to have a preview of the sync before accepting it: size / number of files / even better a dump of the folder tree structure.
And even better than this, the ability to arbitrary retrieve only one (or a selection of files) from the peek view (obviously in a given directory that will not be a Shared Folder as this is not a sync scenario).

8. Windows Service

9. Android support
I know it's already in the pipe.


I definitely have more features in mind and some are probably already talked to death elsewhere... what about a proper whishlist system with a voting feature instead of this post?

Congratulations for the concept and the software so far: definitely early stage, but you manage to fuel my enthousiasm again on the subject!


Edit: I could pinpoint my main performance issue. Indexing crawls when synchronization runs in parallel. If I disconnect the machine from the network (or if I exit all other Bittorent Sync instances on the other machines), then indexing resumes with a good pace. This was reproductible on at least 2 different Windows 7 machine.

Edited by GreatMarko
Struck-through items are suggestions which now have their own dedicated threads in the Feature Requests forum. Greyed out items have since been implemented
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My wish list (to date)

  • Windows Service Install
  • Block level synch to save bandwidth and therefore enhance sync speed
  • Allow sync of two folders accessible from the same computer as it would just make the tool very versatile
  • Schedules (needed at a Global level with "per secret" overrides)
  • Retention periods on .SyncTrash (again with a global and "per secret" override)
  • Versioning also at a Global and Secret levels

I think with all the features and what others have mentioned this will be a valuable tool for business and personal use.

Edited by GreatMarko
Struck-through items are suggestions which now have their own dedicated threads in the Feature Requests forum
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Didn't check if this was suggested yet, but have a somewhat "interesting" use case, in which I see BTSync as a possible solution.

I work in a company with 150 engineers.

Our company is project based, meaning that all we do, is a result of our costumers having an requirement. It's everything from software development to mechanical desgin.

Employees might be working on different projects at the same time. Projects that are not nessecary for the same costumer.

As of right now, all data is stored on fileservers, in a structure , where one main folder for each costumer holds all current projects for this customer.

My thought is, that imagining that we could set up btsync on our fileserver (or another server with internet and local access).

Then having one shared secret for each employee, but the abillity to ad multiple folders to this one secret.

So employees can add different folders, from different projects, to be synced to their laptops.

This would of course also add the need for some sort fo AD interaction. Alternatively, the API could be used, and we could do our own application for it.

So in short.

• Multiple shared folders with very different locations, for one secret

• AD interaction (or leave it up to API)

btsync --add-folder [secret] [folder]

If secret exists, folder is added to this secret.

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wishlist :

doing a king of part sync. I mean on a huge file a more than 100M it will be interesting to sync only the part that change. This could be done by dividing the whole file into small part of less than 1M.

it should be inluded of the bit torrent protocol because in a "standard" bit torrent download source can be different so the file should be divide in multipart to do that (i suppose!)

Thanks...

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Can you review in all the user interfaces : the amount of characters it is possible to set for the secret of a folder.

In my experience using max 128 works with most of the user interfaces elements but e.g. editing an existing secret only allows to use the generate button on e.g. windows

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Items disappear from the Devices tab when those devices are powered off or not running BT Sync. This makes it hard to keep track of all your peers. I suggest listing every device that has ever connected to one of your shared folders since the last time the secret for that folder was changed. And there could be an indicator for whether or not the device is currently online.

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A trusted IP address list or lock down to a subnet? I would love it where no matter if someone go a hold of my Key could not join the cloud because it is not a listed trusted computer.

Possibly restrict by MAC address as well?

Be able to kick/ban computers out of the cloud network as well would be appreciated.

Have a control feature where you can tell it to use more bandwidth at certain times of day.

Have adjustable timer to when sync? If wanna have my computers only sync every 24 hours or something?

Designate a tracker on a company intranet and restrict all other trackers.

A business level management tool? I can see this tool being extremely handy but being able to easily control what is on the clouds.

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Hello,
Thanks a lot for app!
I really got possibility to make homemade distributed file system. Nice job!

Common wishes:
1. x64 version of the application.
2. Scheduled sync and sync on demand (partialy implemented as "pause syncing").
3. BitSync as windows service (unix daemon) without wrappers.

Advanced wishes:
1. Working over some popular protocols (ssh, https). If it's possible technically.
2. Possibility to change block-size of the TTH. It can be helpful for synchronization some specific data.

Thanks.

Edited by GreatMarko
Struck-through items are suggestions which now have their own dedicated threads in the Feature Requests forum
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Hello,

Thanks a lot for app!

I really got possibility to make homemade distributed file system. Nice job!

Common wishes:

1. x64 version of the application.

2. Scheduled sync and sync on demand (partialy implemented as "pause syncing").

3. BitSync as windows service (unix daemon) without wrappers.

Advanced wishes:

1. Working over some popular protocols (ssh, https). If it's possible technically.

2. Possibility to change block-size of the TTH. It can be helpful for synchronization some specific data.

Thanks.

I could swear there was a 64bit version of this application? I could swear I'm running it on my laptop? Screenshot from my download log:-

iPooAsD.png

As for the two advanced wishes, they're great ideas that I didn't even think about, even more so the protocol changers. Would be great for people at work who have certain protocols blocked (I know some block pretty much everything but HTTP and HTTPs, so, tunneling under a HTTPs handshake would be a nice way around it)

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You can select the folder to be an external device? There's no issue with that one, the only issue is that you can't state two folders to sync the same data on one computer (without the use of something like sandboxie), E.G. internal and external.

Also, I wouldn't recommend dumping files on a flash drive, they have limited amounts of write space and (from my experience) wear down fast.

EDIT:- Just thought I'd state, I've only used the linux version. Yet to touch the windows version because:-

A. I only run a single 128GB SSD on my windows box, I don't really have much to sync, if you get my drift.

B. My windows box is connected to my linux box which has 15TB worth of space (Which is running BTSync)

In the windows version (Due to how it mounts), it very well might not work. I have no idea.

my apoligies I ment for Bittorrent Sync to run from Portableapps menu (check out Portableapps.com) on the flash drive There is already a Bittorrent program, but not Bittorrent Sync. I also use linux most of the time except for work because of the propritary software I use is windows only. The idea is to not leave footprints on the work computer. I haven't burned up a flash drive yet. (running firefox from a flaxhdrive to post this)

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Syncing and this is all good and I already use it instead of drop box How about the other bittorent feature, playing video and audio files in real time over an internet connection with a video player like VLC. So it would be just like a network shared local hard drive without the need to have everything in 2 copies synced or even completly transfered, and when done it would get deleted as it should have never existed on the other remote computer?

I for one use Syncap now for transfering larger video files to my second remote PC and this can take time and eats the duble disk space.

Or if anybody knows of anything like this existing already, please let me know.

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