Question regarding multiple network interfaces?


Ignigena

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Sorry if this is an obvious question...

I have a question about the SyncApp as I've just started testing it on my local machines.

I have a couple Macs on the same network which are networked via Ethernet (for P2P communications) and WiFi (for Internet connection) and I will be syncing files that are several hundred MB in size.

My question is, what network interface will SyncApp use to synchronize the files? I need to ensure it uses the local Ethernet interface so I don't clog the WiFi network for the other computers on my network.

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This is not really a question for just SyncApp, but for all applications.

You can set (in the System Preferences, Network panel) the order of networks to use on each machine.

The first connected interface will be used for all traffic (assuming they are on the same subnet).

If you have two machines and they both have Ethernet and WiFi available (in that order), then they will communicate using Ethernet. If the Ethernet goes down, WiFi will be a backup, but only if the Ethernet is disconnected.

If WiFi is listed as a higher priority interface (on both), traffic will use WiFi. If the two machines are configured differently, you may get asymmetric routing.

This applies to all network applications.

If the networks are on different subnets, all bets are off, although OSX will still use the highest priority available route.

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Thanks for your response.

I am familiar with the ordered network interfaces in System Preferences and already have Ethernet as the highest priority.

SyncApp still refuses to send files using my Ethernet port unless I physically disable turn off the Airport card. Once I do this it happily picks up sending through the Ethernet port. I've tried different configurations including setting it on the same subnet or different subnets, but SyncApp always uses Airport if it's available.

I'd love a handy dropdown menu in the Advanced Settings of SyncApp where I can select the network interface to use.

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