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I need to back up some huge files (100GB) and a zillion little ones (2,000,000 x 50k) over the internet via SSL, from one Windows Server 2008 box to another.

What I want is to have the directory structure on the backup server mirror the production server -- but with a version history. rsync does the first part, and I know a few products combine rsync with a version history, but I don't know which ones are really ready for prime-time.

My plan was to use Syncrify, but since nobody seems to have any experience with it, I'm looking for other ideas.

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  • If you clarify your question with more platform and use case details, you are likely to get a more specific answer. I threw out a general thought about maybe using a version control system instead of rsync in my answer below, but this may not fit your problem.
    – Caleb
    Oct 19, 2010 at 10:15

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Syncrify is good and should work. We use it to backup our web server and it works fine. However, I have not te

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  • Danny, can you tell me more about what you're backing up?
    – Jesse
    Oct 25, 2010 at 12:04
  • Just wanted to close the loop on this: we've been using Syncrify for over a year now, and it's been easy and reliable. Also, their support is excellent.
    – Jesse
    Jan 30, 2014 at 18:59
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Sounds like rdiff-backup will fulfill your needs nicely. I have used it to do linux->linux and windows->windows and windows->linux backups. It keeps the current version as an exact mirror of the source. Then uses a reverse-differencing algorithm to store prior versions. It uses the rsync network protocol for efficient use of the network.

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If you want to backup with a version history as in being able to restore older versions of backed up files, you should probably look at using a versioning system such as git or subversion instead of a copy system like rsync. Less recommended alternatives would be to manage your own deltas with something like incremental tar files.

If I misunderstood what you want for "version history", please clarify your question, but rsync itself is not a tool equipped to keep a history of either it's own actions over time or versions of files as they change through time. It is just a copy/synchronization tool. A very good one at that, but a very specific use tool.

Edit: Another tool that might suit your needs is rsnapshot, which uses rsync as a copy tool but keeps track of multiple versions so that you can backtrack to older "snapshots".

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  • Caleb, thanks for the version-control suggestion. AFAIK, git and svn don't have the bandwidth-saving delta storage that rsync does. rsnapshot would be perfect... if it ran on Windows.
    – Jesse
    Oct 19, 2010 at 13:00
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    wouldn't volume shadow copy on the remote end achieve this, given enough storage space?
    – SpacemanSpiff
    Jul 15, 2011 at 16:24
  • Use rsnapshot with Cygwin.
    – joechip
    Jul 15, 2011 at 17:23
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My rep is to low to comment so I will add and answer...
rsnapshot does run on windows! http://blog.gingerlime.com/rsnapshot-server-on-windows
hope your problem is already solved, but if it isn't, I hope this helps

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  • I would also vote up the question and other answer but...
    – mraaroncruz
    Jul 15, 2011 at 16:23

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