boyfarrell
Member
Arq looks like a great solution for off-site backups, this seems to be the problem is was designed to solve.
Is it possible to use Arq as a more secure and meta-data-preserving replacement for Dropbox? That is, can an instance of Arq be run on multiple computers which sync and version changes to the monitored files an folders? Or is it the case that this is not what it was designed to do? I use Dropbox to keep files synronised between home and work.
--Dan
It wasn't designed for sync. It's hard to do sync using only S3 and no server because S3 provides no synchronization/locking mechanism.
Tim Johns
Member
Jungle Disk does Folder Sync between machines on the same S3 account.
I really love Arq a LOT and am nearing end of my trial... but I'm likely heading back to Jungle Disk because the key feature missing from Arq is the ability to have a folder that gets securely backed up AND syncs between my iMac and my MBA and my MBP. Currently using Jungle Disk Desktop with S3 and this happens seamlessly. Any changes I make on one computer get synced to the others via JD and S3. But I really hate the JD app and interface.
Is it possible to purchase Arq for multiple computers all pointed to the same S3 account... each with an ARQ SYNC FOLDER and then somehow it works it all out ?
I'm not very technical... I just have a (fairly common) need and trying to find a solution that includes Arq.
Thanks....
140am
Member
I have been using Arq as my primary backup solution (on the desktop/laptops+ side) for 1 year now and have replaced crashplan, dropbox as well jungledisk with it during that time so I hope some of the ideas below on ways to sync files in a safe matter will help (but not work for everyone). That said I would recommend to use Dropbox, Google drive or whatever the right tool is for you to store non-sensitive data as those products are designed for multi user _easy_ file access and sharing (mobile client etc) and then still rely on Arq for the actual data backup / integrity process.
* As mentioned - just use Dropbox/google drive etc and have Arq back it up. If you work with OSX native file formats Arq will do a great job to make you feel save in case anything goes wrong during a sync (conflicts, open files etc). I would not relay on the 'backup' feature of each individual product due personal experience.
* Use Arq by itself by comparing the "Last Modified" column of the file / directory you are about to use with what OSX Finder shows and if out-dated replace the whole file/directory. This has the obvious data size / bandwidth limitation but can work better and faster then most existing products as _you_ can pick which file you want to grab (think if you have large amount of storage at work and only want to grab one file at home). This workflow also ensures that whatever you store and transfer that way is client side encrypted / secured the same way as all your backups.
* Use OSX's "Disk Utility" to create a (spares) Disk Image and have Arq back it up. You will be able to password protect, mount it as a regular disk (have a common mount point between all machines) by using the same "compare 'Last Modified' before starting to work on it' workflow. This works great for sensitive data and even if you happen to leave the image mounted on multiple locations an additional backup of the disk's content will allow you to just grab whatever you were working on last vs. syncing the whole image.
* Use an OSX native archive tool and synchronize that "archive" file using the same "Last Modified" workflow with Arq. Arq will show you when the "archive" was last modified vs. individual files. Examples (Devonthink, EagleFiler, Yojimbo)
The "locking" issue Stefan mentioned was the biggest source of problems I run into with other tools (think if your laptop crashes while working on something, you keep something open after leaving work, "certain" issues with OSX native file formats etc) so one year later I am exclusively using Arq (and http://git-scm.com ..) to handle all my personal data.
2c
Tim Johns
Member
MY post above was in May 2012 and it's now November and I still have the same needs of secure file-sync, and am still using JungleDisk begrudgingly wishing that Arq offered this service.
Given that both products (JD/Arq) are using AWS as the backend why can JD offer file-sync and Arq cannot ?
I'm not technical, just a user, but if I understand from reading above that JD (RackSpace) is using an intermediate server to handle file-sync, whereas Arq is talking directly to AWS, then my question is "How hard is it for Arq to implement the same thing as JD ?"
Presume it may involve implementing and maintaining a whole new infrastructure at Arq with server(s) etc which has a cost. Would it ever be feasible to offer a service/product called Arq-Sync that does the same (or better) than JungleDisk, either as separate SKU of an add-on to regular Arq.
I would pay for it, and presume there is whole other world of people looking for something with the flexibility of a DropBox and the TNO security of Arq/JungleDisk. And a whole bunch of people stuck using the horrible JungleDisk software and wanting something more elegant and pleasant to use.
Thanks for your continued hard work with Arq.
