Sending files to several computers
Consider a scenario where you need to push files to several computers on the Internet from a
master location. Let's call this master location the template machine and receiving computers the target
machines. This page provides step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish this goal by synchronizing files from template machine to target machines.
Assumptions
The following assumptions are made in this article.
- Files residing on the template machine needs to be pushed to several computers on
the Internet or local LAN
- The template machine will always push files while target machines will always pull them.
- There can be one or more target machines
Step-by-Step guide
Step 1 Introduce a broker machine
Although you can install the Syncrify server on the template machine, a cleaner approach is to install it on a different machine - other than
the template or any target machines. Let's call this the broker machine.
Install the Syncrify server on the broker machine.
Optionally
enable SSL access in Syncrify. This is done so that machines on the Internet pull their files in a secure manner.
Let's assume the URL to access the broker machine is
https://broker.xyz.com
Step 2 Configure the broker machine
Install the Syncrify server and configure the broker machine. You may have to configure the firewall at the OS level as well as the router
that is provided by your ISP. In this example, we are using the default HTTPS port, which is 443.
Try accessing the web interface using https://localhost
as the URL from a browser.
Then, create one user account in your Syncrify. Let's say the email address of this user is userOne@xyz.com.
Step 3 Install Syncrify client on the template machine
Try accessing
https://broker.xyz.com
using a browser on the template machine. If you get an error accessing the page,
check the following tips for a possible resolution:
- The firewall is configured correctly to allow inbound traffic for port 443 (default port for HTTPS) for the broker machine
- Try pinging the broker machine from the client machine
Once you see the web interface from the template machine, download Syncrify client using the link that appears on the right hand side.
Step 4 Configure Syncrify client on the template machine
By default, the Syncrify client creates a profile matching the machine's host name. Specify the
Remote Server URL in this
default profile to
https://broker.xyz.com
. There is no need to specify any other value in this profile.
Create a new profile with the following values:
- Profile Name
- WebSync (Change this if you like)
- Remote Server URL:
- https://broker.xyz.com
- Login Email:
- userOne@xyz.com
- Login Password:
- The password you used to create userOne
Then, add the folder(s) you want to push to target machines. For example:
- C:\Important Files
- C:\Profile files\Project One
Backup Direction
Click the
Advanced tab and set the
Direction field to
Client to Server. This ensures files
are copied from the template machine to the broker machine.
Step 5 Run a test backup
Now you are ready to run a backup. Simply click the Backup button in Syncrify client. This will
copy files from the template machine to the broker machine.
Once the backup is complete, use the browser to connect to https://broker.xyz.com
and connect
as the userOne@xyz.com. You should be able to browse through the files you just backed up.
Step 6 Configuring the target machines
Install Syncrify client on the target machines exactly the way you did for the template machine. Once
installation is complete, specify just the URL for the default profile. Then, create a new profile using the
following steps:
- Click Create Profile button to create a new profile.
- Specify Remote Server URL, Login Email and Login Password.
- Then click the Fetch profile button next to the Profile name field and select WebSync
for the Profile name.
- Click the Restore Profile button.
Click here for a screen shot.
- Ensure the path is correct on the following screen
- Very Important: Once the profile is created, click the Advanced tab and change the
direction field to Server-to-client. This ensures files are pulled from the broker machine to the target machine.
Repeat these steps for every target machine you have.
Optional step Make profile read-only
Optionally, you can make the
WebSync profile in this example a
read-only profile with
an exception rule for the template machine. This way none of the target machines will be able to run a backup using
Client-to-Server
for direction, preventing potential data corruption on the broker machine.