Syncrify Vs DeltaCopy

Both DeltaCopy and Syncrify are products developed by Synametrics Technologies. Although both of these products use Rsync algorithms, there are some very important differences between them.

Before we begin the comparison, it is important to understand the difference between Rsync protocol and Rsync algorithm. The algorithm defines how to copy a file from source to target by just transferring the part that is different. Protocol on the other hand, defines how data is sent across the network between source and target computers.


The table below lists these differences.

	DeltaCopy	Syncrify
Network diagram
Origins	DeltaCopy uses the Rsync as-is - meaning the binaries for rsync that are available on Linux/UNIX operating systems are recompiled on Windows using CYGWIN libraries.	Syncrify uses the Rsync algorithms with a custom implementation. This eliminates the need for CYGWIN on Windows
Network Protocol	DeltaCopy uses the Rsync protocol to transfer files. This protocol listens on TCP/IP port 873 by default. Rsync protocol by itself does not offer a secure channel of communication.  However,  when bundled with SSH, Rsync can be performed securely with encryption.	Syncrify uses HTTP as the transport protocol, which is the same protocol used to browse this or any other website. The communication channel is encrypted using SSL when HTTP is replaced by HTTPS
Encryption	Rsync only allows encrypting data transfer using SSH. Files copied on the server are not encrypted.	Syncrify can not only encrypt data transfer using HTTPS, but can encrypt files on the server's end using strong AES encryption This feature is very useful if you are backing up files to a third-party service provider and want to deny access to any unauthorized users.
Versioning	Although versioning is not a built-in feature in Rsync, it can be achieved on Linux using the --link-dest option. Hard links are not available on Windows.	Built-in versioning is available on every platform. Previous versions are stored as deltas reducing the size of disk usage on the server.
Direction	DeltaCopy can copy files from client to server only. Copying files from server to client cannot be done using a schedule. You can certainly restore files, but that will restore every file.	Backups in Syncrify are bi-directional: Client to Server Server to Client Two-way sync
Restore	You can restore the entire profile as a single transaction, which restores every file from the server on the client. You cannot selectively restore files or schedule a restore.	Syncrify allows restoring files from either Syncrify client or from a web browser. A web browser is a good choice if you want retrieve backed up files from any computer. Using Syncrify client you can restore entire profiles, single folder or a single file. You can even schedule a restore, which is done by using the bi-Direction feature.
Compatibility	Using DeltaCopy users can backup/restore files from an Rsync daemon running on any platform. DeltaCopy server is typically used on Windows that runs Rsync daemon in the background. Linux/UNIX comes built-in with Rsync binaries and therefore, DeltaCopy is not required.	Files can only be backed up or restored from Syncrify server.  Syncrify server can be installed on any platform including MS Windows, Linux, UNIX, BSD and Mac OSX
File permissions	DeltaCopy uses CYGWIN libraries to run Rsync on Windows. Windows ACL is not compatible with UNIX Posix permissions. Due to this compatibility users often run into permission issues on the server-end.	Since CYGWIN is not used, such permission problem does not exist in Syncrify.
Clients	Files backed on the server cannot be viewed from DeltaCopy client. In order to restore files, you must either copy the files manually using FTP (or a similar file transfer mechanism) or selecting the Restore option from DeltaCopy Client, which will store every file on the client with server's copy.	Files on the server can be viewed as well as restored from any web browser. Additionally, individual files can be restored using the Syncrify client application
Support	Synametrics technology can only support DeltaCopy, which is just half of the picture. Besides the code written for DeltaCopy, it uses Rsync and Cygwin libraries, which depends on open source code written by other developers. If your question is related to Rsync or Cygwin, we may have to refer you to rsync/Cygwin forums or mailing lists.	Syncrify is written from ground up by our engineers and therefore, Rsync or Cygwin code is not involved. Therefore, supporting Syncrify is a lot easier for us since we are solely responsible for its code.

Deciding which product to use

Consider using DeltaCopy if:

• You have an existing infrastructure that uses Rsync
• You are copying files to a Linux/Unix machine that is running an Rsync daemon
  
• You want to use an open-source product that is completely free

Consider using Syncrify if:

• You want to use the HTTP protocol so clients can use their web browser to view and restore files
• You are running into permission issues on the server due to incompatibilities between Windows ACL and Posix permission.
• You have users who will be connecting over the Internet and out-bound ports on the client machine are blocked.
• You are using Syncrify for personal use, which is free