I am having immense problems with the sync in DT using WebDAV on my office server. It WAS working fine for a long time, it worked really well.
But the past few weeks its completely broken down. I am getting different errors in the log. Each time I think I fix one, something else happens. Its an absolute nightmare, and taking a LOT of my time to sort out. DT was supposed to make me more productive, but its making me worse.
Sooooo… I want to stop using WedDAV in case thats causing an issue. It certainly causes problems uploading all the time as it takes ages for a Gb file.
So can I sync to a local SyncStore, which is in a folder that syncs to a cloud sync provider, from which I can sync to my other machines. So all my machines are syncing with a syncstore that is synced. It wont be Dropbox, it would be a self hosted sync system.
if this is not good, what is the best way to sync data between macs over the internet without using WebDAV?
It has to just work, like all other sync software, I cant spend time messing with it, I am tempted to abandon DT and go back to plain old File System.
Dropbox is only 2Gb, I have many databases that add up to a lot more so would need a paid plan, and having plenty of storage space on my own servers I really dont want to be paying someone else for it. There are self hosting providers, no need to use Dropbox.
My main concern is syncing of local syncstores. So does it work fine to have a local sync store sync with a cloud syncstore which in turn syncs with another computer local sync store. It works for normal files, I just wondered if it works fine with DT syncstores.
I knew the external hard drive would be put forward at some point . I honestly do not want this, I would rather drop DT and use a normal file manager using a sync system. I dont want to be carrying around my hard drive every day manually syncing between my computers.
I have heard about a new sync under way, thats supposed to be rebuilt/better, so fingers crossed! We know its possible because so many others can do it seamlessly. I really love DT for what I use it for, but I have wasted so much time trying to get sync working.
Until the new sync comes, instead of lugging around an external hard drive, I keep a tiny 32 gb thumb drive in my bag. It’s very tiny - about a third of the size of my old thumb drives.
I have decided to put a Syncstore in a Dropbox alternative (BitTorrent Sync so no need to store data in the cloud). And then my local databases sync with that.
So on my iMac the DT databases sync with a local Syncstore. That synstore is synced with a syncstore on my Macbook, and my Macbook databases sync with that.
It seems to work OK, can even keep two Devonthinks open the same time as they are using separate/independent databases.
The main issue I have is if you sync on one, then sync almost immediately on the other after BitTorrent Sync occurs, sometimes the devonthink with newer data will have that file removed because it thinks the older syncstore on the other mac is newer. So this could result in data loss. I guess this is just due to modified times being so close it gets mixed up (probably a Bittorrent Sync issue), but I dont think I would be syncing both at the same time. Have to plan it carefully, so manual sync probably, or on open and close.
The second issue is I have two copied of all files so double the space (tens of GBs) on both computers. I can live with that if it means sync is working.
Just to emphasize a point: do not regard Sync stores out in the cloud as a backup. The store is a set of files that may include changes each time the Sync procedure is run. Should you need to recover to a state of the database as of a time before the previous Sync procedure, you are out of luck. (I won’t mention the reasons I’m not interested in cloud backups as primary backups.)
I use Time Machine. It’s free and has always worked well for me.
But if my computer equipment is stolen, or my cabin were to burn, those backups would be lost.
I periodically update the Database Archives of my important databases on a portable drive that’s stored in my bank safety deposit box. If necessary, I could restore my data much more quickly than if they stored out in the cloud.
I have databases on both iMac in the office and Macbook which is with me, mainly at home. I also use Timemachine at home and work, both onto a USB hard drive.
. I honestly do not want this, I would rather drop DT and use a normal file manager using a sync system. I dont want to be carrying around my hard drive every day manually syncing between my computers.