In Windows, Offline Files can help with this. However, we had problems with this and were unable to use it in our environment (we had a tight deadline and hence were not able to troubleshoot further).
Perhaps not an "enterprise" solution, but we currently use FreeFileSync (http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync) for bidirectional syncing of user's files from laptops (Desktop, Documents, Favorites, Outlook Signatures and Office custom dictionary). However, we have set it to only sync/backup at login. The user can also manually initiate the sync too. There is a tool called RealTimeSync included in FreeFileSync that may help provide the support you are looking for where it syncs when you plug it into network, but I don't have any experience with that. I also created a script to warn the user if the sync has not occurred for 15 days, and an error message if the sync has not occurred for 30 days. However, this is all client side, so we instructed the user to call us if they see these messages, i.e. we don't have a way to determine from the back end if the backup completed successfully (although one could create a trigger file that gets updated each time a successful sync occurs that we could then search for on the server). -Aakash Shah -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jesse Rink Sent: Monday, January 6, 2014 5:34 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [NTSysADM] Alternative to Symantec Desktop-Laptop-Option (DLO) Just curious if anyone is using alternatives to Symantec Backup Exec's DLO option (desktop/laptop option). Basically it provides a mechanism for backing up user laptops when the person comes back on-site and plugs into the corporate network, it will start to backup/sync their Documents folders, Desktop folders, etc. automatically to a local network share without user interaction. I have a customer that is using it on Backup Exec 2010, but Backup Exec 2012 has gotten rid of the DLO option from what I understand. These are the kind of users that will never choose to, or remember to, backup their files to a network share or home folder or run manual backups with an external USB on their own, but they'll be the first to complain when their laptop dies and their data is lost. Curious as to other alternatives out there for mobile users to -automate- backing up their files when they come back to the office. DLO was decent, but... Thanks J
