On Thu, Sep 27, 2001 at 11:05:02AM -0700, Aaron King wrote: > Greetings fellow linux users! > > On any given day, I work with several linux computers (a desktop at > home, one laptop, two or three at work, all connected by ethernet or > DSL). It is a constant hassle making sure that the data on the several > computers is up-to-date. There is mail, address book, appointment > calendar, source code, data pertaining to several ongoing projects, > etc. I am wondering if anyone knows the best way to keep everything > synchronized. > > I have tried sitecopy and rsync but they require that I keep track of > all the files or directories I have modified, and on which computers, in > my feeble little brain. I have seen there is something called rdist but > have heard nothing about its reputation. > > I suppose the most important features are ease of use and security. > Does anyone have any suggestions? > I'd be grateful for any advice you can give.
IMHO you should absolutely not use NFS except within a firewalled private
LAN. Its history of security is, well, checkered ;-). NFS also copes poorly
with disconnected operation (down DSL link, unplugged notebook).
My suggestions:
1. Manually sync most files with rsync. It is a very powerful for
mirroring / mirroring / copying and does not require you to keep track of
modified files if used properly. You will need to do a little reading; it
is a bit complex to work. It works over SSH too.
2. Keep address books and mail on one host and access on others via IMAP.
I have heard good things about the client prog called Althea.
3. As an alternate to #1, share files using Coda, a network filesystem
designed to cope with disconnected operation. To keep it secure you should
probably set a a virtual private network over and SSH tunnel.
4. As an alternate to #3, keep documents that are to be shared in CVS. That
way changed are logged and you can recover from errors --- a useful
capability indeed. CVS is hard to grok completely but there are GUI
frontends for the nongurus.
What do I do? Well I have no home computer other than my notebook. I ssh into
my work machine to work with email and copy (scp) files manually to and from
the notebook as needed. Works fine so far since I don't do a lot of serious
work away from the office. At the office the half-dozen or so machines share
files via NFS. All are protected by a firewall.
--
Henry House
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