BCSS problem

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  • JohnFLand
    Expert
    • Jun 2008
    • 73

    BCSS problem

    Scenario:

    Local system (XP, SP3) has about 100K files on 3 drives, X, Y, Z. I use junction points under XP to access all 3 drives as a directory on C: (that is, "C:\!VirtualDir").

    Remote system (XP, SP3), a backup for the local system, also has about 100K files on 3 drives, X, Y, Z. I use junction points under XP to access all 3 drives as a directory on C:.

    Files are added to, deleted from, and moved around on the local system daily, usually involving less than 100 files, but the dates may be current or old (so selecting changed files by date won't work).

    My link is about 1 MBit/s. It takes well over an hour to run a direct compare of the "virtual drive" directories.

    So instead I run (via Remote Desktop) BC2 on the remote system to generate a BCSS file of C:\!VirtualDir, which I then download to the local system to compare to the local C:\!VirtualDir using BC3 (or BC2 -- the problem below exists with both). That shows what has changed. Fine so far.

    What I then want to do is use Copy to Folder to copy just the changed local files to a transfer folder (e.g., "D:\Transfers"). The transfer folder is intended to let me run a direct compare of its contents to the remote system, and sync the moves and adds for the local drives to the remote drives (this doesn't help for deletes -- I have to do the mirror-image process for that to work). This comparison runs quite fast, even with my slow link.

    HOWEVER, when I then select all of the changes shown for the local dir (C:\!VirtualDir) and try to copy them to the transfer folder, BC3 and BC2 lock the computer up tight -- requires a power switch reboot. BC3 says "Refreshing" but that's it. I let it "refresh" overnight even -- no joy.

    This *may* be a problem with XP's junction point, since I do NOT have the problem IF I compare one real directory (e.g., X) at a time against the corresponding portion of the downloaded BCSS file, then try Copy to Folder on the results. I have to do this 3 times (for real drives X, Y, Z), but it works under BC3.

    So, my questions:

    -- Any clues as to whether this is a BC or an XP problem, and any suggestions for solving it?

    -- Is there a better way of solving my syncing (a faster link isn't possible -- using cable connections over the Internet)? For example, after my Local-to-BCSS compare to find changed files and directories, is there a clever way of having BC3 then directly compare THOSE changes to the real remote directory, so I can sync directly rather than use a transfer folder?

    TIA for any help. John Land
  • JohnFLand
    Expert
    • Jun 2008
    • 73

    #2
    "Anyone? Buehler? Anyone?"

    Comment

    • chrroe
      Pooh-Bah
      • Oct 2007
      • 588

      #3
      Hi John!

      In order to figure out whether there is a problem with reading the files or following the junctions I would recommend to use Process Monitor from Sysinternals:

      http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb896645.aspx


      Hope this helps ...

      Bye
      Christoph

      Comment

      • Chris
        Team Scooter
        • Oct 2007
        • 5538

        #4
        Instead of comparing your transfers folder directly to the remote system, make the target of your "Copy to Folder" a zip file. If you specifiy a zip file that doesn't exist, BC will create it for you. Copy the zip file to the remote system, then use BC on the remote system by remote desktop to apply the changes from the zip file.
        Chris K Scooter Software

        Comment

        • JohnFLand
          Expert
          • Jun 2008
          • 73

          #5
          Chris, thanks for the suggestion, but I think my current procedure (compare system A to the BCSS file of system B, copy differences in A to a transfer folder, compare the transfer folder to B and copy) is more pragmatic -- a typical set of differences is about a 100-200 files of about 50 megabytes each, and the files are already compressed images (JPGs). Putting everything into a ZIP file makes the probability of failure higher, in my view, since if the link fails at any time before the entire ZIP is transferred, you have to start over. With my process, a failure just means re-comparing and transferring the subset of files that didn't get transferred before the link failure.

          What would be nice is if BC3 could preserve the results of a local-to-BCSS compare as a "virtual" directory tree that could then be directly compared to the remote system for purposes of commencing copying/moving.

          John Land

          Comment

          • Chris
            Team Scooter
            • Oct 2007
            • 5538

            #6
            John,

            Other than transferring everything as a zip file, you might try using "Copy to Folder" to copy the changed files directly to the remote system instead of creating a transfer folder first. I'm not sure if this will speed things up or not.
            Chris K Scooter Software

            Comment

            • JohnFLand
              Expert
              • Jun 2008
              • 73

              #7
              Chris, thanks, hadn't thought of that.

              Comment

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