[lug] large file management

[Davide Del Vento]

OwnCloud looks nice, but how do you manage security? Where do you host it?
To me, it sounds like a nightmare (in fact, to remove that headache,
I'm migrating from blogs and websites to static HTML)

On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 1:18 PM, Quentin Hartman <qhartman at gmail.com> wrote:
> I completely forgot to mention that I use a private OwnCloud installation
> with their desktop sync software for managing my photos and music, and it
> works very well. There tend to be some pains doing major version upgrades,
> but other than that it's been a pretty good experience.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 10:12 AM, Davide Del Vento
> <davide.del.vento at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks everybody for their suggestions. Here are the ones I looked at
>> so far and my final shortlist.
>>
>> > Unison isn't actively supported.
>> Yes, but unison-users mailing list is low-traffic but active, so
>> decided to give it a try.
>>
>> > Would DRBD help?
>> Too much cumbersome for my needs.
>>
>> > Subversion
>> More than its slowness the thing I don't like is the fact that each
>> working copy is twice the size of its actual content. But maybe that's
>> not big deal, compared to the other pros you mentioned, including that
>> I used it for so long that I can probably use it effectively while
>> sleeping.
>>
>> > Picasa
>> LOL! For the records, I used it in the past and it created more
>> problems than it solved
>>
>> > Bittorrent Sync and AeroFS
>> They both seem promising, but if my understanding is right they are
>> proprietary and therefore subjected to "sudden disappear", so I won't
>> even consider them. I need something that works and is guaranteed to
>> keep working for years, before I invest my precious time in learning
>> it, setting it up and teaching it to other family members....
>>
>> > Sparkleshare
>> On their front page they explicitly mention that is not good for
>> "Storing your photo or music collection". I know nothing about this
>> project and I don't understand why they wrote so, but I removed it
>> from the shortlist for this reason.
>>
>> Shortlist of stuff which I will look/consider more:
>> - Unison
>> - boar
>> - OpenKM
>> - subversion
>> - git annex
>>
>> I'll keep the list updated on my investigation. Thanks again and feel
>> free to send around other suggestions!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Davide
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Davide Del Vento
>> <davide.del.vento at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I have a large number of fairly large files (spoiler alert: the
>> > digital pictures of a lifetime). The collection is growing, mostly but
>> > not only by append. I have three copies onsite, and would like to add
>> > a forth copy offsite. Two of the copies are actively edited
>> > (occasionally, but the frequency doesn't matter), and often appended.
>> > The third (and forth) copy is just for backup.
>> >
>> > Managing such a collection of files is becoming a nightmare. Consider
>> > some scenarios:
>> >
>> > Some files are added to Copy 1 (my laptop) taken from the SD card of
>> > the camera in a hurry. No synch is done with the other copies at this
>> > time, because I have to run out of the door to take pictures of the
>> > kids.
>> >
>> > Some files are deleted in Copy 2 (e.g. by my wife) because they were
>> > out of focus, blurred, not worth keeping. No synch is done with the
>> > other copies at this time, either.
>> >
>> > Some (old) files are deleted in Copy 2 (e.g. by myself) because we run
>> > out of space in the laptop.
>> >
>> > Then, one is in the process of rsynch'ing the 3 copies and my rsynch
>> > workflow (discussed on this list some time ago, IIRC) breaks. Not that
>> > it was particularly good anyway, having to know "off channel" what
>> > happened to which copy before I could fire a reasonable command....
>> > Since I'm reading my swag at the BLUG (Cliff Stoll's "Silicon Snake
>> > Oil", but that's the subject for another post), I'm tempted to say
>> > "computers are crap", let my mother ship me my old film cameras and
>> > lenses from the early 80s (or maybe buying them here for cheap) and
>> > stop at that. Heck those cameras worked even without batteries!
>> >
>> > Instead I say: there must be a better way. I mean, we solve this very
>> > same problem (for text files) zillions of times a day, don't we? But
>> > for large binaries, I can't just throw [git|hg|svn] at it and be
>> > happy. As mentioned in the scenario, at least on one machine space is
>> > tight. Yes, space is getting cheaper and the like, but: a) I don't
>> > have any money to buy a disk for that laptop and b) there is no reason
>> > to keep a copy of some pictures from a trip in 2003 on it anyway. And
>> > I am not even sure [git|hg|svn] is the right tool for the job.
>> >
>> > So googling around I found http://code.google.com/p/boar/ and
>> > http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/index.html and I ask: has
>> > any of you tried either? Or anything other piece of software worth
>> > trying for this purpose?
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> > Davide
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>
>
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