SFTP Sync is a utility application that can synchronize a local directory structure and files to a remote system via the Secure FTP protocol.
When first activated the product will first check whether the local and remote directories are synchronized, and if not will update the remote directories and files to match the local directories and files.
Once synchronized the application then monitors the local directories for changes in real time, and replicates those changes in the remote system.
Two versions of the application are available, one with a Windows user interface, and one used from the Windows command line.
- Important Usage Informnation
- Downloading and Installing
- Windows Desktop Application
- Windows Command-Line Application
- Uninstalling
Regardless of whether you use the command-line or Windows desktop application, it is important that you understand how the product works, so please read the information below carefully.
When you first start the command-line product, or enable sync in the Windows desktop tool, a worker thread is created to take care of syncing each of the file spec patterns that you have specified. So if you have specified four file extensions, like this:
*.DBL;*.DEF;*.COM;*.SCM
Then four worker threads will be started, one for each file extension pattern.
Before any files can be synced the entire directory tree must be present on the remote system, and ensuring that this is the case is a task assigned to the first worker thread to be created. Once that task has been completed, that thread can then begin the task of checking whether the files on the remote system currently match the files on the local system, and uploading any missing files for that file extension.
As soon as the first worker thread has completed it's additional task of checking the directory structure, any other worker threads will be created and will go to work performing the initial synch for based on their assigned file extension pattern.
As soon as each worker thread has completed its initial sync, it then starts monitoring the file system for changes to files matching the assigned file extension pattern. and replicating those changes to the remote system.
Regardless of which application you use, you will see a message "Initial sync complete, real-time sync now active" when this happens, and in the Windows desktop application you will also see "Real time sync active" in the status bar at the bottom of the application. Ideally you should not make changes to files in the replicated directory tree until you see these messages.
If you prefer you can clone the Git repository and build your own version, but if you want an easy life then the best option is to download the MSI installer for the latest version from https://github.com/Synergex/RemoteSFTPSync/releases and install it on your system.
When you start the installation this is what you will see:
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Click the Next button to continue, and you will see this:
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Click the check-box to accept the open-source license agreement, then click the Next button. You will see this:
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Most users should click the Complete button, but if you prefer not to install the command-line program or the documentation, then you can click the Custom button and de-select those options. After clicking the Complete button you will see this:
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Click the Install button to begin the installation. Having done so you will see a User Account Control (UAC) prompt, and you should click on the Yes button to confirm that you wish to install the product. You will then see a progress dialog as the installation proceeds:
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And when the installation completes you will see this:
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Click the Finish button to complete the installation.
The Windows UI application is provided via a program called SFTPSyncUI.exe which you can open via a Start Menu icon. When you start the application for the first time you sill see this:
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You must provide information about the local root directory that contains the files that you want to replicate, as well as a search spec that defines the file extensions of the files to be copied. You must also provide information about the OpenVMS system that you want to replicate the files to, the user account name and password to authenticate with, and the remote path to replicate the directories and files to.
Refer to the following information:
The local path identifies the local root directory to be replicated. All files in and below this directory that match the search spec (below) will be replicated to the remote OpenVMS system. You can use the ellipsis button (...) adjacent to the field to show a directory browser dialog to make it easy to pick a local directory. The value of the field should look like this:
C:\MYDEVFILES\MYPROJECT
The search spec is a semi-colon delimited list of file patterns to be matched and replicated. For example if you want to replicate all files with DBL, DEF and INC file extensions to the remote system then your search spec would look like this:
*.DBL;*.DEF;*.INC
In this field you should enter the DNS name or TCP/IP address of the remote OpenVMS system to be accessed. For example:
VMSDEV1.MYDOMAIN.COM
or
10.1.1.15
In this field you should enter the user name of the OpenVMS user account to be used to log in to the remote system. Note that OpenVMS usernames are not usually case sensitive, but in some cases can be.
In this field you should enter the password associated with the OpenVMS user account to be used to log in to the remote system. Note that OpenVMS passwords are not usually case sensitive, but in some cases can be.
The value entered into the password field is normally hidden, but can be revealed by checking the Show password option.
As with the other configuration details, the password is stored in the applications configuration file, but in an encrypted form. The encryption used keys provided by the Windows operating system that are associated with the current Windows user account, and so can only be decrypted when logged into the same account.
The remote path field is used to specify a path on the remote OpenVMS system that represents the root directory for the replicated files. The path must be expressed in Unix format, and to some extent depends on the configuration of your system. In many cases an OpenVMS path like DKA0:[MYUSER.DEVFILES.MYPROJECT] will be specified like this:
/DISK$DKA0/MYUSER/DEVFILES/MYPROJECT/
But your system may require something different. To determine the value of the remote path we recommend using an application such as WinSCP or FileZilla to make an SFTP connection to the system and user account, and then determine the path based on what you see in that application.
The Verify Access button will be enabled whenever the remote credentials (host name, user name or password) change. When enabled, clicking the button will initiate an SFTP connection using the currently defined information, and you will see a message indicating whether the connection was successful. Until a successful connection is made, is is not possible to initiate directory and file synchronization.
Having successfully verified remote access you have the option to click the Start Sync button, which as its name suggests, starts the process of synchronizing directories and files from the Windows system to the remote OpenVMS system. Note that synchronization occurs in one direction only; changes to directories and files on the Windows system are re-created on the OpenVMS system, but changes on the OpenVMS system are NOT re-created on Windows.
If the Start at login option is checked then each time you log in to your Windows user account, the SFTPSync desktop application will be started.
If the Start in system tray option is checked then each time the SFTPSync desktop application starts it will start in the Windows System Tray. If not checked you will see the main window appear on your desktop.
If the Auto start sync option is checked then each time the SFTPSync desktop application starts it will automatically begin synchronizing directories and files with the remote OpenVMS system, so long as all of the configuration options are specified and correct. If settings are missing, or remote information has not been validated, then synchronization will not begin automatically.
If configured, the application will start as a small icon in the Windows System Tray. In this case you can right-click on the icon and use the resulting context menu to show the main user interface, display the documentation, or exit the application.
Regardless of configuration options there are only three ways to exit from the application:
- Right-click the icon in the System Tray and select Exit.
- Log out of your Windows user account.
- Close down the system.
This application does not support running multiple instances. If you attempt to start a second instance, the user interface of the riginal running instance will be shown.
The message log occupies most of the area of the user interface, and you will see status messages being displayed as the application replicates local file system changes to the remote system.
The Windows command-line application is provided via a program called SFTPSync.exe.
The application accepts configuration information via command line arguments.
If you execute the application with no command line arguments, usage information will be displayed, like this:
C:\Program Files\Synergex\SFTPSync> SftpSync
usage: SFTPSync host username password localRootDir remoteRootDir searchPattern
The command line parameters correspond to the various options in the Windows desktop application, and are as follows:
Specify the DNS name or TCP/IP address of the remote OpenVMS system to be accessed. For example:
VMSDEV1.MYDOMAIN.COM
or
10.1.1.15
Specify the user name of the OpenVMS user account to be used to log in to the remote system. Note that OpenVMS user account names are not usually case sensitive, but in some cases can be.
Specify the password associated with the OpenVMS user account to be used to log in to the remote system. Note that OpenVMS passwords are not usually case sensitive, but in some cases can be.
The value entered into the password field is normally hidden, but can be revealed by checking the Show password option.
As with the other configuration details, the password is stored in the applications configuration file, but in an encrypted form. The encryption used keys provided by the Windows operating system that are associated with the current Windows user account, and so can only be decrypted when logged into the same account.
Specify the local root directory to be replicated. All files in and below this directory that match the search spec (below) will be replicated to the remote OpenVMS system. You can use the ellipsis button (...) adjacent to the field to show a directory browser dialog to make it easy to pick a local directory. The value of the field should look like this:
C:\MYDEVFILES\MYPROJECT
If the path includes spaces then enclose the value in double quotation marks.
Specify a path on the remote OpenVMS system that represents the root directory for the replicated files. The path must be expressed in Unix format, and to some extent depends on the configuration of your system. In many cases an OpenVMS path like DKA0:[MYUSER.DEVFILES.MYPROJECT] will be specified like this:
/DISK$DKA0/MYUSER/DEVFILES/MYPROJECT/
But your system may require something different. To determine the value of the remote path we recommend using an application such as WinSCP or FileZilla to make an SFTP connection to the system and user account, and then determine the path based on what you see in that application.
Specify a semi-colon delimited list of file patterns to be matched and replicated. For example if you want to replicate all files with DBL, DEF and INC file extensions to the remote system then your search spec would look like this:
*.DBL;*.DEF;*.INC
Here is an example command:
C:\> "C:\Program Files\Synergex\SFTPSync.exe" VMSDEV1.MYDOMAIN.COM MYUSER MYPASSWORD "C:\MY DEV FILES\MY PROJECT" /DISK$DKA0/MYUSER/DEVFILES/MYPROJECT/ *.DBL;*.DEF;*.INC
To remove SFTPSync from your system, then first ensure that you have closed the application, then use the Windows control panel to remove the application.