Info before buying (SuperFlexible feats. & Amazon S3 info)

[syberjj]

Hello,

I have some questions about SuperFlexible before buying the license, it would be great if anyone can help me out with these.

1. Does SuperFlexible support resume of failed transfers? How do I set your software so that failed transfers won't restart at 0% every time?
2. What is the most efficient way of transfering files from one location to another (both windows at the moment)? Should I use a FTP server and which one is most compatible? Would Filezilla work? Is it best to have the server on the source or the destination? Should I use SFTP and would filezilla's SFTP work? i coul'nt get SuperFlexible to authenticate on Filezilla using SFTP. If I want files from location A to be sent to location B, can location A's FTP server point directly to the files that are in use or should there be 3 copies of the files: Location A, Location B and FTP storage?
3. Super Flexible supports md5 checksums right? How exaclty does this work? Would it create md5 checksums on the source (FTP server) and compare them to the downloaded files or do I need to create the md5 of each file manually and save it at the FTP server and then have SuperFlexible connect? How does this work on amazon S3?
4. If SuperFlexible is set up to check md5 would it also detect duplicated/moved files and be able to warn me and/or duplicate the files locally (or move them) avoiding a second transfer of the same file? (as well as for file re-naming, small changes to files where it should only send the changed data blocks and so on)
5. Advanced Sync: Would it be possible to create two-way-sync tasks that have a higher priority for one of the locations? For example:
   If any file at location A is changed: Sync all changes to location B
   If any file at location B is changed: Only sync changes to location A if NO file was edited
   This would be useful for music library syncronization tasks where, if the library file is edited, probably some file in the library also got edited (mp3 was renamed or something like that). In this case, if only the library is in sync and not the files, the player would be searching for file that were moved to another location. But it would still be nice to see changes from B to A when no one is using the player or editing any of the files at location A
6. I would use this software mainly to keep a file server in sync with another. But sometimes I would use it on my netbook or other devices. Which version would be best for this? Will the software start syncing on the netbook whenever it is not doing anything on the server transfers (which would have higher priority)? How does this work exactly?
7. How does SuperFlexible handle external drives (USB, firewire etc)? What happens if I set up a one way sync with file deletion propagation and then the source HD gets disconnected from the computer? Will it see all files as missing and delete everything on the other end? Will it detect when the HD gets plugged back in?
8. How does file versioning work? Does it store only the changed data blocks or keep full copies of the files? How can I get back to older versions?
9. How often do new versions of SuperFlexible get released? How often do users usually pay for a new license? What costs am I supposed to be expecting?
10. Can I upgrade my license from a single user professional license to some other version if it turns out not to be enough for my future needs? How much would this cost and will the "2 years of support" be renewed then?

Also, can anyone using amazon S3 give me any feedback on how it is working for you and with what costs you are coming up? I am thinking about using it but I have a large amount of data to keep in sync (about 250-500GB) and I am afraid it might become to expensive to host there. Any feedback would be nice.

Thanks in advance for answering such a big topic

PS: Forum feature list=1 is broken, only list=a is working, even shows up in the BBCode info page

[superflexible]

Does SuperFlexible support resume of failed transfers? How do I set your software so that failed transfers won't restart at 0% every time?

Yes, using the "Auto-Resume" checkmark from the Files tab sheet. But not via HTTP (such as Amazon).

What is the most efficient way of transfering files from one location to another (both windows at the moment)?

Yes, you can use FileZilla FTP, or SFTP ideally with the server software from http://www.bitvise.com/winsshd.

Is it best to have the server on the source or the destination?

Source, so you don't have any issues with timestamps of uploaded files.

If I want files from location A to be sent to location B, can location A's FTP server point directly to the files that are in use?

Yes.

[superflexible]

MD5s will automatically be used with Amazon S3 for every upload or download, so you do not need any options for that.

Some FTP servers support the MD5 command, and it will be used if you choose "Verify copied files" on the Files tab sheet or "Binary Comparison of Existing Files" on the tab sheet Comparison->More.

For servers that don't support MD5, you can install the ExtremeSync Remote Service on the server and it will make the MD5s. To use this feature, you will need the checkmark "Use Remotely Generated MD5 Checksums" in the profile (Comparison->More).

[superflexible]

If SuperFlexible is set up to check md5 would it also detect duplicated/moved files and be able to warn me and/or duplicate the files locally (or move them) avoiding a second transfer of the same file? (as well as for file re-naming...

No.

... small changes to files where it should only send the changed data blocks

Yes. We call this Partial File Updating. That is an entirely different topic though, because the MD5s are generated and stored for lots of small blocks in the file, as opposed to the entire file. See also

http://www.superflexible.com/partial.htm

.

[superflexible]

Would it be possible to create two-way-sync tasks that have a higher priority for one of the locations?

Not the way you need it. Take a look at the SmartTracking setings. Every file is treated independently from all the others.

I would use this software mainly to keep a file server in sync with another. But sometimes I would use it on my netbook or other devices. Which version would be best for this?

You will need the Professional Edition.

Will the software start syncing on the netbook whenever it is not doing anything on the server transfers (which would have higher priority)?

There is no prioritizing. You can schedule jobs and they will run when scheduled, or permanently in real time mode. You can specify if jobs should run in parallel or only one at a time.

How does SuperFlexible handle external drives (USB, firewire etc)?

Very well. You can specify the volume label instead of the drive letter, for example USBDrive:\

What happens if I set up a one way sync with file deletion propagation and then the source HD gets disconnected from the computer? Will it see all files as missing and delete everything on the other end?

No, it will not run the job and it will not delete anything.

Will it detect when the HD gets plugged back in?

It depends on the scheduling settings. It will either run the job when the next scheduled time occurs, or if you use the Monitoring options, it will perform a sync as soon as it sees the drive again.

How does file versioning work? Does it store only the changed data blocks or keep full copies of the files?

It can do both. Keeping only the changed blocks is called "Synthetic Backup", which combines Versioning, Partial File Updating, and Zipping. See also

http://www.superflexible.com/history.htm

.

How can I get back to older versions?

With the Restore Wizard. You can choose a target date, or choose older versions by right-clicking the file in the Sync Preview.

[superflexible]

How often do new versions of SuperFlexible get released?

Small updates around 1-3 times per week.

How often do users usually pay for a new license?

You will receive at least 2 years of free updates and upgrades. After that, when the next major version comes out, you will need to pay. Could even be 3 years from purchase date. The last payed upgrade was version 4, which was released early 2008. Version 5 was a free upgrade even for customers that were over the 2 years.

What costs am I supposed to be expecting?

The upgrade fee that may come up every 2-3 years would be 50% of the original license price.

Can I upgrade my license from a single user professional license to some other version if it turns out not to be enough for my future needs? How much would this cost and will the "2 years of support" be renewed then?

You pay the difference and yes the 2 years will start fresh.

[syberjj]

Well then, expect me to buy a license the next 24h

EDIT: Oh, just to clear things up. To use most of the features I listed (the ones you confirmed) I should get WinSSHD right (I would get v5)?

[superflexible]

You can also try free alternatives, such as OpenSSH for Windows or FreeSSHd etc.