Synchronization - Adding a New Synchronization Task

Before You Begin

Make sure the account MOVEit Central will use to authenticate to your sync folders enjoys the permissions described in the "Folder Permissions and Settings" section of the "Synchronization - Folders" documentation. Also make sure that related hosts are not using "blind downloads" or other traditional-task oriented features that could get in the way of synchronization.

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"Add New Task" Dialog

To add a new synchronization task, go to the "Tasks" tab and click the "Add New..." button. Choose "synchronization" (not "traditional") from the "Task Type" option. You will notice that the list of possible task elements will shift when you make this change. Check "Schedule" if you know when you want this synchronization to take place. Check "Next Action" only if you know what action you want to take every time this task completes.

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"Synchronization Options" Dialog

The next screen will ask you about sync options. Various combinations of "sync direction" and "sync delete" options can make a large difference in how MOVEit Central treats files and folders, but if you really just want MOVEit Central to make sure two folders contain identical folders and files, use the default options for either one-way ("--->") or two-way ("<-->") synchronization.

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Folder A Dialogs

Next, you will be asked to select which host Folder A is found on...

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...and will be asked to provide the exact path of Folder A on that host. You will also be allowed to define specific file and folder name masks (and/or exclusions) and file size restrictions.

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Folder B Dialogs

Next, you will be asked to select which host Folder B is found on...

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...and will be asked to provide the exact path of Folder B on that host. (Other options will mostly be mirrored from your Folder A definition, so there will be little else to configure here.)

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"Initial Run Options" Dialog

The "Initial Run Options" dialog that appears next is there to try to save you time by avoiding recopying files that may already exist on both Folder A and Folder B but have different date/times.

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Consider files whose name and size match to be identical - You may want to use this option if there are existing files on both Folder A and Folder B that you know are the same but whose last modified date may differ by months or years. (This is the default option.)
Consider files whose name and size match to be identical only if the timestamps on A and B are within X (units) of each other - This option resembles the previous "Consider..." option except it gives to the ability to say that files older than a particular age need to be copied even if they have the same name and size. (A setting of "0 minutes" really make this option behave like "Simply copy...")
Simply copy all files from A to B - This replaces all files on Folder B with fresh copies of files from Folder A. As the label suggests, this option takes the longest of any of the three options.

If Folder A or Folder B is empty, your selection will have no effect. Files with the same name on Folder A and Folder B but having different sizes will always be overwritten, regardless of your selection. (Your selection only affects existing files with the same name and the same size.)

"Preview" Dialog

Once you have selected your initial run options, a preview of the actual synchronization will be displayed. Pay special attention to files that you think ought not to be "recopied"; their sizes on Folder A and Folder B could be different or their modification date/times could be different by more than the value you allowed in the previous "initial run options" dialog.

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What happens next depends on which button you click.

OK - Saves your initial run options, asks if you want to start the task (usually, "Yes") and asks if you want to enable the task to allow the scheduler to run it automatically.
Change Initial Run Options - Allows you to change your initial run options to include/exclude more files from the initial copy step. This button will be visible on the Preview page only until you run the task for the first time.
Refresh - Refreshes the preview page with more recent information.
Cancel - Closes the preview window and leaves your new synchronization task disabled. Before enabling or running your new task, you should use the "preview" option to make sure all connectivity is in place and that synchronization will be occurring the way you intend it to happen.

More information about the preview dialog can be found in the "Synchronization Preview" section of this documentation.