Unison
NAS Recovery - Unison
Unison is an open-source file synchronization tool that can run on and synchronize between Windows and many UNIX-like operating systems including Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris. Unison is written in Objective Caml (Ocaml) language.
Unison allows file synchronization between two directories, either on one computer or between a computer and a storage device. The files can be modified separately, and the changes can be propagated from each replica to the other.
Unison uses rsync algorithm, which transfers only the parts of the file that have been changed. It does not require copying the whole file. This method is faster, and so it is ideal for slower links.
Advantages
- Unison allows file synchronization across multiple platforms. For example, a Windows laptop may be synchronized with a UNIX server.
- Unison easily detects discrepancies in synchronization. It detects conflicts when a file has been modified on both sources and intimates the user about it.
- Unison does not require root privileges, system access or kernel changes to function.
- Unison has a clear and precise specification. It carefully handles replicas and its private structures, so it is resilient to failure.
- Unison communicates over TCP/IP protocol, so any two machines with an internet connection can be synchronized. Data transferred can be secured via an encrypted ssh connection.
Unison allows the same version of files to be maintained after synchronization. In other words, when two files with different versions are synchronized, Unison maintains the most current version of the file on both the devices.
