Outpost Sync
Outpost Sync gives a person one folder that is the same on every Windows computer you manage for them. They save a file on their desktop at the office and open it on their laptop at home, without their work going through a consumer file sharing service you do not control. The files are kept in Outpost Cloud Storage or your own storage, under the rules you set. This page explains how Sync works and what it does not do.
What the person sees
Section titled “What the person sees”When Sync is on for a person, each Windows computer they sign in to gets an Outpost Sync folder in their user profile. It has the same contents on every computer.
- Files download when they are opened. Files from other computers appear in the folder as soon as this computer learns of them, and their contents download the first time the person opens them. The person can choose files to keep on the computer for use offline, or download everything.
- Changes follow them. A file saved, renamed, moved, or deleted on one computer changes on the others. Each computer checks for changes every 60 seconds while it is online.
- It works offline. Changes made offline upload when the computer is back online.
- Nothing is lost when two computers change the same file. If a file changed on another computer before this computer’s edit reached Outpost, the edit is kept as a separate conflict copy, named after the computer.
The Sync view in the tray app shows whether the folder is up to date, how much of the person’s storage is used, and why syncing is paused if it is. See Set up Outpost Sync.
Who gets a folder
Section titled “Who gets a folder”Sync belongs to a person, not to a computer. Outpost knows a person from the Windows accounts that sign in to your endpoints, and lists them under Users. See End users.
Sync is off until a profile turns on sync.enabled
for the person. You assign Sync settings to a Person, a User group, or
the Whole client. Profiles assigned to an endpoint, a site, or a device
group do not change Sync. When the person signs in to any Windows endpoint that can
run Sync, their folder appears there.
Versions and the recycle bin
Section titled “Versions and the recycle bin”Outpost keeps previous versions of each file and keeps deleted files in a recycle bin, so a technician can put back a file a person overwrote or deleted. By default, Outpost keeps up to 10 previous versions of each file, and keeps previous versions and deleted files for 30 days. Both count toward the person’s storage quota, which is 10 GiB by default.
A technician restores versions and deleted files from the person’s Sync tab in the console. A restore changes the file on every computer the person uses. See Manage a user’s Sync files.
Where the files are stored
Section titled “Where the files are stored”Sync files go to a storage destination: the destination
sync.storage_profile_id names, otherwise the client’s default destination,
then the MSP’s default, then the Outpost server’s own disk. Outpost Cloud
Storage is the MSP’s default unless you set another. Home Lab uses your own
S3-compatible storage only.
Sync files are always encrypted at the destination with Sync’s own keys, whatever the destination’s encryption setting, and file and folder names are encrypted in the client’s database. Outpost holds the keys. That is what lets a technician with the right permission browse a person’s folder and restore files from the console. If a destination becomes unavailable, Sync pauses rather than writing somewhere else.
Sync is not a backup
Section titled “Sync is not a backup”Sync keeps a folder the same everywhere, so it copies mistakes everywhere too. A file deleted or encrypted by ransomware on one computer changes on every computer. The recycle bin and versions help you undo recent changes, but they are limited by retention and by the quota, and they cover only the Outpost Sync folder.
Use Outpost Backup to protect a person’s data. Back up the computers that hold their files, and keep backups on storage separate from the storage Sync uses.
Requirements and limits
Section titled “Requirements and limits”| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 1709 or later, and Windows Server 2019 or later. Sync is built on the Windows Cloud Files API. Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD endpoints do not run Sync. |
| Largest file | 100 GiB |
| Not synced | Symbolic links and junctions |
| File names | A name that is not valid on Windows, or that differs from another only by case, is not synced. It stays on the computer and is reported as an issue to fix. |
| Plans | Every plan. Home Lab uses your own S3-compatible storage. |
Endpoints report whether they can run Sync. One that cannot keeps working normally in every other way.
Permissions
Section titled “Permissions”Sync has three permissions, because seeing whether a folder is full is a support question, and reading the names of a person’s documents is not.
| Permission | Allows | Built-in roles that hold it |
|---|---|---|
sync:read | Whether Sync is on for a person, how much they store, which computers have the folder, and the Outpost Sync usage report | Owner, Support Manager, Field Technician |
sync:files | The file list, version history, and recycle bin of a person’s folder | Owner |
sync:manage | Restoring files and versions | Owner |
Related
Section titled “Related”Content is licensed CC BY 4.0. Code samples are MIT. Outpost and the Outpost mark are trademarks of Outpost Business Solutions, PBC and are not covered by either license.