Set up Outpost Sync

This page turns on Outpost Sync for the people you choose. When you finish, each of them has an Outpost Sync folder on every Windows computer they sign in to, with the storage quota and version history you set.

Before you begin

• You need the profile:manage permission.
• The people are listed under Users, which happens once they have signed in to an endpoint. See End users.
• Their computers run Windows 10 version 1709 or later, or Windows Server 2019 or later. Sync does not run on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD.
• Decide where the files are stored. Unless you name a destination, Sync uses the client’s default storage 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, so add one first.
• On the MSP plan, open the client’s workspace first. Profiles belong to one client.

Sync is not a backup. A file deleted on one computer is deleted on all of them. Keep Outpost Backup on for these computers.

Create a Sync profile

1. Go to Profiles > All profiles and select New profile.
2. In Name, enter a name, such as Outpost Sync: finance team.
3. Select Create profile. The profile opens on its Settings tab.

For each setting below, find it on the Settings tab, select Set in this profile, enter the value, and select Save on the setting.

Turn Sync on

Set sync.enabled to on.

If any profile that applies to the person at the same rank sets sync.enabled off, Sync is off for them. A mandatory off cannot be turned on by a narrower profile.

Set the quota and history

1. Set sync.quota_bytes to the most storage one person’s folder may use, in bytes. The default is 10737418240, which is 10 GiB. 0 means no limit. Previous versions and the recycle bin count toward it.
2. Set sync.max_versions to how many previous versions of each file to keep. The default is 10.
3. Set sync.version_retention_days to how many days previous versions and deleted files are kept. The default is 30.

When a person’s folder reaches its quota, their computers pause uploading until there is room again: raise the quota, or wait for retention to remove old versions and deleted files.

Set network behavior

• To cap upload bandwidth, set sync.upload_limit_kbps in kilobits per second. Downloads are not limited, because a person is waiting for them.
• To pause Sync on connections Windows reports as metered, such as a phone hotspot, set sync.allow_metered to off. The default is on.

Choose the destination

Leave sync.storage_profile_id empty to use the client’s default destination.

To store one group’s files somewhere else, such as a bucket of their own, set sync.storage_profile_id to that destination’s id. The setting takes the id, not the name, and Settings > Storage does not show ids. Read the publicId of each destination from GET /api/v1/storage/profiles, which needs storage:manage. See the API. A Windows network share cannot hold Sync files.

Assign the profile and make it active

1. Open the Assignments tab and select Assign this profile.
2. In Applies to, choose Person, User group, or Whole client, and choose the target. Sync follows the person only, so an assignment to an endpoint, a site, or a device group does not change Sync.
3. Select Assign.
4. Open the Overview tab, set Status to active, and select Save changes.

What the person sees

The next time the person signs in to a Windows endpoint, an Outpost Sync folder appears in their user profile. In the tray app, the Sync view shows how much is synced and pending, their storage use, and when it last synced, with Open Folder, Pause Syncing, Choose Files to Keep Offline…, and Download All Files. See Use the tray app.

The view always says why Sync is not syncing:

Status	What it means
Up to date	Every change has synced.
Syncing	Files are uploading or downloading.
Off	Sync is not on for this person.
Paused	The person paused Sync on this computer.
Paused by IT	An administrator paused it.
Storage full	The person’s folder is at its quota.
Metered	The computer is on a metered connection and sync.allow_metered is off.
Disk full	The computer does not have enough free space.
Offline	The computer is waiting for a connection.
Needs attention	Something needs fixing. The view says what.

Verify

1. Go to Users > All users and open the person.
2. Select the Sync tab.
3. The Outpost Sync card shows On, with the profile that turned it on. Where it is stored, History kept, Upload limit, and On a metered connection show the values you set.
4. After the person signs in and the folder syncs, their computer is listed under Devices, with Last synced and Up to date.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Cause	Fix
The Sync tab shows Off with Not set by any profile (catalog default)	No active profile that reaches the person sets sync.enabled.	Check the assignment and the profile’s status.
The Sync tab shows Off with a profile name	A profile turns it off for this person, or for a group they are in.	Remove the setting from that profile, or change its rank.
No computer appears under Devices	The person has not signed in to a Windows endpoint that can run Sync since it was turned on.	Check the computer’s Windows version. Sync needs the Windows Cloud Files API.
The tray shows Storage full	The folder is at its quota.	Raise sync.quota_bytes, or lower sync.version_retention_days or sync.max_versions so less history is kept.

Next steps

• Manage a user’s Sync files
• Outpost Sync policy settings