Replicating folders between servers

This article describes how to replicate a folder between two or more servers. Sometimes it might be useful two have a folder replicated between two or more servers to provide the users connected to a server at one location with faster access to the folder contents than having them connecting to a different server in a different location.

Overview:

1. Install and configure the first server

To setup and configure the first server for folder replication:

Follow our Server Installation Guide and Server Configuration Guide to setup and perform the basic configuration of the first server.
Login to the web interface using the admin account.
Click on Accounts, then click on Create User.
Choose a name and password for the user account.
This account will be used later on for the second server to connect to the first one.
Click on Folders, then click on Create Folder.
Choose a name for the folder and enter the storage directory path, where the folder should be located. Click on Create afterwards.
For folders with a lot of files, it may take some time for the folder to be fully indexed by the server. Until then it will show no contents.
Click on Settings and set the Archive drop-down to None.
Click on Share and enter the user created above. Click on Save afterwards.
Click on Members and change the permission of the user created above to Owner.
Done. Now proceed with setting up and configuring the second server.

2. Install and configure the second server

To setup the second server for folder replication:

Follow our Server Installation Guide and Server Configuration Guide to setup and perform the basic configuration of the first server.
Stop PowerFolder Server.
Open the Server Configuration File of the first server and copy the below entries to the Server Configuration Fileof the second server.
1. Folder entries for the folder(s) you want to replicate from the first server:
```
f.<folder_identifier>.archive=FULL_BACKUP
f.<folder_identifier>.commit-dir=
f.<folder_identifier>.dir=C:\\ProgramData\\PowerFolder\PowerFolders\\MyReplicatedFolder
f.<folder_identifier>.dlscript=
f.<folder_identifier>.id=[<folder_id>]
f.<folder_identifier>.name=My Replicated Folder
f.<folder_identifier>.preview=false
f.<folder_identifier>.sync-patterns=true
f.<folder_identifier>.syncprofile=true,true,true,true,1,false,12,1,m,Auto Sync,true
f.<folder_identifier>.versions=0
```
  The easiest way to identify the group of entries which needs to be copied to the config of the second there is to search for the folder name and copy/paste all entries starting with the same prefix as the search match result.
  Make sure you only copy the entries for the folders you really want to replicate. Don't copy and paste all folder entries!
2. Network ID:
```
networkid=<network_id>
```
Add/replace the below entries to make the second server connect to the first one with the user created above:
```
server.connect.password=password
server.connect.username=username
server.host=server1.example.com
server.nodeid=<first_servers_nodeid>
server.url=http://server1.example.com:8080
```
Make sure you replace all values with the corresponding values matching your first server's hostname and web URL as well as the username/password created while configuring the first server. Furthermore the server.nodeid should be set to the value of the nodeid parameter in the Server Configuration File of the first server.
Start PowerFolder Server.
Done. The second server should now start to replicate the folders specified/configured in the above procedure.

To check the synchronization status click on Devices and then select the second server.