Home Forums Discussions Problems Question regarding backup and synchronization

I'm a pretty savvy user of computers and AC, but I have some questions regarding synchronization between multiple computers. In particular, I am curious to know

(1) How long other users' "synchronizations" take on average (including and excluding the pre-synch backup)? My "Imported Items" folder is pretty enormous, alas, and so the compression stage of the backup seems to take forever, making the synch (including backup) take forever, too. I should add, too, that the size of the "Imported Items" folder prohibits including them in the offsite backup. Is this common?

(2) Can anyone (perhaps an AC employee) tell me just how savvy and robust the synchronization's algorithm is? For example, when it copies data from one computer to the other, does it copy only the data that's changed (i.e., detect files on the destination computer that are the same on the source computer and don't need to be copied) or does it simply copy over all data? As another example, can it handle changes being made to both computers? In other words, if I run the synch from the "server" computer to the "offsite" computer, then I make (non-overlapping) changes to each computer's database, then re-run the synchronization from the "offsite" to the "server," will I end up with a single, integral, healthy database that includes all of the changes?

Thank you for your help!

I am now investigating synchronization. No matter what items it check or uncheck on the setting button on the synchronizer it still copies all the import items to the backup folder on the server.

Having little or no import items one would not even notice but when you have 30 gig it will take forever. It seems to me the sync process is actually a little complicated for a base user. Im a pretty high end guy and just to set it up requires some savy. I figured out how to get the data over to the laptop to save time so when sync happens it willl have to sync very little data. The problem I am having is with the sync utility not perfoming as advertised. This utility has to be mad transparent to the end user who does not have that kind of savy.

My last sych took about 1 hour which includes about 3000 imported items. I also both the remote (laptop) and main database involved in making separate changes and it seemed to work well. Then return synch went quicker after my return. I use a 16gig flashdrive to do a complete back up several times weekly as I can't back up my imported items to AC due to size. It takes about 15 minutes to backup to flashdrive.

I talked with AC and discovered the Sync process is flawed. I found a bug and reported it to them.

The issues is when syncing the data to your laptop the sync app copies all import items to a directory on the server. That is what is taking so long. The check boxes on the sync app do not work when you uncheck do not sync import items.

The first time you sync to the laptop it should take a while since the laptop has no data and the data base and the import items all has to be copied across.

It is taking this long because it is making a copy of the import items. It should not do this unless you request it. The amount of data between what is added to the database on the latop and that on the server if others are using it, is minumal in a day's time. That said it should only take a few minutes to sync up the app.


If you have large import items you can get your data across quickly if you do the following. (Only do this right before you do your first sync. After that this is not necessary)

Disconnect all users from data base.

Stop Amazing Charts Service on server

Stop Amazing Charts service on your laptop

Copy these 6 files to the AmazingCharts installation directory on the server to you laptop (Amazing Charts.mdb, Codes.mdb, Meds.mdb, Amazing Charts.ldf, Codes.ldf and meds.ldf.

Copy the importitems to amazing charts directory on laptop.

Start Amazing Charts Service on server

Start Amazing Charts service on your laptop

Run Sync app