rsync is a utility for transferring and synchronizing files between a computer and a storage drive and across networked computers by comparing the modification times and sizes of files. It is commonly found on Unix-like operating systems and is under the GPL-3.0-or-later license.
In computing, a symbolic link is a file whose purpose is to point to a file or directory by specifying a path thereto.
The ln command is a standard Unix command utility used to create a hard link or a symbolic link (symlink) to an existing file or directory. The use of a hard link allows multiple filenames to be associated with the same file since a hard link points to the inode of a given file, the data of which is stored on disk. On the other hand, symbolic links are special files that refer to other files by name.
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file systems, as well as user interface elements such as the taskbar and desktop.
File synchronization in computing is the process of ensuring that computer files in two or more locations are updated via certain rules.
Compared with previous versions of Microsoft Windows, features new to Windows Vista are numerous, covering most aspects of the operating system, including additional management features, new aspects of security and safety, new I/O technologies, new networking features, and new technical features. Windows Vista also removed some others.
Windows Vista introduced a number of new I/O functions to the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. They are intended to shorten the time taken to boot the system, improve the responsiveness of the system, and improve the reliability of data storage.
Robocopy is a command-line file transfer utility for Microsoft Windows. Robocopy is functionally more comprehensive than the COPY command and XCOPY, but replaces neither. Created by Kevin Allen and first released as part of the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit, it has been a standard feature of Windows since Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
NTFS links are the abstraction used in the NTFS file system—the default file system for all Microsoft Windows versions belonging to the Windows NT family—to associate pathnames and certain kinds of metadata, with entries in the NTFS Master File Table (MFT). NTFS broadly adopts a pattern akin to typical Unix file systems in the way it stores and references file data and metadata; the most significant difference is that in NTFS, the MFT "takes the place of" inodes, fulfilling most of the functions which inodes fulfill in a typical Unix filesystem.
SyncToy was a freeware tool in Microsoft's PowerToys series that provided an easy-to-use graphical user interface for synchronizing files and folders in Windows versions XP, Vista, 7 and 10. It was written using Microsoft's .NET Framework and used the Microsoft Sync Framework.
Microsoft Sync Framework is a data synchronization platform from Microsoft that can be used to synchronize data across multiple data stores. Sync Framework includes a transport-agnostic architecture, into which data store-specific synchronization providers, modelled on the ADO.NET data provider API, can be plugged in. Sync Framework can be used for offline access to data, by working against a cached set of data and submitting the changes to a master database in a batch, as well as to synchronize changes to a data source across all consumers and peer-to-peer synchronization of multiple data sources. Sync Framework features built-in capabilities for conflict detection – whether data to be changed has already been updated – and can flag them for manual inspection or use defined policies to try to resolve the conflict. Sync Services includes an embedded SQL Server Compact database to store metadata about the synchronization relationships as well as about each sync attempt. The Sync Framework API is surfaced both in managed code, for use with .NET Framework applications, as well as unmanaged code, for use with COM applications. It was scheduled to ship with Visual Studio 2008 in late November 2007.
A roaming user profile is a file synchronization concept in the Windows NT family of operating systems that allows users with a computer joined to a Windows domain to log on to any computer on the same domain and access their documents and have a consistent desktop experience, such as applications remembering toolbar positions and preferences, or the desktop appearance staying the same, while keeping all related files stored locally, to not continuously depend on a fast and reliable network connection to a file server.
XYplorer is a file manager for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11. XYplorer is a hybrid file manager that combines features found in navigational and orthodox file managers. In addition to dual folder panes it features a file tree and a tabbed interface supporting drag-and-drop between tabs and panes. The program used to be available as Pro and Free versions. The Free version is still available as a feature-limited freeware version. The "Pro" was then dropped and just known as "XYPlorer". The program is available in a fully featured trialware version.
This is a comparison of online backup services.
Synchronize It! is a file synchronization software which allows users to compare and synchronize folders that can be stored on the same computer, on different computers, in archives or on FTP sites. Various synchronization modes (actions) and comparison rules are available.
GoodSync is a backup and file synchronization program. It is used for synchronizing files between two directories, either on one computer, or between a computer and another storage device or between a computer and a remote computer or server.
This is a list of file synchronization software for which there are Wikipedia articles.
OfflineIMAP is IMAP synchronization utility software, capable of synchronizing mail on IMAP server with local Maildir folder or another server.
Microsoft Entra Connect is a tool for connecting on-premises identity infrastructure to Microsoft Entra ID. The wizard deploys and configures prerequisites and components required for the connection, including synchronization scheduling and authentication methods. Entra Connect encompasses functionality that was previously released as Dirsync and AAD Sync. These tools are no longer being released individually, and all future improvements will be included in updates to Entra Connect.
