Introduction

It is possible with Lena to synchronize partitions/folders accessible through the server on which LES is installed with drives/folders in Lena. This gives the possibility to:

  • Quicky import existing files in Lena, only the metadata are first imported and allow to work on theses files through Lena, the rest of the data is uploaded in background.
  • Keep a local mirror copy of files stored in Lena on a local server.
  • Enable parallel access to files either through a local network share and Lena — be careful though, this configuration has some drawbacks and should only be use as a transition (see below).

Prerequisites

  • To have the permission Full administrative privileges
  • To have LES installed and configured (see LES installation)

Mount points configuration

Mount points to be synchronized LES-side and Lena-side have to be defined first.

Start by clicking on the icon in the task bar then click on :

The click on the Enterprise Server icon in the side-left menu ① and on Add a synchronized folder ②.

It is then possible in the next screen to navigate among partitions accessible through the server on which LES is installed. Navigate to the partition/folder to be synchronized and right-click → Mount “/local/mountpoint/” in Lena:

Navigate to the drive/folder to synchronize on Lena's side and right-clik on it → Attach to “/distant/mountpoint/”:

The two folders are then linked and it is possible to adjust two parameters:

  • The synchronization type (both-ways by default, see hereafter).
  • The possibility to not synchronize specific subfolders on LES' side.

Synchronization types

There are two types of synchronization available between LES and Lena:

  • One-way synchronization (Lena → LES) : in order to keep a mirror copy of a Lena's drive/folder on a local server, every change made on Lena's side is replicated LES-side.
  • Both-ways synchronization: every change made on one side is replicated on the other.

Both-ways synchronization opens up interesting possibilities:

  • The quick import of an existing network share in Lena. In this case, all metadata of file s present LES-side but not yet in Lena are quickly imported and the corresponding file can the immediately used through Lena (the raw files' data is uploaded in background). Whenever the raw data of a file accessed through Lena has not yet been uploaded, Lena asks LES to send it this file's data to open it.

Warning

To have a double access (network share/Lena) can be useful especially during a transition phase from a network share to Lena but it has two major drawbacks:
  • The network share access bypasses Lena's data leak prevention features (see Protect sensitive file/folder).
  • Concurrent accesses to a same file through both channels (network share/Lena) can create synchronization conflicts and lead to “erratic” behaviors. Note that even in that case, LES tend to favor the local file and that Lena's version can always be retrieved.