There are few better options than the rsync algorithm for synchronizing files over a network. Why? The rsync algorithm is a proven and reliable method for determining which parts of a file have been modified while transferring the least amount of data necessary.
SmartFile recently released our Sync API, which provides the rsync algorithm over an HTTP transport. This is a good marriage; HTTP provides encryption, compression and ubiquity while rsync provides faster transfer time for files. Currently, our Python API client fully supports the Sync API, support for other languages is forthcoming. Our implementation is compatible with the Open Source librsync binary format, so it is easy to utilize the Sync API without implementing the rsync algorithm from scratch.
Our customers have been asking how our Sync API compares to other Sync APIs. The biggest difference is that our API is a low-level API, meaning it does not provide any services beyond the three basic rysnc algorithm steps: signature, delta, patch. Utilizing a low-level API is simple and flexible, however, many implementation details are not addressed (such as conflict resolution, merge replication which would require a database of some sort).
Think of the Sync API as the first step towards providing a full synchronization solution. Expect more and more pieces of the synchronization puzzle to be layered on top of the Sync API. Meanwhile we cannot wait to see what our customers build using this new functionality!
What have you built using the the Sync API? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
