MOVEit Automation can replicate the contents of two folders to ensure that the files and folder structures remain in sync. Any two folders on the MOVEit Automation local hard drive, other Windows servers/shares, FTP servers, FTPS servers, SFTP servers and/or MOVEit Transfer servers can be involved in a single synchronization task.

Folder sync operations are configured in special "synchronization tasks". Instead of the sources and destinations found in a traditional task, a synchronization task consists of "Folder A", "Folder B" and a "sync direction" arrow. Possible sync directions include "one-way" and "two-way", and there are additional options that control whether or not certain deletions or extra files are permitted.

Synchronization tasks are scheduled like traditional tasks and may be event-driven if their folders are on hosts that permit file notifications. Next actions elements are also permitted and a special "[SyncReport()]" macro is available to summarize actions taken by synchronization tasks.

Synchronization tasks may also be configured to only transfer (and/or exclude) particular folders and files based on name, extension or size.

What Synchronization Tasks Do That Traditional Tasks Do Not

Synchronization tasks can:

  • Delete files and folders from one folder if MOVEit Automation notices they have been deleted from another folder.
  • Replicate (add and trim) empty folder structures. (Traditional tasks only create folder structures, and do so only if files are present in them.)
  • Respond to file and folder create, delete and rename events. (Traditional tasks only react to file create or rename events.)

Synchronization tasks also automatically deal with concepts such as "new files" and "creation of 'destination' subfolders if necessary" so many of the settings that deal with such things on traditional task sources and destinations are not found on synchronization task folder A and folder B configurations.

What Traditional Tasks Do That Synchronization Tasks Do Not

Traditional tasks can:

  • Run processes.
  • Delete/rename/move files on sources after copying them to destinations.
  • Rename downloaded files and folders before writing or creating them on destinations.
  • Pull from multiple destinations in a single task.
  • Push to multiple destinations in a single task.
  • Work with AS1, AS2, AS3 and SMTP/POP3 (email) sources and destinations.
  • Select source files based on specific date criteria (such as "older than 60 days").
  • Handle "blind" downloads (typically through FTP servers that do not provide directory listings).
  • Zip or unzip simple files.
  • Issue per-file FTP commands.
  • (perform several other rarely-used options)