MM - Version 1.2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HI! This program is intended for use as part of the backup strategy on a PC network. MM will create a "Mirror" of selected drive/folder on a destination path. Typically, the source path will be a network drive, and the destination path will be a local folder on a large local HD on client disk. Normally the program will run on a Win9x/NT client computer. The mirror or synchronization process has 2 phases: Phase 1 - Existing files on the destination path that no longer exist on the source path are DELETED. Phase 2 - Files on the source path are copied to the destination path, if they are not found on the destination path, or if they have different timestamp and/or size from those on the destination path. Please note that the destination path is overwritten by the contents of the source path, so it must be a DEDICATED FOLDER for this folder, and must NOT be something like C:\ . More info: ========== MM works in some aspects, like the command line: "XCOPY /C/D/H/E source dest", but the main difference is that MM can also delete files from the destination that no longer exist on the source. This can be important for maintaining a 1 to 1 backup copy as much as possible. MM is similar to the command line utility from the NT4 Resource Kit: "ROBOCOPY /PURGE", but the main advantages of MM are: * MM can run on a Win9x client. * MM can delete files to the recycle bin or move them to a special folder called "DELETED", under the destination folder. This gives you an important chance to salvage files, at the cost of disk space. (Of course ROBOCOPY has many other advantages over MM...) MM is mainly designed for small single server networks, assuming that at least one workstation has a new HD with enough spare capacity to hold an image of the most important server data. As a network administrator, you must be aware of the security compromise of having a copy of the data, and also take the actions to prevent users from accidentally working and saving files on the destination folder, since these files will be deleted and overwritten the next time MM runs. As of version 1.2, MM can run in batch mode. MM currently supports a single command line parameter: "/batch", which will cause the program to load settings from its ini file, do the mirror stuff, and then exit. Usage example: MM /batch Known issues: ============= * Running the mirror on a computer with Virusafe (ESafe) anti-virus ver 8.x might cause the workstation to restart the computer or a Win9x blue screen. This seems like a problem with the Anti-Virus when copying many files, since I have noticed similar behavior with other programs, and also might be due to the fact that the "VS.VSN" (signature file) is accessed and sometimes overwritten by the MM program, like any other file. There is no current suggested solution other then "Try and see" and if needed disable the AV, or configure it, or don't use MM. * When copying files from NT4 to WIN9X, the last modified time stamp of files might be not exactly the same, and in some files there is a difference of 1 or few seconds. This is obviously an OS issue and not a problem with MM, but it caused previous versions of MM to treat these files as modified and copy them again. In the current version there is a tolerance value of few seconds, so files with same name and file size, but slightly different time stamp will be skipped. BTW - MM ignores the "Archive needed" file attribute, this is by design. * If files exist in the destination folder and are newer then the source folder files, they will be overwritten. This is by design, to maintain as close as 1 to 1 copy on the destination as possible. The idea is that if for any reason you have restored old files to the source folder, the destination should have the same files. MM will add a warning message in the "status" window when copying older files, but will continue without prompting for confirmation. Future additions planned: ========================= * Specify more then one pair of source => destination folders. * Generate log files on disk. * Batch mode. * Bug fixes... * Users (like U!) requests. Version history: ================ ***** Version 1.2, Feb 2001 - + Basic support for batch files: This version supports only one command line parameter: "/batch" which will run the program using other settings from the INI file. + The INI settings file name will be displayed in the "Settings" pane. - At program startup, the keyboard focus will be in the "Status" window. This is to avoid accidental editing in the "Source Path" by novice users. - M changed its name to MM in this version. ***** Version 1.1, July 2000 - + Added the "Select Folder..." buttons. + Few additions to the readme file (This file). - Minor spelling mistakes fixed. ***** Version 1.0, June 2000 - + First major release. - Fixed a problem with previous beta versions that caused files that were not changed to be copied when no need. Contact: ======== Yizhar Hurwitz, Israel April 2000 yizhar@mail.com http://come.to/yizhar