Data Replicator - Technical Overview and Specifications

Data Replicator is designed for a client/server environment. The Data Replicator program is installed on a Solaris, Linux, or Mac OS X server and replicates files from a number of clients to the server at specific times or time intervals. Clients can be any machine running an FTP server, or that shares files through the SMB protocol. The majority of computers ship with one of these services either available or enabled by default (free utilities are available for most platforms for those machines without FTP or SMB services). SMB is the native file sharing protocol of all Windows machines, while FTP is the most common file sharing service on Unix platforms, including Solaris, Linux, and Mac OS X. By utilizing these industry standards, the setup and administration of Data Replicator is simplified, as individual client machines are often already configured and therefore, only the Data Replicator server must be setup and administrated to replicate files.

The limiting factor to the number of clients Data Replicator can support is the amount of disk space attached to the server. The minimum amount of disk space is equal to the size of the data to replicate. However, because of Data Replicator's optional archiving feature, more space is often needed as multiple versions of files are kept on the server according to the number of archives the administrator wishes to keep. Multiple inexpensive servers with limited storage can be used as Data Replicator servers through a tiered approach, in which each server replicates a small workgroup of machines, and several servers replicate other Data Replicator servers. The tiered approach also allows Data Replicator to easily scale along with it's environment.

Data Replicator Technical Specifications

Requirements

Requires Mac OS X v.10.0 or later.

Hardware Considerations

Though Data Replicator for Mac OS X can run on any Mac OS X machine, it is ideally suited for Apple's Xserve.

Supported Clients

Windows NT/2000/XP pro, Windows 95/98/Me/XP, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X (Mac OS 9 and prior are supported through free third party utilities)

Client Communications

TCP/IP

Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The "Built for Mac OS X" graphic is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., used under license.

Supported Platforms

Solaris (2.5, 2.6, 7, and 8) on both Sparc and Intel platforms, including 64-bit Sparc

Hardware Considerations

Hardware that adequately runs an appropriate version of Solaris and Apache will run Data Replicator. The number of clients and the amount of data to be replicated should be considered when purchasing hardware, especially storage.

Supported Clients

Windows NT/2000/XP pro, Windows 95/98/Me/XP, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X (Mac OS 9 and prior are supported through free third party utilities)

Client Communications

TCP/IP