The synchronization of the contents of each public folder is done by the same option as the structure sync. A new sync job can be created and when prompted about excluding contents one can choose NO so that contents will be processed. Alternatively, the existing sync job used for the structure sync can simply be modified to allow contents sync to occur.
In very large public folder deployments, it can be helpful to synchronize the contents of specific folders or subtrees in a prescribed manner instead of simply processing the hierarchy from the root folder. Priasoft allows for synchronization of a single folder, a subtree, or any mixture of the two up to and including the entire folder tree.
From a progress reporting perspective, it may be easier to report to stakeholders and concerned parties when specific subtrees have completed an initial sync. For example, if there are 25 root-level folders in the hierarchy, it may be easier to sync each root subtree one at a time and report back when each has completed.
The nature of the Priasoft sync processing is one that operates in a ‘horizontal’ fashion, meaning that it will work level by level versus drilling down a subtree before moving to the next. If one starts the sync at the root of the hierarchy, the processing will start with the first level folders and after those are completed would process the children of those folders (second level) and when those complete it would work on the third level folders and so on. This allows for the processing to be more closely relevant to the current state of the folders versus gathering the entire hierarchy all at once at the beginning and becoming out of date shortly after.
The content sync generally takes the most amount of time and the overall duration of this step is primary influenced by the total item count to be synchronized. Folder and item size have less influence than item count. Two folders of the exact same size but one where the second folder has 4 times as many items will take 4 times as long to complete.
Office 365 is also especially slow when compared to an on-premises sync. Office 365 has a combination of network latency (typically 30-50ms or more), throttling policies that cannot be adjusted, and the Internet that all influence performance. Also, as is typical with most organizations, Microsoft does maintenance and load balancing operations during weekend off-hour periods. Synchronization activities over those periods will often perform poorly as a result.
Priasoft multi-process and multi-threaded features help overcome some of the performance bottlenecks, but not all. Priasoft’s process tends to still be faster than Microsoft’s for these reasons.
For those more mathematically minded, some early forecasting of duration can be made though some guesswork. If the processing speed for contents were to run at 10 items per second and you have 5,000,000 items, it would take no less than 6 days to complete if the process were uninterrupted for the duration. Scoping in real-life variables like disconnects, maintenance, and changing loads one can pad the duration appropriately. The key metric then for any forecasting of duration is total item count.
Sync Tracking and Deltas
The Priasoft PF sync uses a proprietary method for linking source and target folders and items within the topic of synchronization. This linking is fundamental to the solution’s ability to process differences in one or both directions. When data is linked, special hidden properties are written to the folders and items that are ignored by Exchange and other products. The value of this approach is such that if one were to lose the sync processing computer the links between folders and items are not lost. It also means that there is no requirement for any additional database or service to be maintained, backed up, or monitored.
The side effect of this is that the concept of a ‘resync’ or ‘redo’ cannot be done without first clearing out the tracking info first. If, for example, data were sync to a target folder but to the wrong location and one wanted to ‘reset’ and start over a clearing of the tracking information would need to be done first. Without doing so the deletion of the ‘incorrect’ data would mean that the sync would want to perform the same action (delete) on the other side. The Priasoft PF Toolbox provides easy ability to select folder(s) for which to clear tracking information.
