About the Data Inventory

During the Data Inventory, each Session Member performs a Local Inventory. This means identifying all the files and directories contained in the selected data sources and transferring this information to the other members.

The Data Inventory is complete when all Local Inventories are finished. Each Session Member then has the Local Inventories of each other member.

The Local Inventory is an optimized process unique to ByteSync. It is based on the analysis of the local data according to the Session Settings and the information shared with the other Session Members.

Local Inventory in Cloud Session

This is how the process works:

1. Preliminary identification of all eligible data in the selected data sources.
2. Transmission of the preliminary identification to the other members.
3. Awaiting receipt of preliminary identifications from the other members.
4. Analysis of the preliminary identifications to determine which files are present on multiple inventories.
5. Depending on the Analysis Mode of the session and the preliminary file information, rsync signatures for files that are present on multiple data sources or multiple inventories are computed.
   If the Analysis Mode is set to Smart, the rsync signature is computed if the size or last write time of the files differs. If Analysis Mode is set to Checksum, the rsync signature is always computed.
6. When the rsync signature computation is complete, the Local Inventory is sent to other members.

Local Inventory in Local Session

In a Local Session, there is only one Session Member. There is no data exchange, neither with the ByteSync server nor with other clients.

The Local Inventory process is as follows:

1. Preliminary identification of all eligible data in the selected data sources.
2. Analysis of the preliminary identification to determine which files are present on multiple inventories.
3. Depending on the Analysis Mode of the session and the preliminary identification, the rsync signatures of files present on multiple data sources are computed.
   If the Analysis Mode is set to Smart, the rsync signature is computed if the size or last write time of the files differs. If the Analysis Mode is set to Checksum, the rsync signature is always computed.
4. When the rsync signature computation is complete, the Local Inventory is finished.

Starting the Data Inventory

Before the Data Inventory is started, the display area differs depending on the case:

• In the case of a Local Session, the [START DATA INVENTORY] button is displayed (A).
• In the case of a Cloud Session, on the client of the first Session Member, the [START DATA INVENTORY] button is displayed (A).
• In the case of a Cloud Session, on the clients of the other Session Members, a label asks to wait for the first Session Member to start the inventory (B).

Click [START DATA INVENTORY] to start the Data Inventory. At this point:

• The Local Inventory starts simultaneously on each of the Session Members.
• The Session Settings are no longer editable.
• The data sources are no longer editable.
• In the case of a Cloud Session, it is no longer possible to join the session. If a Session Member leaves the session, the session goes into an error state and stops.
• The Data Inventory area then displays the Local Inventory monitoring.

Monitoring the Local Inventory

The Local Inventory monitoring area is divided into 3 parts:

• The left side shows the overall status of the inventory. The inventory is complete when both the identification process and the analysis process are completed.
• The middle section shows the identification process. It lasts until every directory and every file is discovered.
• The right part shows the analysis process. It is during the analysis phase that the rsync signatures of the files are calculated.

At any time, it is possible to stop the Data Inventory by clicking on the [ABORT] button. In the case of a Cloud Session, all Local Inventories will be stopped.