UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

We have a UNIX box and Windows box on the same network but not part of the same domain. There is a hold file on the UNIX box that users need access to, however regulations limit FTP access. Is it possible to automatically copy any changes made to a folder on the UNIX box to a folder on the Windows box but not the other way around?

It's possible but I wouldn't reccomend it. Could you export this file with Samba instead? That way there'd never need to be any copying, people would just "see" the file through the share.

We use rsync for just that purpose - we have cygwin on Windows, and it plays unix host for rsync that runs as a cron job every 20 minutes on the UNIX box.

Corona's Samba suggestion is easier. But you have to do something restrict access to the mountpoint and all of the files under there, except the hold file. Assuming there are other files in the same directory.

The rsync method allows an easy way for finer access control if really is just a single file you want users to see. But it involves a lot more setup.

Another different option would be to do something like a read-only cvs/subversion repository and use the appropriate client on the pc side.

The folder itself is rather large 1.5 GB, 62,000 text files with more added every day. Any file older then three months is archived each month. Our users need access to many different files in that folder, which is why I'd like to replicate those files into the domain so they have access with out risk of deleting the originals.

Couldn't you just not give them write-access? UNIX-style user-group-world permissions still apply to files exported by samba.

Corona, I already passed that idea past my IT Manager, he didn't like it. That's what sent me in the direction of a copy of some sort. He likes this idea better since it also doubles as a back up for those files. We do a manual back up of the server each night, but if we were to have a crash in the middle of the day we'd loose any reports generated since the back up.