Index of /examples/matlab/Tutorials/Archive/Previous/orig/misc/howto-sync-files

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Parent Directory		-
bin/	2021-04-16 08:59	-
dotfiles.zip	2014-10-24 05:45	4.0K

How to configure and run file-syncing macros in MobaXterm on Windows platform

Some MATLAB programmers prefer to develop codes on their own PC but run jobs on the SCC cluster. That requires upkeeping of multiple copies of the same file on the two platforms. Keeping these copies up-to-date requires effort and potentially create file sychonization issues which can lead to unintended consequences. Demonstrated below is a procedure to facilitate a more robust way to ensure files on the PC and the SCC are in sync.

The README file (you are reading it) explains and demonstrates the procedure for creating the necessary Linux configuration file to facilitate file syncing between a folder on your PC with another on the SCC.

Note that while a MATLAB example is used for demonstration, the procedure in general is not limited to MATLAB. Note also these notations throughout this page:

/home/mobaxterm or [...] -> PC window prompt
scc1$ SCC prompt
>> MATLAB workspace prompt

MobaXterm basics

Before we go on to the main topic, let's review the following MobaXterm file structure layout and naming. When you launch MobaX by clicking on the MobaX icon, the only window tab that appears, by default, is your /home/mobaxterm folder (the tab label indicates that).

Commonly, /home/mobaxterm points to /drives/c/Program Files (x86)/mobatek/mobaxterm Personal Edition/
Your PC's C:\Windows is accessible in MobaX with
```
 [...] -> cd /drives/c/windows
```
You can find out what drives are mounted on your PC with
```
 [...] -> ls /drives
 c  p  q  s  w  x
```
To access the C drive, enter
```
 [...] -> cd /drives/c
```
or
```
 [...] -> cd c:
```

Copy zip file from the SCC to your PC

Find out where your local PC matlab folder path is in MobaXterm representation. It should have the general form of /drives/c/windows/....
On the SCC, decide where you want to copy your PC's matlab folder over. Make note of the path (e.g., /usr3/graduate/userID/... or /project/project-name/userID/...).
Go to /home/mobaxterm
```
[...] -> cd
```

Copy dotfiles.zip from the SCC to /home/mobaxterm

[...] -> scp -rp yourUserID@scc1.bu.edu:/project/scv/examples/matlab/misc/howto-sync-files/dotfiles.zip .
dotfiles.zip    100% 4195     3.6KB/s   00:00

Unzip the dotfiles.zip file

[...] -> unzip dotfiles.zip
Archive:  dotfiles.zip
  inflating: .aliases
  inflating: .bash_profile
  inflating: README.html
   creating: bin/
  inflating: bin/mysync
  inflating: bin/rsync-test

Run the .bash_profile
```
[...] -> source .bash_profile
```
Make sure that the following command shows the path for mysync
```
[...] -> which mysync
/home/mobaxterm/bin/mysync
```
Go to the ~/bin directory
```
[...] -> cd bin
```
Use either MobaTextEditor (aliased to medit) or the vi editor to change the source and destination in the template mysync with your own
```
[...] -> medit mysync
```

Information on file syncing

The underlining script employed is rsync
Recommend to place all your scripts in the ~/bin folder (for example, mysync). Files residing in ~/bin can be conveniently executed from anywhere (on the same platform).
There are multiple ways to define your application scripts depending on the objective. If your goal is to always deal with a fixed PC and a fixed SCC folder, it is more convenient to hardwire the PC-SCC folder names into a specific script (such as mysync) to minimize typing and avoid potential typographical errors. On the oposite spectrum, the script syncAB expects you to provide the PC and SCC folder paths and names every time you run it.
The "-ra" options perform task recursively and preserves the original time stamp.
The "--update" switch is to update only files between PC and SCC that are found to have different time stamp and sizes. Unchanged files will not be transferred. As a result, the syncing process is more efficient if only a handful of files needed be updated.
To sync from the SCC to the PC, just reverse the order of the source and destination. Note that unless your PC has an internet address, the command must originate from the PC window.

Note: Research Computing Services (RCS) example programs are provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind. The user assumes the entire risk of quality, performance, and repair of any defects. You are encouraged to copy and modify any of the given examples for your own use.