Synchronizing files in Groove – to GFS or not to GFS

...that is the question

Many users have started to use Groove because of the handy way it takes a folder in your directory and shares that folder as a Groove space – synchronizing files between workspace members and computers. Many users have also gotten themselves into trouble using Groove File Sharing (GFS) workspaces by turning their My Pictures folder and My Music folder into GFS workspaces, breaking the hard limits Groove sets for workspace size and number of files number and causing all kinds of performance and application problems. When is the best time to use a GFS workspace? What are some alternatives to GFS? What should you do when you start seeing oddities in GFS workspaces?

GFS workspaces are quite handy. By clicking New Workspace and selecting Groove File Sharing workspace, you can turn your directory into a Groove workspace that sits outside of the application. You can then invite colleagues to the workspace and they will share your data. You can also have chats within these workspaces, and see the online status of members of the workspace. Other workspace members can choose where to put their local copy of the workspace once they have received an invitation. They can decide to place it on their desktop, sync with another folder, or choose a location that better suites them. (I personally place the workspaces under My Documents.)

These workspaces are also not encrypted. They are, security-wise, treated as any other Windows folder. Therefore, if something catastrophic happens to Groove, the folders can still be accessed through normal means. If something catastrophic happens to the computer, the folders can potentially be accessed through a backup of some sort (obviously this depends on the backup applications involved), or retrieved from another workspace member.

The down side to this is that the GFS workspaces can also be accessed like any other folder in your directory. Whether it be an intrusion via hack or virus, GFS workspaces are exposed like any other Windows folder– with the potential for the effects of such exposure being synchronized to all workspace members. However, data in GFS workspaces is transferred in an encrypted state. When a change is made to a file, that change is sent to the Groove application, is serialized for transport, sent out encrypted via Groove to the Relay, transferred from Relay to the receiving Groove client encrypted, decrypted by receiving Groove client, and sent to appropriate file / folder.

So while GFS workspaces are handy, they do have some risk involved. An alternative to GFS is a Standard Groove Workspace with a Files tool. In these workspaces, a Groove Files tool handles all documents and other files. It has the look and feel of a Windows folder as well as the capability to drag and drop files to, from, and within the workspace. The data is encrypted, so it is resistant to outside attack from hacker (unless they have your Groove password) or viral corruption. Data does not have to be encrypted and unencrypted to synchronize, so there are also performance advantages. Rules on the number of files, the size of the workspace, and types of files still apply, as they do in GFS. However, there is no limit to the number of Standard workspaces you can have in a Groove account, unlike GFS, where the hard limit is 64. The down side is that all the data is encrypted in the Groove application. If a catastrophic event happens, the Groove account is unavailable, and there is no other workspace member or computer that has the data, then the data is irretrievable.

Two other alternatives to GFS workspaces are Live Mesh– currently in Beta – and Office Live Spaces.

So if you decide to use GFS workspaces, what should you do if things start to go wrong? The first thing you should do is to look at the number of files in the workspace. While there is a hard limit of 5000 files per GFS workspace, the more files you have in the workspace, the more synchronization that needs to happen. Related to that is the size of the workspace. 2 GB is the hard limit. However, once you get to 1 GB, you should start thinking about removing files or splitting the workspace into smaller workspaces. Most problems with GFS workspaces are rectified by eliminating data or starting over with new – smaller -- workspaces. Also you will want to consider other items such as system resources (disk space, memory) and bandwidth (high speed or dial-up?) when troubleshooting GFS issues.

GFS workspaces are handy, and when used appropriately, can be useful. However you will want to consider carefully what the future of a GFS workspace looks like. If the workspace has the potential for large growth, consider if a GFS workspace is the right method for sharing this data. Think about the alternatives and what benefits they might have over a GFS workspace. If you are doing a smaller collaboration and need a way to share a limited amount of files, then the GFS workspace might just be the tool to use!

(Today's article is from guest contributer Gregg Johnston. For more information on GFS issues, check articles with the GFS tag.)