Machine A, Windows Server 2003. Machine B, Ubuntu 9.04.
Aim is to copy new and updated files only automatically as fast as possible from A to B. B can mount A either as CIFS or NFS (Services for Unix NFS server running on A). This is an absolutely time critical operation.
What is the best way of achieving this? Can inotify work over CIFS or NFS?
Note: benchmarked NFS vs CIFS and CIFS was faster and there was less variance in the speed (haven't tuned the NFS setup at all)
Best Answer
If you are really stuck using a linux box as the destination then run services for unix on the 2003 box and export the filesystem to the ubuntu box (NFS). If you need to copy the files to another filesystem there you will have to write a script to move them. Quickest possible would be to simply mount the windows filesystem at the proper location on the ubuntu system and not copy them at all.
I've found that the windows NFS support is more stable then the linux cifs support.