Syncplify Server! v6.2.3 released

Importance of this update: MINOR
Fixed
  • A glitch in the Linux installer (for x86 architectures) prevented installation on Ubuntu when more than one locale was installed in the OS, now the installation works properly
  • Block-list pagination didn’t work if you had more than 100 block-list items, now it works
Improved
  • Improved logging on connection rejection reasons and block-list addition reasons
  • CORS configuration now guarantees that the minimum functional values are always present

IMPORTANT NOTE: those who are running the “worker” system service under a different account (not System or LocalSystem) will need to re-configure the service to run under such account after upgrading from any version number <= 6.1.12)

Upgrading from v6.x.y is a simple and fairly automatic process: simply download the latest version from the official download page, and install it over the existing version, all of your settings and license will be kept.

If, instead, you’re upgrading from an older (v4/v5) version, you find the upgrade instructions in our knowledge base.

Thank you all for trusting our software with your secure file transfers!


Syncplify Server! v6.0.15 released

Today we released Syncplify Server! v6.0.15; here’s what’s new and improved in this version.

Importance of this update: NORMAL
Improved
  • CLI installer added a –repair command line argument to repair existing installations
  • CLI installer now does not overwrite your .toml files during maintenance (update/upgrade)
  • More settings are now adopted in real-time without requiring a restart of the “worker” system service
  • Implemented the statvfs@openssh.org SFTP protocol extension

Upgrading from v6.0.x is a simple and fairly automatic process: simply download the latest version from the official download page, and install it over the existing version, all of your settings and license will be kept.

If, instead, you’re upgrading from an older (v4/v5) version, you find the upgrade instructions in our knowledge base.

Thank you all for trusting our software with your secure file transfers!


Working on a command-line Windows installer

We’ve been made aware that some of our Syncplify Server! customers use Windows Server (2016/2019/2022) operating systems without the so-called “Desktop Experience”.

For these users we are specifically developing a command-line version of our installer, very similar to the one that already exists for Linux, through which you’ll be able to install, perform maintenance (update/upgrade), and uninstall Syncplify Server! in such environments.


So, so, so many ways to install Syncplify Server! V6

While Syncplify.me Server! v1 through v5 has always been a Windows-only software, thus coming with a single Windows-only installer, our new Syncplify Server! v6 will come with a variety of installation options:

The traditional Windows GUI Installer

This one requires no explanation. It’s the common way to install most software on Windows: a graphical “wizard” that guides the user through the process of deploying a software onto their operating system.

Syncplify Server! V6 – Windows GUI Installer in action

The only addition to the usual GUI experience is that this installer can be run with the /SILENT or /VERYSILENT command line parameters, to reduce or completely eliminate the graphical aspect of it (sometimes useful for automated deployments).

The cross-platform CLI (command-line interface) Installer

A 100% new addition to Syncplify Server!’s installation systems will be the CLI Installer. This one is to be run at command-line, and doesn’t have any graphical user interface, it provides all of its feedback in the Terminal (bash, fish, zsh, CMD, PowerShell, …).

Syncplify Server! V6 – CLI Installer in action

This CLI Installer is actually more sophisticated than the GUI one. In fact, not only it supports both Windows and Linux, but it is absolutely ideal for unattended/automated deployment, given that:

  • it can run with 5 different log detail settings (including a totally silent mode)
  • it can deploy the software from a local source (no Internet access) or always download the latest version from our servers at install-time
  • it can be easily integrated within various package management solutions
Installing via package managers

Package managers used to be a Linux-only prerogative until not long ago. Now Windows has a variety of package managers as well: Chocolatey is probably the most famous one, but recently Microsoft has introduced WinGet (Windows’ official package manager).

Given the course that software installations are taking, across all operating systems, it goes by itself that we had to add support for these package managers. So, yes, once Syncplify Server! v6 is released, you will find it in Chocolatey’s and WinGet’s repositories, as well as others to be announced as they are added to our list of officially supported ones.


V6 installation/update/removal on Windows (preview)

Installation, maintenance, and removal of Syncplify.me Server! has often been a semi-manual process all the way up to version 5.x (current version at the time this article is being written).

Version 6.0 aims to change that. We are streamlining the entire process, making it easier, fail-proof, and much more automatic than the past.

Here’s a short video that shows a fresh/new install of Syncplify Server! v6:

Here’s a short video that shows the typical maintenance and/or minor update (ex: v6.0.1 to v6.0.2, or V6.0.1 to v6.1.5) process:

And finally, here’s a short video showing the full and clean removal of the software:

Thank you! Looking forward to upgrade you all to V6 when it’s released. 🙂


V6 silent and/or automated installation (Windows version)

One feature that our customers have been asking for rather frequently is the ability to deploy Syncplify Server! with a certain degree of automation. It would be nice and useful, in fact, to be able to install the software, configure it, create some VFSs and users (etc…) all with a single command-line.

Well, Syncplify Server! v6’s installer will allow you to do just that.

The first step is to have your “master deployment” of Syncplify Server! somewhere, maybe on a test/dev server, so that you can create your configuration, VFSs, users (etc…) visually in the web UI. Then take a full backup via the built-in backup function in the SuperAdmin UI.

Once you have a backup file, installing a new Syncplify Server! machine/node with an identical configuration is just a matter of running the installer with the appropriate command line. Here’s an example:

.\ss6-setup.exe /saname="sa" /sapass="XXXXXXXX" /nodename="some-node" /bakfile="C:\mybak.zip"

The only details that are not extracted from your backup are the node’s name (of course, you’re installing a new machine after all) and username/password for a SuperAdmin profile, to make sure you can access your SuperAdmin web UI once the setup is done.

And if you’re running a “core” version of your Windows (without a desktop experience)? No worries, we got you covered. Just add /verysilent to the command-line:

.\ss6-setup.exe /saname="sa" /sapass="XXXXXXXX" /nodename="some-node" /bakfile="C:\mybak.zip" /verysilent

Of course the /verysilent command-line option can be used also for fresh/blank installations, without necessarily having to initialize the software from an existing backup:

.\ss6-setup.exe /verysilent

This should cover most of the frequently required cases. 🙂