The larger and more complex a data structure is, the longer the synchronization takes.
The number of directories and files and the complexity of the directory structure affect how long synchronizations take. The synchronization rate across any given system is generally constant.
For example, the Novell first-synchronization test took roughly one day to synchronize 10,000,000 files. Because we know that synchronization is linear, we know that a first-synchronization of 70,000,000 files would take about 7 days or one week.
Organizations can estimate how long it will take to synchronize their Net Folders by synchronizing a small, representative subset of their data (for example 50,000 files) and extrapolating from the results obtained, how long it will take to synchronize all of their Net Folders.
As you plan Net Folder management and synchronization schedules, keep in mind that subsequent synchronizations of folders and files take slightly longer than one third the time that first synchronizations do, depending on the number of files and folders that have changed.
When synchronizations are triggered, the files and folders that have changed take longer to synchronize than those that haven’t changed.
It is possible for subsequent synchronizations to take longer than the synchronization-check interval. When this happens, a new synchronization is scheduled before the previous synchronization has finished. As soon as the previous synchronization finishes, the new synchronization starts.
In such cases, the Filr deployment gets into a state where its resources are always tied up with synchronizations.
It is a good idea to avoid overlapping synchronizations by measuring how long a synchronization cycle requires, and then setting the synchronization-check interval to a longer period than that.
Test results showed that adding processors and RAM improves synchronization times.