How to use rsync from Windows PC to remote Linux server?

Question

How do I use the rsync command from a local Windows 7 machine to a remote Linux server?

What software is needed on the Windows 7 machine to use rsync?

The remote Linux server is using Amazon's Linux AMI. The command rsync is already enabled on the machine and I can edit any needed access to the machine.

This is for the purposes of setting up a web server on the remote machine and the editing on my local machine and keeping the files in sync.

I do not want two-way access between the machines, I am only going to be editing files on my local machine and keeping them updated on the remote machine.

UPDATE:

I installed cygwin on my Windows 7 machine and installed the rsync package. Can someone provide the steps to set up the connection from the Windows 7 machine to the Linux server remotely?

Say I want to have a folder called C:\www on my Windows machine and keep it updating\var\www on my remote machine, how do I do that? It's not a backup per se, it updates the files that I edit with my local computer.

Answer 1

One option could be to install rsync by installing cygwin on windows. There's probably a much more direct approach for that.

Another option could be to rsync from the linux side - you could set up a means for the remote machine to access local files, and then rsync from over there.

I suspect there are better options still, but maybe that'll help a bit.

Answer 2

Lifehacker has a great article on rsync for the PC.

Seems like lifehacker recommends Cygwin as well.

There's a instructionable on this here as well: http://optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au/help/rsync/rsync_pc1.html

Answer 3

If you want a free app that bundles cygwin and rsync with a nice graphical interface, have a look at Deltacopy:

http://www.aboutmyip.com/AboutMyXApp/DeltaCopy.jsp

• Incremental backup - Copies part of the file that is actually modified
• Task scheduler - Profiles in DeltaCopy can run based on a schedule
• Email notification - Administrators can receive email confirmation on successful as well as failed transfers
• One-click restore - Backed up files can be easily restored.
• Windows friendly environment - No need to manually modify configuration files or play around with command line options.