cwrsync and long file names issue

Question

I am trying to use cwrsync on my windows server to backup to my linux server, but am running into an issue where the file names become too long.

So a user on one of the systems will have a mapped drive to say T

On the windows server, that drive is in c:\shared-files\users\username\

Then in cwrsync, it has to specify the folder as /cygdrive/c/shared-files/users/username/

So what happens is that if the user goes to his T drive and creates a bunch of long named subdirectories with long named files, he is able to do so, but when I go to run the rsync, those names are now longer by about 30 characters or so.

How can I reliably back these files up using rsync and cwrsync?

Answer 1

It's been quite a while since I played with Cygwin but I think that you can create mount points. I'd set up a mount point with a shorter name.

Alternatively, you may be able to do something similar by using Windows Junction Points or links.

Ultimately, you are up against Windows restrictions on path lengths, something that drives us crazy in the mixed up world of Windows networking when combined with SharePoint.