Since files are fetched from the cloud as needed, you must be connected to the Internet to download files from .ĭropbox confirms this limitation in their FAQ as well: Implication #1: Files cannot be downloaded without an Internet connection Now that we understand how Smart Sync works, let’s highlight three implications of the technical architecture. The Minifilter and Dropbox.exe interact using Windows Interprocess Communication - a collection of technologies supporting communication between different programs. Windows makes the file available to the user.Dropbox.exe goes out to the Internet and downloads the file from.The Minifilter contacts the Dropbox.exe process and asks it to get the file.So when you request an “online-only” file not yet on your hard drive: The answer: Dropbox.exe - the process run when you launch Dropbox on your desktop. We don’t use system extensions to read or write filesĬlearly the Minifilter isn’t downloading the files from. We don’t use system extensions to parse any data in the filesystem We don’t use system extensions to make network requests However Dropbox says otherwise (the Minifilter is a “system extension”): Windows Interprocess Communication (IPC)Īt first, we thought that the Minifilter component did all the heavy lifting, downloading content as necessary. The next section examines how that works.ģ. Notepad displays the contents of the file.Windows next calls ReadFile, which returns the contents of the file.The Minifilter, seeing that the file’s contents have not yet been downloaded, arranges for the file’s contents to be retrieved from and saved on the local PC.But before invoking ReadFile, Windows intercepts the operation and notifies the Dropbox Minifilter that a program would like to read the contents of notes.txt.Notepad calls the Windows API ReadFile function to grab the contents of notes.txt.
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TXT files), passing it the full path to notes.txt.
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When you access a file in your Dropbox folder, demanding to see its content, a Windows Minifilter driver ensures that the file’s contents are quickly fetched from. Windows file system Minifilter driver technology Very efficient!īut what happens when you try to access the zero-content file? That’s where the next technology comes in…Ģ. As a result, you can see the file on your system but it consumes almost no space on your hard drive. So when you create a file on, the file’s information (its “metadata”) is immediately downloaded to your computer but none of the file’s contents are transferred in that operation. NTFS Sparse File functionality allows Dropbox to create an “empty shell” for any file - with all the usual information (name, size, etc.) but with none of the actual content. Smart Sync leverages a trio of Windows capabilities:
How Smart Sync works: Supporting technologies Indeed, Smart Sync has been a very popular feature since its debut in 2017.
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