With thanks to "Mike McHenry" who wrote the original "Rsync on NT" document.

This document assumes that you want to install rsync as a daemon on a Windows 2000 server, without installing the entire cygwin suite.

You will need the following files:

• cygpopt-0.dll
• cygwin1.dll
• rsync.exe

These are available from http://www.cygwin.com
A zip file containing the three files you need is available here.

From the Windows NT or 2000 Resource Kit.

• instsrv.exe
• srvany.exe
  These are available from Microsoft through TechNet subscription or equivalent (MSDN, Select.)

1. Place rsync where you want to run it from.
   (I usually use C:\program files\rsync)
   
   
2. Put the two dll's anywhere in the path, usually C:\winnt\system32.
   
   
3. From a shell running in the directory containing instsrv and srvany type:
   (Replace C:\DirectoryContaining\ as appropriate)

   	instsrv Rsync "C:\DirectoryContaining\srvany.exe"	
   	

4. You should now have a new service called Rsync and you can verify by looking in Start->Control Panel->Services
   DON'T START IT YET!
   
   
5. If you want to run rsync in daemon mode you will need a configuration file. Here is the one I use, call it rsyncd.conf and place it in the same directory as rsync
   (C:\Program files\rsync\rsyncd.conf)

   use chroot = false
   strict modes = false
   hosts allow = *
   
   [BackupArea]
   path = C:\rsync\
   read only = no
   

   This example configuration will allow anyone to use rsync to write to C:\rsync.
   (The command line would look somthing like "rsync -avz server::BackupArea", where server is the name of the server running the rsync daemon.)
   The first two lines are important for rsync to work on Windows.
   
   
6. You are going to need to hack some keys in the registry to make it work. Don't do this unless you are comfortable with the changes! Run regedit32 and add the following keys and values (quotation marks ARE IMPORTANT):
   
   

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet->Services->Rsync
       Edit->Add Key->  Key Name: Parameters
       Edit->Add Value->  Value Name: AppDirectory  Value: "C:\Program Files\rsync"
       Edit->Add Value->  Value Name: Application  Value: "C:\Program Files\rsync\rsync.exe"
       Edit->Add Value->  Value Name: AppParameters  Value: --config="C:\Program Files\rsync\rsyncd.conf" --daemon
   

   If you would like to add these keys automatically, download this reg file and run it to merge it into your registry: rsync-param.reg
   Remember, unless you trust me implicitly, read the reg file and make sure you understand what it's doing before you run it, I will not be held responsible for idiots.
   
   

7. That's it, you should be able to start and stop the rsync service at will using the Services Control Panel. When running with the above configuration you should be able to test by attempting to telnet to port 873 from a remote machine. telnet rsync.server.com 873 (replacing rsync.server.com with your own server's address) You should get a connection to the rsync daemon running on your NT box.