[ I did an hour or so of searching before posting, but that doesn't mean I missed something painfully obvious ... if I did just post me a link and move me along :) ]
... SUMMARY:
I want to be able to, as simply as possible:
* Synchronize user-generated content (comments, etc) from a Production server (on hostgator) down to my local Staging server (synology NAS). This step needs to be pulled by the Staging server, not pushed by the Production server.
* Synchronize staged changes (modules, photos, etc) that have been tested on my Staging server to my Production server. My wife will be using the Staging server to upload photos and add comments on them, so it isn't -just- database copies that need to be replicated. If possible ... this should have a web UI function for publishing the staging server so that she can do it rather than my needing to do it for her.
IDEAL: Bi-directional scheduled synchronization of the the content on the Staging server and Production server for content like comments, photos and possibly vocabulary. I don't want views, pages or modules to be bi-directional though, those should only be pushed from the Staging server to the Production server.
* A method for sync my Staging server environment "down" to my Dev area as well as a method for pushing Dev changes up to Staging.
... BACKGROUND: