The best replacement for symbolic links is hard links.

The best alternatives to symbolic links are rated as following:
★★★★★  hard links
★★★  shortcuts
★★  junctions
★★  junction points

Your alternative for symbolic links is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about symbolic links, one probably shouldn't forget about scp.

Other search terms related to symbolic links and their ratings are:
★★★★★ scp
You have in mind a companion for symbolic links and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of symbolic links in all years. Click on graph for more.
symbolic links
hard links
shortcuts