Bug#90032: on-the-fly TAR doubles ftp download of 'boot-floppy'
Package: boot-floppies
Version: 2.2.20.0.1-2000-12-03
Invoking ncftp recursively to get disks-i386:
----
ncftp /debian/dists/stable/main > get -R disks-i386/
Note: NcFTP is using on-the-fly TAR on the remote server, which retrieves
the entire directory as one operation. This allows you to preserve exact file
timestamps, ownerships, and permissions, as well as a slight performance
boost.
If you would rather retrieve each file individually, use the "-T" flag with
"get". TAR mode cannot be resumed if the transfer fails, so if that happens
try "get -T" to resume the directory transfer.
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Looks like I should have used that -T flag since this method is not handling
the symlink properly, and 'current' is filling up with the same files as
2.2.20.0.1-2000-12-03, which either means that your ftp server is treating
the symlink as a hard link for this purpose and building the tar twice as
big as needed, sending everything twice, or that ncftp is just making that
mistake on this end, and just writing everything twice. Not knowing which
server you're using, I'd suggest looking for options to either preserve
symlinks or disable on-the-fly TAR. Even if the problem is in the ncftp
client, disabling on-the-fly TAR on your server, or providing workaround
instructions on your Website, might be good. Or just getting rid of the
'current' symlink.
Having just had the download stall, I can't tell you what the final size of
it would have been (which would tell us which end the primary problem is
on).
\/\/ I-I I T
Blauvelt
whit@transpect.com
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