One thing to add: When this problem shows up, it seems rsync tries to get all the CPU time on the sending side: 93-98%. Even ssh can only get between 2 and 5% of CPU time. Even though rsync is not growing in memory, top shows nevertheless that it really gets almost every second of CPU time. What is it doing with it when it's not sending the data out to the network ? Mermgfurt, Udo -- Udo Wolter | /"\ email: uwp@dicke-aersche.de | \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN www: www.dicke-aersche.de | X AGAINST HTML MAIL dark: heaven@lutz-ziffer.de | / \