openssh unix dev - Feb 2002 - feature request: add -a to scp for archive-style copy

This is a feature request for scp.  scp has no easy option to copy
symlinks, etc. to reproduce a directory tree.  The -r option follows
symlinks and reads the data out of device files when copying.  A few
years ago, the -a option was added to normal cp, replacing the
cumbersome and arcane

(cd wherever1 ; tar cf - whatever) | (cd wherever2 ; tar xpf - )

with

cp -a wherever1/whatever wherever2

Adding a -a option to scp would likewise eliminate the need for the
even more obscure but frequently-typed

ssh wherever1 -l whoever "(cd wherever2 ; tar cf - whatever)" | (cd
wherever3 ; tar xpf - )

Instead, it would be

scp -a whoever at wherever1:wherever2/whatever wherever3

(cpio fans can make the appropriate replacements).

The -a feature doesn't exist under Red Hat's openssh-2.9p2-12, and I
can't find release notes for any more recent version on openssh.org.
If it has been discussed or (!) implemented in 3.0.X, thanks!

--jh--

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, Joe Harrington wrote:
> This is a feature request for scp.  scp has no easy option to copy
> symlinks, etc. to reproduce a directory tree.  The -r option follows
> symlinks and reads the data out of device files when copying.  A few
> years ago, the -a option was added to normal cp, replacing the
> cumbersome and arcane
> 
> (cd wherever1 ; tar cf - whatever) | (cd wherever2 ; tar xpf - )
> 
> with
> 
> cp -a wherever1/whatever wherever2
> 
> Adding a -a option to scp would likewise eliminate the need for the
> even more obscure but frequently-typed
I like this personally, but I doubt main OpenSSH people agree.. partially 
because BSD make doesn't support 'cp -a'.

-- 
Pekka Savola                 "Tell me of difficulties surmounted,
Netcore Oy                   not those you stumble over and fall"
Systems. Networks. Security.  -- Robert Jordan: A Crown of Swords

Circa 2002-Feb-20 13:37:06 -0500 dixit Joe Harrington:

: This is a feature request for scp.  scp has no easy option to copy
: symlinks, etc. to reproduce a directory tree.  The -r option follows
: symlinks and reads the data out of device files when copying.  A few
: years ago, the -a option was added to normal cp, replacing the
: cumbersome and arcane
  [...]

'cp -a', to my knowledge, only works with the cp from GNU fileutils.

I recommend using 'rsync -a'---it does exactly what you ask.  In fact,
i recommend using rsync instead of scp for almost all cases, in
particular because it avoids potential problems with SSHv1/SSHv2
compatibility when one of the client/server pair is OpenSSH and the
other is SSH.com's.

-- 
jim knoble | jmknoble at pobox.com | http://www.pobox.com/~jmknoble/