rsync - Jun 2006 - NON-empty module, - but always 'received 0 names', 'recv_file_list_done', but always get 'total size is 0'?

hi, guys, as per subject. I've been working hard (searching hard,
trying hard, googling hard) at trying to find a solution to the
abovementioned problem, but nothing.

I have several non-empty modules, all of which have files inside -
NON-empty modules - but i have always failed to be able to rsync. Why?

This is the behaviour:
-----------
# rsync -vvv localhost::a .
opening tcp connection to localhost port 873
opening connection using --server --sender -vvv . a
received 0 names
recv_file_list done

sent 4 bytes  received 9 bytes  26.00 bytes/sec
total size is 0  speedup is 0.00
_exit_cleanup(code=0, file=main.c, line=1298): about to call exit(0)
-----------------

Troubleshooting steps taken/Diagnostic checklist items done:
- i am root, and root has access to the module
- doing 'rsync localhost::' verifies that the module name is valid.
- tried doing rsync from another host with a different version of
rsync. No luck, same problem.
- doing 'rsync localhost::a' gives a list of the files in the module
# rsync localhost::a
drwxr-xr-x         512 2006/06/03 07:51:24 .
-rw-r--r--           8 2006/06/03 07:51:29 file1
-rw-r--r--          10 2006/06/03 07:51:35 file2
-rw-r--r--         127 2006/06/03 07:52:07 file3
- doing 'rsync -vvv localhost::a .' however copies nothing! Instead,
it reports that '
received 0 names
recv_file_list done
' (see above behaviour report as well)
- just for luck, tried 'rsync -vvv localhost::a ./', 'rsync -vvv
localhost::a/ ./' (and other permutations) as well. Nothing.
- searching on google produced nothing useful.
- took a look at rsyncd's log file. Nothing useful:
2006/06/03 07:58:06 [1401] rsync on a from localhost (127.0.0.1)
2006/06/03 07:58:06 [1401] sent 107 bytes  received 65 bytes  total
size 145 =>*note - i still see nothing! and i get get a larger count
of bytes than this
2006/06/03 07:58:41 [1420] connect from localhost (127.0.0.1)
2006/06/03 07:58:41 [1420] rsync on a from localhost (127.0.0.1)
2006/06/03 07:58:44 [1423] connect from localhost (127.0.0.1)
2006/06/03 07:58:44 [1423] rsync on a from localhost (127.0.0.1)
- finally, tried rsync over ssh - that works, but i really would like
to be able to use module names

Here's my rsyncd.conf -
---------------
# rsyncd.conf - Example file, see rsyncd.conf(5)
#

pid file = /var/run/rsyncd.pid

uid = nobody
gid = nobody
#use chroot = yes
#max connections = 4
#syslog facility = local5
#refuse options = delete
log file = /var/log/rsyncd.log

[etc]
        path = /etc/

[a]
        path = /tmp/a
-----------

Am i missing something here? Pls help.

thanks,
-jf

On Sat, 2006-06-03 at 16:53 +0800, Jeffrey Lim wrote:
> # rsync -vvv localhost::a .
> opening tcp connection to localhost port 873
> opening connection using --server --sender -vvv . a
> received 0 names
> recv_file_list done
> 
> sent 4 bytes  received 9 bytes  26.00 bytes/sec
> total size is 0  speedup is 0.00
> _exit_cleanup(code=0, file=main.c, line=1298): about to call exit(0)
The root of the module is a directory, and it is being skipped because
you didn't give -r, --recursive.  Use -r.

------------------------------
Comments for rsync developers:

The sender should say "skipping directory ." or something useful
instead
of merely sending an empty list.  (For some reason, it does so only if
the module name is given with a trailing slash.)

There's more strangeness where this came from!  "rsync
localhost::module" gives a nonrecursive listing, while "rsync
--relative
localhost::module" lists only ".".  Implying --list-only in
"rsync foo/"
results in the "skipping directory" message, while passing --list-only
results in a nonrecursive listing.  What are the semantics of listing
supposed to be?

Matt