(Kubuntu 12.04.5 LTS rsync version 3.0.9 protocol version 30)
I rsync the data ('data master') partition of my main machine to the
global ('local global repository') partition, and this global partition
to two other remote ('remote global repository') partitions, nightly.
local -> global, global -> 2 x remotes. This is done via cifs - i.e. no
daemons involved. (mount //remote/dest /mnt/remote/dest, rsync /src
/mnt/remote/dest)
I have for the longest time been seeing '.L..t......'s in my rsync log,
despite no changes to such in quite some time, and in trying to track it
down, been baffled.
Only yesterday did I notice (man rsync):
(1) -l, --links copy symlinks as symlinks
(2) -l, --links
When symlinks are encountered, recreate the symlink on
the destination.
The aha moment was tracking the word 'recreate'!
Sanity check please: rsync DOES NOT COPY links just as it would any
other file, it recreates them (at each creation / change detection)?
If so, could 'man rsync', (1) above, please s/copy/recreate/? I might
have picked up on things rather earlier than I did. [i.e. rsync mirror
... doesn't. At least for how I think of 'mirrors' - lose the local
disk, pop the remote disk into the local machine, get on with your day.]
(Queue head change of what rsync is. Not so much complaining, I get
rsync is what it is and it's a good thing, just need to change how my
head is wrapped around it.)
So, sanity check please:
- I create a symlink locally.
- next time rsync is run, it duplicates the link on the remote, DATED AT
THAT TIME OF (remote) LINK CREATION.
- subsequent rsync's detects a time difference between local vs remote
symlinks, so again duplicates the link on the remote, DATED AT THAT TIME
OF (remote) LINK CREATION. (This re-copying, er, link recreation, occurs
ad infinitum.)
Am I understanding this correctly?
(It's what I'm seeing.)
How do I stop this repeat entry in my logs?
In googling, I can see, and have used, tar to work around this. However,
I also keep seeing that rsync can be used instead of things like cp -ad,
for just this sort of thing. (Except, I'm using rsync and seeing this
sort of thing.)
rsync change request, please: When it creates that remote symlink, could
rsync please change the date/time to match that of the symlink from
which it's 'copying'? (Just like it does for any other file.)
Have I described / understood the above correctly / does it hold water?
If it is not expected that links would be recreated at every run, any
observations as to in what way (parameters likely used) I might be doing
myself in?
Thanks for listening, and thanks for your thoughts.