On another list I saw this posted, suggesting that rsync is
unreliable. Any
commments?
Michael Tsai, the developer of SpamSieve, and others, have found
rsync to be unreliable. From the scuttlebutt I've heard, I'd avoid
it like the plague. Also, avoid Apple's .Mac Backup app, apparently
it can wipe disks/data during a restore...
On the other list, the poster came back with the following when his
assertion was challenged:
rsync on the Mac has been modified, rsync's robustness is in question
in the context of Mac usage.
Michael Tsai's woes: http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/05/01/random-tiger-
notes/
I can barely remember to put pants on in the morning, I don't
remember where else I've read about rsync woes... I'd check
Macintouch, MacFixIt, MacNN, et al.
So, it's not rsync per se at fault, but an rsync implementation on
Mac OS. Further, rsync on Mac OS 10.4. Further, a switch specific to
Mac OS has created problems for one user. To quote from Michael
Tsai's blog:
"A Mac-savvy rsync was, for me, one of the most anticipated features
of Tiger. Unfortunately, it’s been unreliable so far. Nearly every
time I use it to sync a large folder using the -E flag, it either
crashes or stops with an internal error."
Hardly woes. Hardly a reason to "avoid it like the plague".
I'm obviously feeling feisty 'cause this assertion has bugged me more
than it should.
Anyway, I've used rsync for some time and found it to be rock solid
(once set up correctly!). Further, I know of many people and
organisations using it in daily life without issue.
