Failure to install btsync

[rodgoslin]

Some while back, I installed btsync beta. I played with it a bit, and it did what it said on the box. At that time, I had no particular use for it. Now, I have, but it does not appear in the Mga 5 repositories. I did, however find a copy, elswhere. It failed installation for a reason I've not seen before, as below

[root@down incoming]# urpmi btsync-1.4.110-1.mga5.nonfree.x86_64.rpm


installing btsync-1.4.110-1.mga5.nonfree.x86_64.rpm
Installation failed: btsync < 1.4.111 is obsoleted by (installed) task-obsolete-5-109.1.mga5.tainted.noarch
[root@down incoming]#

is this particular application not acceptable to mageia?And why? it seems a perfectly allowable function to fulfill a need.

[richardwest]

It IS in the repos, you have got "nonfree" enabled?

Tested and it installed here no prob.

Code: Select all

[root@localhost richard]# urpmi -q btsync
Package btsync-1.4.110-1.mga5.nonfree.x86_64 is already installed


[rodgoslin]

Ah. having re-installed the OS, recently, I'd forgotten to adjust the Software Manager options from "GUI packages" to "All". That corrected btsync is there. But I'm no further on on installing this packe I get:-

1 installation transactions failed

There was a problem during the installation:

btsync < 1.4.111 is obsoleted by (installed) task-obsolete-5-109.1.mga5.tainted.noarc

The same message as I had from my earlier attempt to use urpmi options on the command line. I did note that earlier there was a routine update that referred to "task-obsolete-5" whatever this is. It's something I've not met before. Perhaps I should uninstall task-obsolete-5, if someone could explain what it does.

[rodgoslin]

I've just googled on the subject, and came across this

Basic items
Name task-obsolete
Version 5
Release 109.1.mga5.tainted
URL
Group System/Base
Summary Meta package obsoleting old packages
Size 73KB
Arch noarch
License GPLv2+

Description
This package is used to obsolete packages that are no longer supported.

I've no objection to the idea, but it's just rejected an install from the repository, so one of them has to be wrong. The rpm I downloade is the same as the one in the repository and task-obsolete rejected both. Since btsync, by its inclusion in the repository would appear to be supported, how do I get the thing installed?

[richardwest]

Have you tried uninstalling task-obsolete? I note that I haven't got it installed.

[rodgoslin]

I've given it some thought. But I'm a bit reluctant to take it out, since I'm not sure why it was put there to start with. I was hoping someone could tell me. Something that stops you from installing a package that's obsolete is a bit pointless unless it also tells you what is the right (current) version.

[jiml8]

btsync is up to 2.3.6; what is in the repos is very out of date.

I just installed it a week ago because now I have a use for it. I installed the version in the repos, had a problem, so downloaded the latest from bittorrent.com and installed it. It works without issue, though I do need to set up my own service/scripting to make it start when I want it to start. I have also deployed it on FreeBSD without issue, and an associate has deployed it on his Synology NAS without incident (which, by the way, is why I need it; he and I have decided to sync some of our project work to each other).

[ozky]

I try it time ago but dumped because it was unstable and buggy and other ways replace it more better way.
It's not going to be updated because it's dropped from Cauldron you need to anyway update it manually.

[rodgoslin]

ozky, perhaps your suggestion that BTsync has been dropped from mageia5, is why an obsolete verdion is in the repositories. If, as you suggest, there are better ways of syncing, perhaps you could mention them. I'm getting a bit desperatedte for a method of easily cloning my current machine onto a spare PC, as a just-in-case operation. It's a bit odd, that a Psion netBook, built some 16 years ago has an entirely adequate program for synchronising two machines, whereas Mageia in 2016, sees not to have any working programs to that end.

[richardwest]

Have a look at Luckybackup. It's in the repos. I think it is basically a GUI frontend for rsync.

[rodgoslin]

I've had a look at luckybackup. It looks very nice and has a manual which is at least written in a helpful manner. But, it's still not what I need. It will synchronise, but only sources directly connected to the host, even if only temporarily connected (as, say, a thumb drive). What I need is something which will sync with another machine over the LAN, and without action on my part. Perhaps on a scheduled basis. Then, if this machine falls over again, I can seamlessly move to the other machine, while I, once again tear this machine to bits and rebuild it. And no, I can't throw this one away, and use the other one. That one is an el-cheapo thing so tacky that I'm considering wearing gloves while working on it.

[richardwest]

If you mount the remote locally you may be able to use it.

why can't I declare my remote place ??

Today's file managers like nautilus, konqueror or dolphin have the ability to directly support some remote filesystem protocols such as smb/cifs or nfs.
You might be able to browse some remote places via your filebrowser but cannot find a way to declare those as source or destination.
This does not necessarily mean that the remote place is locally mounted. You can distinguish such a situation by observing the full path address of the remote folder. If it does not start with "/" but with eg smb:// then you are using the direct filesystem browser support.

The solution to this issue is to mount the remote place locally.
This involves, adding a line at the file /etc/fstab so that the remote directory can be visible under a specific mount point eg /media/my-Remote-Place/

I sync various folders across my lan but I haven't tried to sync a whole machine.

[ozky]

ozky, perhaps your suggestion that BTsync has been dropped from mageia5, is why an obsolete verdion is in the repositories. If, as you suggest, there are better ways of syncing, perhaps you could mention them. I'm getting a bit desperatedte for a method of easily cloning my current machine onto a spare PC, as a just-in-case operation. It's a bit odd, that a Psion netBook, built some 16 years ago has an entirely adequate program for synchronising two machines, whereas Mageia in 2016, sees not to have any working programs to that end.

No Mageia 5 have it still in repos it's dropped from Cauldron.
Every package is dropped first from development version then from next stable release,would be Mageia 6 from that version there is no more in nonfree btsync.
https://madb.mageia.org/package/show/ap ... ame/btsync
https://madb.mageia.org/package/show/na ... lication/0

[tarakbumba]

Hi. I dropped btsync from Cauldron due to it's closed source nature and includes high security risks for a user. We can not know in anyway that btsync connections are completely safe. See some info for this: http://2014.hackitoergosum.org/bittorre ... n-results/

[rodgoslin]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Rather a shame though. If btsync had worked, I'd have had a clone of this machine, when it bricked itself a couple of days ago, and recovery would have been quick and painless. As it stands, I've learned a lot about the fallibility of backups. Not that I needed reminding. When I had to work for a living, as systems administrator,, one of my responsibilities was tape backup. However, when a user asked us to recover a file he'd accidentally deleted, it took three days, and at the end we had still not recovered his file, from the n miles of tape.

Cheers.