Configuring Symbolic Links

This section describes how Aspera handles symbolic links in IBM Aspera Sync. Both client-side and server-side handling can be configured using the command-line options and the aspera.conf file respectively.

Client-Side Symbolic Link Handling

Client-side handling of symbolic links is configured from the following IBM Aspera Sync command line:

SHORT-FORM OPTION: $ async -n option
LONG-FORM OPTION: $ async --symbolic-links=option

The following section describes the possible configuration options:

Option	Description
copy	Create (or update) the link at the destination. (Not valid for Windows source or destination.) This is the default option.
follow	Follow symbolic links and transfer the linked files. (Skip, if the source is Windows.)
skip	Ignore the symbolic link.

Server-Side Symbolic Link Handling

The following section describes how Aspera handle symbolic links in IBM Aspera Sync based on settings configured in the aspera.conf file. The aspera.conf file can be found in the following location:

/opt/aspera/etc/aspera.conf

The following configuration options are set in the <file_system> section of the aspera.conf file:

  <file_system>
    <symbolic_links>list_of_comma-separated_options</symbolic_links>
  </file_system>

Note: If no option is specified, the configuration defaults to create, follow.

Option	Description	Client Behavior	Server Behavior
create	Create symbolic links with arbitrary targets. This is option set by default.	Disallowed if not configured. Note: Servers running on a Windows platform will always reject such a request, regardless of the option configured.	Symbolic links are always copied to the server if the client requests.
follow	Follow symbolic links with targets inside docroot. If at any point the path goes outside the docroot, Aspera Sync will not complete the transfer. This is option set by default.	Symbolic links are always copied to the server if the client requests. Note: If the docroot is a symbolic link and is specified as the source or destination: As the receiver, follow the target widely (no docroot constraint) and unconditionally (regardless of symbolic link action(s) configured/requested).
follow_wide	Follow symbolic links with arbitrary targets, even if the targets are outside the docroot.	Disallowed if not configured, except for Windows servers. Follow symbolic links anywhere without docroot constraint. Note: If the docroot is a symbolic link and is specified as the source or destination: As sender, follow the target unconditionally (regardless of symbolic link action(s) configured/requested).
none	Take no action with the symbolic link.