File handling configuration

The File Handling configuration options include file block size, overwrite rules, symbolic link handling, and filtering patterns.

  1. Start the application with root privileges.
  2. Click Configuration > File Handling.

  3. Edit Global , Groups, and Users settings on their File Handling tabs. Select Override in the option's row to set an effective value. User settings take precedence over group settings, which take precedence over global settings.

File Handling settings reference

Field Description Values Default
Run File Validation at File Start Validate files by using the specified method when a file transfer starts (before file transfer starts). For more information, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events. uri, lua_script, or none none
Run File Validation at File Stop Validate files by using the specified method when file transfer is complete and file is closed. For more information, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events. uri, lua_script, or none none
Run File Validation at Session Start Validate files by using the specified method when a transfer session starts. For more information, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events. lua_script or none none
Run File Validation at Session Stop Validate files by using the specified method when a transfer session ends. For more information, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events. lua_script or none none
Run File Validation when Crossing File Threshold (Validation Threshold) Validate files by using the specified method when the transfer session surpasses a set number of kilobytes (threshold). The threshold must be specified by editing aspera.conf. For more information, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events.
Note: For threshold validation, the file transfer might complete before the file threshold validation response comes back. Because ascp doesn't pause file transfers during file threshold validation, a complete file transfer might happen even with validation failure.
 uri, lua_script, or none none
Base64-Encoded Lua Action Script For Lua API validation, the path to the base64-encoded Lua script. This value or File Path to Lua Action Script must be defined if any of the following values are set to lua_script:
  • Run at File Start
  • Run at File Stop
  • Run at Session Start
  • Run at Session Stop
  • Run when Crossing File Threshold
If both, this option and File Path to Lua Action Script, options are defined, this value is ignored. For more information on inline file validation, see Inline file validation and Automated execution of Lua scripts with transfer Events.		 Base64-encoded string Blank
File Path to Lua Action Script For LUA API validation, the path to the Lua script, or the Base64-encoded Lua script. For more information, see Inline file validation. Filepath Blank
File Create Mode Set the file creation mode (permissions). If specified, create files with these permissions (for example, 0755), irrespective of File Create Grant Mask and permissions of the file on the source computer. Only takes effect when the server is a non-Windows receiver. Positive integer (octal) Undefined
File Create Grant Mask Set the mode for newly created files if File Create Mode is not specified. If specified, file modes are set to their original modes plus the Grant Mask values. Only takes effect when the server is a non-Windows receiver and when File Create Mode is not specified. Positive integer (octal) 644
Directory Create Mode Set the directory creation mode (permissions). If specified, create directories with these permissions irrespective of Directory Create Grant Mask and permissions of the directory on the source computer. Only takes effect when the server is a non-Windows receiver. Positive integer (octal) Undefined
Directory Create Grant Mask Set the mode for newly created directories if Directory Create Mode is not specified. If specified, directory modes are set to their original modes plus the Grant Mask values. Only takes effect when the server is a non-Windows receiver and when Directory Create Mode is not specified. Positive integer (octal) 755
Read Block Size (bytes) Set the maximum number of bytes that can be stored within a block as the block is being transferred from the source disk drive to the receiver. The default of zero causes the Aspera sender to use its default internal buffer size, which might vary by operating system. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera sender, which only takes effect if the sender is a server. Positive integer, where 500 MB or 524,288,000 bytes is the maximum block size. 0
Write Block Size (bytes) Set the maximum bytes within a block that an ascp receiver can write to disk. The default of zero causes the Aspera receiver to use its default internal buffer size, which might vary by operating system. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver, which only takes effect if the receiver is a server. Positive integer, where 500 MB or 524,288,000 bytes is the maximum block size. 0
Number of I/O Read Threads Set the number of threads the Aspera sender uses to read file contents from the source disk drive. It takes effect on both client and server, when acting as a sender. The default of zero causes the Aspera sender to use its internal default, which might vary by operating system. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera sender. Positive integer 0
Number of I/O Write Threads Set the number of threads the Aspera receiver uses to write the file contents to the destination disk drive. It takes effect on both client and server, when acting as a receiver. The default of zero causes the Aspera receiver to use its internal default, which might vary by operating system. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver. Positive integer 0
Number of Dir Scanning Threads Set the number of threads the Aspera sender uses to scan directory contents. It takes effect on both client and server, when acting as a sender. The default of zero causes the Aspera sender to use its internal default. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera sender. Positive integer 0
Number of Metadata Threads Set the number of threads the Aspera receiver uses to create directories or 0-byte files. It takes effect on both client and server, when acting as a receiver. The default of zero causes the Aspera receiver to use its internal default, which might vary by operating system. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver. Positive integer 0
Number of Worker Threads Set the number of threads the Aspera sender and receiver use to delete files. This is a performance-tuning parameter. Positive integer 0
Sparse File Checking
  • Set to true to enable sparse file checking, which tells the Aspera receiver to avoid writing zero blocks and save disk space.
  • Set to false to tell the Aspera receiver to write all the blocks. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver.
 true or false false
Behavior on Attr Error Set behavior for when operations attempt to set or change file attributes (such as POSIX ownership, ACLs, or modification time) and fail. Setting to yes returns an error and causes the operation to fail. Setting to no logs the error and the operation continues. no or yes yes
Compression Method for File Transfer Set the compression method to apply to transfers. It applies to both the client and server. lz4, qlz, zlib, or none lz4
Use File Cache Set to true (default) to enable per-file memory caching at the data receiver. File level memory caching improves data write speed on Windows™ platforms in particular, but uses more memory. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver.

Use a file cache on systems that are transferring data at speeds close to the performance of their storage device, and disable it for system with very high concurrency. Memory utilization grows with the number of concurrent transfers.

 true or false true
Max File Cache Buffer (bytes) Set the maximum size allocated for per file memory cache in bytes, see Use File Cache. The default of zero causes that the Aspera receiver uses its internal buffer size, which might be different for different operating systems. This is a performance-tuning parameter for an Aspera receiver. Positive integer 0
Resume Suffix Set the file name extension for temporary metadata of files that are used for resuming incomplete transfers. Each data file in progress has a corresponding metadata file with the same name, plus the resume suffix that was specified by the receiver. Metadata files in the source of a directory transfer are skipped if they end with the sender's resume suffix. Text string .aspx
Symbolic Link Actions Set how the server handles symbolic links. For more information about the actions and the interaction between the server configuration and the client request, see Symbolic link handling. Combinations of values are logically ORed before use. For example, use none alone to mean skip, and shut out other options; when both follow and follow_wide are set, the latter is recognized. none, create, follow, follow_wide, or any combination delimited by commas follow,create
Preserve Attributes Set the file creation policy.
  • Set to none to not preserve the timestamps of source files.
  • Set to times to preserve the timestamp of the source files at destination.
Note: For Limelight storage, only the preservation of modification time is supported.
none or times Blank (use the client setting)
Overwrite
  • Set to allow to allow Aspera clients to overwrite existing files on the server, when the file permissions allow that action.
  • Set to deny so clients who upload files to the server cannot overwrite existing files, regardless of file permissions.
 allow or deny allow
File Manifest
  • Set to text to generate a text file receipt of all files within each transfer session.
  • Set to disable to not create a File Manifest.

The manifest file is a file that contains a list of everything that was transferred in a transfer session. The file name of the File Manifest itself is automatically generated based on the transfer session's unique ID. The location where each manifest is written is specified by the File Manifest Path value. If no File Manifest Path is specified, the file is generated under the destination path at the receiver, and under the first source path at the sender.

 text, disable, or none none
File Manifest Path Specify the location to store manifest files. Can be an absolute path or a path relative to the transfer user's home.
Note: File manifests can only be stored locally. Thus, if you are using S3, or other nonlocal storage, you must specify a local manifest path.
 Text string Blank
File Manifest Suffix Specify the suffix of the manifest file during file transfer. Text string .aspera-inprogress
Pre-Calculate Job Size
  • Set to yes to enable calculating job size before the transfer.
  • Set to no to disable calculating job size before the transfer.
  • Set to any to follow client configurations.
yes, no, or any any
Convert Filepath Characters Convert specific characters in filepaths before transmission. For example, the following command replaces all instances of the characters: <replace_illegal_chars>*?|^/\":'&</replace_illegal_chars> Single-byte, nonrestricted character Blank
File Filter Pattern List Exclude or include files and directories with the specified pattern in the transfer. Add multiple entries for more inclusion or exclusion patterns. To specify an inclusion, start the pattern with + (+ and a white space). To specify an exclusion, start the pattern with - (- and a white space). Two symbols can be used in the setting of patterns:
  • A * (asterisk) represents zero to many characters in a string. For example, *.tmp matches .tmp and abcde.tmp.
  • A ? (question mark) represents a single character. For example, t?p matches tmp but not temp.

For more information about specifying rules, see Using filters to include and exclude files.

This option applies only when the server is acting as a client. Servers cannot exclude files or directories that were uploaded or downloaded by remote clients.

 Text entries Blank
Partial File Name Suffix Set the file name extension on the destination computer while the file is being transferred. When the file is transferred, the file name extension is removed.
Note: This option only takes effect when it is set on the receiver side.
 Text string Blank
File Checksum Method Set the type of checksum to calculate for transferred files. The content of transfers can be verified by comparing the checksum value at the destination with the value that is read at the source. For more information, see Reporting checksums. any, md5, sha1, sha256, sha384, or sha512 any
Async Log Directory Set an alternative location for the IBM Aspera Sync log files. If empty, log files go to the default location, or the location specified by the client with -R. Filepath Blank
Async Log Level Set the amount of detail in the Aspera Sync server activity log. disable, log, dbg1, or dbg2 log
Async Snapdb Directory Set an alternative location for the Aspera Sync snapshot database files. Filepath Blank