Unison and Godaddy Linux Hosting

Posted on by

For a while I have been struggling to find a way to use unison to sync local files with Godaddy web hosting storage space. Although the Godaddy server runs Linux, it does not have unison installed. I found several suggestions to use sshfs to mount the Godaddy home directory locally, and then use unison to sync the mounted folder. This approach is very slow because it requires a lot of extra data transfer, and, as others have also found, large sshfs transfers to Godaddy seems to freeze after a short period of time.

However, there is a much better solution. It’s possible to install a local copy of unison in your Godaddy home directory and then use unison normally. Here’s how. First, I determined the operating system on my Godaddy server:
cat /etc/redhat-release

My account is hosted on a server running CentOS 5.5. So next I downloaded the appropriate unison rpm (i386) from http://pkgs.repoforge.org/unison/, and unpacked the contents of the rpm with this command:
rpm2cpio myrpmfile.rpm | cpio -idmv
If you do not choose the correct rpm to match your local unison version you may encounter version incompatibility errors, and if you choose the wrong rpm for the Godaddy operating system you may get errors about glibc.

Then place a link to unison executable in your bin folder so you will have unison in your PATH. At this point I could execute unison on the Godaddy server, but if I tried to sync from my local computer I would get an error that the unison command could not be found. The problem is that unison was only in the PATH for ssh connections that opened a shell, but unison passes its commands via the ssh command line. I couldn’t find a way to resolve this problem on the Godaddy side, but there is a workaround. By adding the following line to my unison .prf files, it’s possible to tell the Godaddy server where to find unison:
servercmd = /home/content/d/a/c/dac437/bin/unison

At this point, I was able to successfully sync 7GB of digital pictures to my Godaddy home directory using unison.

CVS harmacy

Posted on by

The harmacy in Porter Square is open 24/7.

Last weekend I noticed that there’s now a CVS “harmacy” in Porter Square. Maybe you go there when you’re well and they make you sick? Have they found a niche market for people who need a convenient excuse to get out of work? Until they get their light bulbs replaced, I plan to steer clear. Ironically, Courtney often works in the Minute Clinic at this CVS!

Katahdin Reflection

Posted on by

Dave, Shannon, Courtney and Dan at the Roaring Brook parking lot.

Back at the beginning of October we took our yearly hiking trip to Mt. Katahdin with Shannon and Dave. This year we backpacked to Chimney Pond and stayed in a lean to rather than camping at Roaring Brook. This allowed us to do a longer day hike which included Hamlin Peak. We backpacked in on the first day, hiked the second day, and backpacked out on the third day. The first night we had a ton of rain and strong winds, but things cleared up and we had perfect weather for our hike. The last day we hiked out in the rain unfortunately, but the clear weather for the loop was worth it.

We got a great view of the Knife Edge from Pamola Peak:

The Knife Edge viewed from Pamola Peak.

We really enjoyed adding Hamlin Peak to the loop. That area is much less crowded than Baxter Peak, and the alpine meadow is really nice (and covered with blueberries). You also get a great view on the way down with ravines on both sides. The descent from Hamlin Peak might be my new favorite Baxter Park trail.

Courtney approaching the top of Hamlin Peak.

On the last day we awoke to a perfectly still Chimney Pond. However a couple hours later for our hike out it started to rain. I got two great panoramas of the lake, including one of the reflection of the Knife Edge in the water. The water was calm enough that the different peaks are identifiable.

The Knife Edge reflecting in Chimney Pond on a calm morning.

Chimney Pond and Baxter Peak panorama.