[lug] how to handle open files - upload server

[Dan Ferris]

lsof +f -- /directory/to/uploaded/files ?



Nate Duehr wrote:

> [Sorry about the cross-post for those on all the lists, just attempting to 
> cover a wider audience.]
> 
> Here's an interesting one, or maybe I'm just not creative enough today.  I 
> have a Linux server where people upload some files to me for processing 
> (using sftp).  The files show up, I move them to another machine to do 
> the dirty work.  Simple, right?  Move those files elsewhere after they 
> arrive, which can pretty easily be done from a cron job, no problem 
> there.
> 
> The case I'm wondering about: How to detect in that regular cron job if 
> the file is open (and probably growing) right at the time because it's 
> being uploaded right then... so the cron doesn't attempt to move it to 
> the other machine in the middle of an upload.
> 
> I'm thinking some silly hack at the top of the "move to other machine" 
> script that would look at the directory contents with lsof to make sure 
> nothing has any of the files to be moved already open.  Is there a 
> simpler/smarter way?
> 
> (Off to go find some more coffee and think about this some more...)
> 
> Bright ideas appreciated!  ;-)  (No, NFS mounting the other machine and 
> having them send directly to it is not an option.  ;-) )
>