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authorGravatar Joey Hess <joey@kitenet.net>2014-01-06 17:06:55 -0400
committerGravatar Joey Hess <joey@kitenet.net>2014-01-06 17:06:55 -0400
commit6728be8d14484071a3b086eb5b7493db055683d1 (patch)
tree41971892c3631fe293722af8dbc4504a4e36e661 /doc/design/external_special_remote_protocol.mdwn
parent9cb0e1b810b9582277c39fc7a9bffb58802389bf (diff)
notes on long-running network connections
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@@ -246,6 +246,22 @@ remote.
git-annex will not talk to it any further. If the program receives
an ERROR from git-annex, it can exit with its own ERROR.
+## long running network connections
+
+Since an external special remote is started only when git-annex needs to
+access the remote, and then left running, it's ok to open a network
+connection in the PREPARE stage, and continue to use that network
+connection as requests are made.
+
+If you're unable to open a network connection, or the connection closes,
+perhaps because the network is down, it's ok to fail to perform any
+requests. Or you can try to reconnect when a new request is made.
+
+Note that the external special remote program may be left running for
+quite a long time, especially when the git-annex assistant is using it.
+The assistant will detect when the system connects to a network, and will
+start a new process the next time it needs to use a remote.
+
## TODO
* When storing encrypted files stream the file up/down the pipe, rather