How to stop NCFTP from retrying indefinitely against a down server?

Folks,

We use ncftp client to connect to remote FTP servers. When the remote
server is down, ncftp keep retrying to connect to the server
indefinitely. In the retry process, the ftp client starts chewing up
the machine's CPU and memory. I have emailed several messages to
ncftp support, but can't get help, because ncftp client is a free
product. I am sure, others might have run into a situation like this
as well.

Is there a way to change the number of retries to a fixed number in
NCFTP?

Thanks.

Ash


================================================== ====================
We are using the following release (latest, as per ncftp website):
Program version: NcFTP 3.1.7/119 Jan 07 2004, 12:44 AM
Library version: LibNcFTP 3.1.7 (January 6, 2004)

Our Unix System:
System: OSF1 V5.1 732 alpha

Our preference file for NCFTP looks like the following:
anon-password=NcFTP@
auto-ascii=|.txt|.asc|.html|.htm|.css|.xml|.ini|.pl|.hq x|.cfg|.c|.h|.cpp|.hpp|.bat|.m3u|.pls|
auto-resume=no
autosave-bookmark-changes=no
confirm-close=yes
connect-timeout=20
control-timeout=135
logsize=10240
one-time-messages-seen=
pager=more
passive=on
progress-meter=2 (statbar)
redial-delay=20
save-passwords=ask
show-status-in-xterm-titlebar=no
so-bufsize=0 (use system default)
xfer-timeout=3600
yes-i-know-about-NcFTPd=no

velcroak@hotmail.com (Ash) wrote in
news:3a70a8e4.0404120958.1044fb3e@posting.google.c om:

> Is there a way to change the number of retries to a fixed number in
> NCFTP?

From the "man ncftp" documentation:


COMMAND REFERENCE

set

This lets you configure some program variables, which are saved
between runs in the $HOME/.ncftp/prefs file. The basic syntax
is:

set <option> <value>

For example, to change the value you use for the anonymous pass
word, you might do:

set anon-password ncftp@ncftp.com

See the next section for a list of things you change.



connect-timeout

Previous versions of the program used a single timeout value for
everything. You can now have different values for different
operations. However, you probably do not need to change these
from the defaults unless you have special requirements.

The connect-timeout variable controls how long to wait, in sec-
onds, for a connection establishment to complete before consid-
ering it hopeless. You can choose to not use a timeout at all
by setting this to -1.

Do this stuff in the command shell, this is what you get when you first run
ncftp before connecting to a remote server.


This should help you out. man ncftp


--
~Ohmster

>
> connect-timeout
>

Sorry Ohmster. I have no problem with the timeout. NCFTP timeout
properly, it's the retry, which I am having trouble. It keeps
retrying forever.