Your Internet Consultant - The FAQs of Life Online

6.11. How do I know whether a particular FTP site has mirrors?

There's no sure way to find out whether a favorite FTP site is mirrored. (Sometimes the FTP site administrators don't even know who keeps mirrors of their site.) The best thing you can do is look around the site for notices or help files when you log in with FTP. Many sites have files with names like read-me-before-FTPing placed in visible locations, as in /pub. I know that most of us don't like to read the documentation, but believe it or not, actually reading those files can provide a wealth of useful information.

Note: Remember that not all sites are mirrored. In some situations, you may have no choice but to grab that file from an FTP site at the other side of the planet.

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