Sync endlessly looks for "updated data on sync server" [solved ]

marekmcgann
I'm using 2.0.9 on Firefox 3.6.10 (on a linux system, if it matters). Whenever I look to sync my library the spinning arrow just keeps on going endlessly. If I mouseover the arrow it gives the message "Getting updated data from sync server". It will do this for hours if let.

It happens whether the sync is initiated automatically or manually.

It doesn't happen on my laptop, just on my desktop computer. This is on a work network behind a transparent proxy, but no other internet behaviour is affected. (It also happens if I manually specific proxy settings to the actual proxy ip address, which also gives me perfectly working internet behaviour with the browser, but no successful syncs with Zotero).

Any suggestions much appreciated.
  • dstillman
    I see no active syncs for you. Restart Firefox and try again.

    Also provide a Report ID in case somehow there's an error that's not being displayed, but that's unlikely.
  • marekmcgann
    Sorry, should have included more info. This behaviour survives across reboots.
  • dstillman
    You didn't provide a Report ID. A Debug ID for a few minutes of sync icon spinning might also help.
  • marekmcgann
    edited October 20, 2010
    Apologies. Been a while since I posted to the forums, and I'm out of date on procedures.

    Looking at the Report Errors output, these look like the only things that might possibly be zotero related:

    [unrelated errors removed — D.S]

    I've uploaded some debug data. The Debug ID is D1897065120. I think there's about 150 lines or so there, I've seen it go to 3000 and more.

    Cheers.
  • marekmcgann
    Okay! New behaviour. Should have known that reporting the problem would change it.

    Having let the arrow spin for a couple of hours, I got a mammoth set of conflicts to resolve (828 of them or so). Couldn't tell any difference between the the first bunch of choices to make so I threw caution to the wind and kept my finger on the enter key. Looks like syncing might now be back to normal.

    Not sure what triggered all of the conflicts, but things look sorted now. Thanks.
  • marekmcgann
    edited October 20, 2010
    Alas, what I thought had fixed the problem had just shifted its location.

    I primarily use two machines - work and home. While the home machine had synced fine, the work one had been showing the endless syncing, culminating eventually in the 800+ conflicts. It now syncs fine.

    The home machine is now showing the endless syncing. I left it yesterday for hours on end, and it just kept going. Leaving it for a couple of hours now too, and same behaviour.

    The Debug ID for the home machine (the one with the problem now) with some sample output is: D897722930.
  • dstillman
    You have a large queued download from an hour ago. Just be patient.

    We're in the process (over the next week) of switching to a new sync architecture that should speed up syncing dramatically.
  • moe1619
    edited October 21, 2010
    Having a similar problem. Sync arrow spinning and looking for "updated data on sync server"

    Debug ID D823323418 and no errors reported

    Thanks very much. Great product, first time I've had any problem with zotero.
  • marekmcgann
    @moe1619 After a sync that took about eight hours or so it (a couple of them actually) looks like my problem got sorted. Both machines appear to be syncing fine now.

    From the sounds of it new developments are afoot to reduce the likelihood of this kind of problem happening again too.

    @Dan Thanks a million for the help.
  • mcamp
    I also have a problem with endless syncing and just now it stopped with red exclamation next to green arrow that says server response empty and told me to report the problem as ID 161205590. I have read the posts above and do not understand what you are talking about with the debug manouver. I hope someone can help. My main computer (a Mac ) is syncing but my small PC is outdated and won't sync. M Camp London
  • mcamp
    This problem is continuing endlessly. The report ID this time is 147025167. This makes zotero useless on my portable PC....here's hoping someone can help me solve this. Thanks M Camp
  • spaetz
    Just saying: Looking forward to the server upgrades. Tired of seeing a spinning arrow for 8 hours in a row now without any syncing happening....
  • leegwebb
    I have been having this same problem for weeks now. Every time I try to sync it runs endlessly. I've let it go several hours at a time a few times when I had that much time to spare (which I don't often). Furthermore, I recently lost access to my local copy of my library, so I am sorta stuck with nothin' (I have over 6000 records) until I can get a restore from my server copy.

    Up through last week I could at least confirm my library was still visible online, though it stated there was an error loading collections which meant my records were one great untagged (mostly useless) list. Today I am quite dismayed that there is an error loading my library altogether, so I can't even confirm it is still there.

    Dan Stillman, I have seen that you've posted the same comment as above on several similar forum threads - be patient, it's working, and we are switching to a new architecture that should make it faster. Please, this is the fourth week since I had a successful sync. When will the improvements be in place and sync working again?
  • dstillman
    Furthermore, I recently lost access to my local copy of my library
    Lost how? As in, you did a Restore from Server, which clears your local library? You have a queued download from 35 minutes ago with nearly 14,000 (including child items), which is, relatively speaking, a very large library.

    We performed a major architecture upgrade this past weekend. Performance benefits from that will be coming over the next week or so as we spread the load over more of the existing machines (which was the point of the upgrade). Other improvements will come as we add more new machines.

    But there's no reason that it shouldn't finish if you let it go, unless you quit Firefox before the download is ready or kill it while it's processing the download (which might appear as a temporary freeze). You can also sync at an off-peak time, when there's no queue at all.
  • ajlyon
    You can also sync at an off-peak time, when there's no queue at all.
    It might be useful to add some figures on peak / off-peak times for general interest and for reference in such cases. Perhaps a page on the knowledge base with general stats on numbers of syncs per hour / per day? I would be interested just to know the size of the user base, and it would pin down what "peak" means. Such data needn't be real-time or automatically updated -- an analysis of one week of logs to get baseline figures would be enough for a useful chart.
  • leegwebb
    Thanks for your response. A problem I have is that my institution has a powersave application in place pushed out over the network to all machines and which I can't override. If I set my sync to run and leave it my network connection will be shut off and my machine powered down before the sync has time to complete.

    Yes, for several reasons I found it desirable to overwrite my local copy with my last synced copy from several days previously, so I initiated a restore from the server, which is how I lost my local copy. Yes, I know I should have backed it up locally first. We all think it will never happen to us.
  • ajlyon
    Try loading a webpage that automatically refreshes every few minutes to keep the connection alive -- I think that http://news.google.com does that.
  • dstillman
    Zotero itself will keep the connection alive—but if it's an idle timer then network traffic wouldn't help with that.
    We all think it will never happen to us.
    Well you didn't actually lose anything—your data is still on the server. At the moment, with your library, it'll just take a few hours to finish. But we are, indeed, working on this.
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