Is My Mirror Down?

Question

I am getting an error when I try an perform a system upgrade on my server:
[carlos@ghost ~]$ sudo pacman -Syy & sudo pacman -Syu
[1] 1162
Password:
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core is up to date
extra is up to date
community is up to date
:: Starting full system upgrade...
resolving dependencies...
looking for inter-conflicts...
Targets (5): glibc-2.12-4 man-pages-3.25-1 pacman-mirrorlist-20100621-1 sudo-1.7.2p7-2 udev-158-1
Total Download Size: 0.32 MB
Total Installed Size: 50.80 MB
Proceed with installation? [Y/n] Y
:: Retrieving packages from core...
pacman-mirrorlist-20100621-1-any 2.4K 99.0K/s 00:00:00 [#############################################################] 100%
sudo-1.7.2p7-2-x86_64 109.2K 519.1K/s 00:00:00 [#############################################################] 100%
error: failed retrieving file 'udev-158-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz' from ftp.gtlib.gatech.edu : Service not available, closing control connection
warning: failed to retrieve some files from core
error: failed to commit transaction (Service not available, closing control connection)
Errors occurred, no packages were upgraded.
[1]+ Stopped sudo pacman -Syy
Below is my Pacman configuration file:
# /etc/pacman.conf
# See the pacman.conf(5) manpage for option and repository directives
# GENERAL OPTIONS
[options]
# The following paths are commented out with their default values listed.
# If you wish to use different paths, uncomment and update the paths.
#RootDir = /
#DBPath = /var/lib/pacman/
#CacheDir = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
#LogFile = /var/log/pacman.log
HoldPkg = pacman glibc
# If upgrades are available for these packages they will be asked for first
SyncFirst = pacman
#XferCommand = /usr/bin/wget --passive-ftp -c -O %o %u
#XferCommand = /usr/bin/curl -C - %u > %o
#CleanMethod = KeepInstalled
Architecture = auto
# Pacman won't upgrade packages listed in IgnorePkg and members of IgnoreGroup
#IgnorePkg =
#IgnoreGroup =
#NoUpgrade =
#NoExtract =
# Misc options (all disabled by default)
#UseSyslog
#ShowSize
#UseDelta
#TotalDownload
# REPOSITORIES
# - can be defined here or included from another file
# - pacman will search repositories in the order defined here
# - local/custom mirrors can be added here or in separate files
# - repositories listed first will take precedence when packages
# have identical names, regardless of version number
# - URLs will have $repo replaced by the name of the current repo
# - URLs will have $arch replaced by the name of the architecture
# Repository entries are of the format:
# [repo-name]
# Server = ServerName
# Include = IncludePath
# The header [repo-name] is crucial - it must be present and
# uncommented to enable the repo.
# The testing repositories are disabled by default. To enable, uncomment the
# repo name header and Include lines. You can add preferred servers immediately
# after the header, and they will be used before the default mirrors.
#[testing]
## Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[core]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[extra]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
#[community-testing]
## Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
[community]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# An example of a custom package repository. See the pacman manpage for
# tips on creating your own repositories.
#[custom]
#Server = file:///home/custompkgs

Answer 1

Hello,
I'm having the same problem, getting for the most of the repositories nearby my location a "Service not available, closing control connection". I used the aria2 method given in "Improve Pacman performance" in the wiki (http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Imp … erformance), and it works now very well. What was curious, is that to install a single file, pacman alone works very well, but to make an update on the entire system, pacman just seem to be thrown out by the server after some 1-4 connections. So my question is : what is pacman doing that is not allowed by the servers ?
Joël