When using rsync to transfer files between servers, maintaining proper file ownership is crucial for system security and functionality. A common pitfall occurs when the --owner and --group options don't seem to have any effect during SSH transfers.

Here's the problematic command we're examining:

sudo rsync -rlptDvz --owner=cmsseren --group=cmsseren \
/home/serena/public_html/ -e ssh root@ip:/home/cmsseren/public_html2/

Several factors can prevent ownership modification:

• The remote server's SSH configuration (typically in /etc/ssh/sshd_config) may have PermitRootLogin without-password which restricts ownership changes
• The target user/group might not exist on the remote system
• The rsync process might not have sufficient privileges on the remote end

Option 1: Use --chown Parameter (Modern Rsync)

For rsync 3.1.1+ (check with rsync --version):

sudo rsync -rlptDvz --chown=cmsseren:cmsseren \
/home/serena/public_html/ -e ssh root@ip:/home/cmsseren/public_html2/

Option 2: Post-Sync Ownership Change

First sync files, then modify ownership:

# Sync files
sudo rsync -rlptDvz /home/serena/public_html/ -e ssh root@ip:/home/cmsseren/public_html2/

# Change ownership remotely
ssh root@ip 'chown -R cmsseren:cmsseren /home/cmsseren/public_html2/'

Option 3: Use Intermediate Tar Stream

This preserves permissions through the transfer:

sudo tar cf - -C /home/serena/public_html/ . | \
ssh root@ip 'tar xf - -C /home/cmsseren/public_html2/ && \
chown -R cmsseren:cmsseren /home/cmsseren/public_html2/'

• Always verify user/group existence on both systems
• Consider using non-root transfers when possible
• Test with --dry-run first to verify expected changes
• Check /etc/rsyncd.conf on remote if using rsync daemon

1. Run id cmsseren on both systems to verify UID/GID
2. Check ssh root@ip 'ls -ld /home/cmsseren'
3. Test with rsync --version on both ends
4. Add --no-perms --no-owner --no-group temporarily to isolate the issue

Many developers encounter this frustrating scenario: you're using rsync to transfer files between servers, but despite specifying --owner and --group flags, the ownership permissions don't change on the destination files.

sudo rsync -rlptDvz --owner=cmsseren --group=cmsseren /home/serena/public_html/ -e ssh root@ip:/home/cmsseren/public_html2/

The root cause lies in how rsync handles permissions. By default, rsync preserves the original file permissions unless explicitly told otherwise. The --owner and --group options only work when:

• You're running rsync as root
• The destination filesystem supports ownership changes
• You're not using -a flag (which implies -o -g)

Here are three working approaches:

1. Use --chown flag (rsync 3.1.1+)

sudo rsync -rlptDvz --chown=cmsseren:cmsseren /source/ user@host:/destination/

2. Combine with --no-perms

sudo rsync -rlptDvz --no-perms --chown=cmsseren:cmsseren /source/ user@host:/destination/

3. Post-sync chown command

sudo rsync -rlptDvz /source/ user@host:/destination/
ssh user@host "sudo chown -R cmsseren:cmsseren /destination/"

Remember that:

• The destination user must exist on the remote system
• You need proper sudo privileges on both systems
• NFS-mounted directories might have additional restrictions

Always verify with a small test directory first:

mkdir test_dir
touch test_dir/test_file
sudo rsync -v --chown=testuser:testgroup test_dir/ remote:/tmp/test_dir/
ssh remote "ls -l /tmp/test_dir/"