File-based transport methods include electronic mail, ftp,
and physical media (like CDs, magnetic tapes, and diskettes).
Electronic mail
You can use an existing electronic mail mechanism as the transport
method for packets. On the sending end, compress and encode the packet and
then send the resulting data to a specific electronic mail alias at the receiving
site. On the receiving end, redirect the electronic mail alias to a script
that decodes and decompresses the incoming information.
FTP
The ftp utility can transport packets between replicas.
On the sending end, the MultiSite administrator
or a script creates and compresses the packet, and uses ftp to transfer
the file to a location that is accessible by MultiSite administrators
at other sites. Scripts at receiving sites poll the drop site, looking for
any new files. When new files arrive, the scripts retrieve them using ftp,
decompress them, and process them.
Physical media
You can create packets as files, write them to a CD, magnetic tape,
or diskette, and then send the media to another site. The mkreplica and syncreplica commands
include the –out option, which places packets in physical files.