cp: cannot stat `/opt/IBM/cofig.sh': No such file or directory

Shell Programming and Scripting
1

Hi all,
I'm trying to write a single line command to do this

  1. ssh user@hostA
  2. Check whether the dir /opt/IBM/ exists
  3. copy -a /opt/IBM/config.sh /opt/IBM/config.sh.old

This is the command

ssh -v user@hostA "test -d /opt/IBM" && cp -a /opt/IBM/config.sh /opt/IBM/config.sh.old || echo " Failed"

It fails with the following error:

cp: cannot stat `/opt/IBM/config.sh': No such file or directory
Failed

The directory exists on hostA and the file too, but I'm getting this error.
Any ideas pls? or any other way to do this in a single line command ?

uname:
Linux hostA 2.4.21-53.ELsmp #1

Thanks,
Chanti

2

Remove all embedded ticks so entire command line passed to hostA is in double quotes and better test for file existence instead of directory.

ssh -v user@hostA "test -f /opt/IBM/config.sh && cp -a /opt/IBM/config.sh /opt/IBM/config.sh.old || echo Failed"
3

Thank you!!
it worked.

4

You should test for existence of the file you want to copy instead of the directory that contains it, just as Shamrock proposed.
But what is the -a in the copy command good for if you only copy a single file?
Besides, should the remote host be an AIX, as the /opt/IBM might suggest,
I doubt that its cp knows this recursive, preserve switch.