Tech Tip: Checking the Integrity of a Transfer
There are situations in which we have to check the integrity after a
transfer. This could be from the network, a CD/DVD, USB or hard disk.
In such cases, errors can creep in and partial transfer or corrupted
transfer is possible. When faced with the necessity to ensure the
integrity of critical data, one could use one of these approaches.
$ sha1sum
Executing this command at both ends should result in identical
outputs. This works for all files, text or binary. You could also do
the same thing with OpenSSL or GNU Privacy Guard.
$ openssl -sha1
or
$ gpg --print-md sha1
You could also use diff or cksum for this but the above approach is
better. Or if you have the luxury to execute sha512sum at both sides,
it is even better!
HTH :)
--
Bharathi S