After updating the FreeBSD port from 3.1.0 to 3.1.1 external zlib support is broken: --- output of regression test begins here --- # 3.1.1 root@wiggles:/tmp/test # rm dst/*; rsync -z -avP src/. dst/ This rsync lacks old-style --compress due to its external zlib. Try -zz. Continuing without compression. sending incremental file list ./ file1 104,857,600 100% 316.36MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#1, to-chk=2/4) file2 104,857,600 100% 154.32MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#2, to-chk=1/4) file3 104,857,600 100% 107.64MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#3, to-chk=0/4) sent 314,649,797 bytes received 76 bytes 209,766,582.00 bytes/sec total size is 314,572,800 speedup is 1.00 root@wiggles:/tmp/test # rm dst/*; rsync -zz -avP src/ dst/ sending incremental file list ./ file1 104,857,600 100% 16.57MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#1, to-chk=2/4) file2 104,857,600 100% 16.37MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#2, to-chk=1/4) file3 104,857,600 100% 16.36MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#3, to-chk=0/4) sent 314,752,131 bytes received 76 bytes 17,013,632.81 bytes/sec total size is 314,572,800 speedup is 1.00 # 3.1.1 with bundled ZLIB root@wiggles:/tmp/test # rm dst/*; rsync -z -avP src/ dst/ sending incremental file list ./ file1 104,857,600 100% 16.33MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#1, to-chk=2/4) file2 104,857,600 100% 16.17MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#2, to-chk=1/4) file3 104,857,600 100% 15.99MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#3, to-chk=0/4) sent 314,752,131 bytes received 76 bytes 17,013,632.81 bytes/sec total size is 314,572,800 speedup is 1.00 # 3.1.0_3 root@wiggles:/tmp/test # rm dst/*; rsync -z -avP src/. dst/ sending incremental file list ./ file1 104,857,600 100% 16.92MB/s 0:00:05 (xfr#1, to-chk=2/4) file2 104,857,600 100% 14.72MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#2, to-chk=1/4) file3 104,857,600 100% 14.99MB/s 0:00:06 (xfr#3, to-chk=0/4) sent 314,752,131 bytes received 76 bytes 17,013,632.81 bytes/sec total size is 314,572,800 speedup is 1.00 --- output of regression test ends here --- libz version: http://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/stable/10/lib/libz/
I tried to figure out what you think is broken, but I couldn't figure it out. The -z option (as opposed to -zz) only works if you compile using the included zlib, so use that if you want the backward-compatible -z functionality. Was there something else? The file sizes all seem remarkably uncompressible in your output, but that's consistent across the versions you list, and my own testing shows proper compressing using -zz and some compressible sources I tried.
Sorry about the confusion, I should have been more clear. The FreeBSD version is built with --with-included-zlib=no by default. After reading the man page entry again about -z, --compress there seems to be a confusion about how to use -z. I was prompted about this by a user who's seen the following warning which didn't appear in the previous version while using -z: --- warning begins here --- This rsync lacks old-style --compress due to its external zlib. Try -zz. Continuing without compression. --- warning ends here --- Even though this warning is new it seems like -zz should have been used all along.