RefSeq Cumulative Updates Discontinued in March 2005

Now that a reliable RefSeq release cycle has been established, the RefSeq cumulative update was discontinued on March 1, 2005. The affected files are located in the directory:

ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/refseq/cumulative

The best method of staying current with the RefSeq database is to download the RefSeq Incremental Update (RIU) products that are available daily:

ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/refseq/daily

Each RIU contains all new or updated RefSeq records processed in the preceding 24 hours or, in the event of a failure, since the most recently generated RIU. Users who wish to maintain a local copy of the RefSeq database typically start by processing a complete RefSeq release, and then downloading and processing the RIUs on a daily basis. RIU processing starts at 2:00am Eastern Time and is usually complete by 3:30am. The recommended time to check and transfer new RIU updates from the RefSeq FTP site is 4:30am. Note that completion times for the RIU can sometimes be several hours later, particularly if a substantial number of complete-chromosome RefSeq records for multiple eukaryotic genomes have been updated on a single day.