After upgrading to NetScaler firmware 13.1.56.x or later, attempts to download backup files using the Nitro API may fail. Customers using automation tools such as Ansible, Postman, or custom scripts may receive the following error when downloading files through the systemfile endpoint: 

Main NetScaler log is tracked on /var/log/ns.log:

httpd: [PID] - User nsroot - Method GET - Command { "systemfile": { "filename": "Backup-*.tgz", "filelocation": "/var/ns_sys_backup" } } - Status { "errorcode": 283, "message": "File too large [Use other method to download the file]", "severity": "ERROR" }

This issue typically occurs when downloading backup files larger than 32 MB using the API.

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The recommended workaround is to modify the automation script to use SCP (Secure Copy over SSH) instead of the Nitro API for downloading backup files.

Example:

scp nsroot@<netscaler_ip>:/var/ns_sys_backup/<backup_file>.tgz /path/to/local/backup/

Ensure that SSH is enabled on the appliance and the account used has the necessary access permissions.

This approach allows continued automation of backup retrieval without being affected by the Nitro API size limitation.

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Problem Cause

Starting with NetScaler firmware 13.1.56.x, a maximum file size limit of 32 MB was introduced for downloading files via the systemfile Nitro API endpoint.

• The limit is enforced by design and is not tunable.

• The error message "File too large [Use other method to download the file]" is expected when a file exceeds the threshold.

A request has been submitted to the Citrix documentation team to include this API limitation in the official documentation.

https://developer-docs.netscaler.com/en-us/adc-nitro-api/current-release/configuration/system/systemfile#operations.