At times, during the distribution flow, network path instability or target server latency may cause distribution to fail with a "Read timed out" error.
Identifying the Error
You may observe the following entries in your source Artifactory logs:
2026-04-02T01:39:04.588Z [jfrt ] [ERROR] [...] [oyDistributionStrategyImpl:146] - Unexpected error while distribution deploy to <URL>. Target IP unknown
2026-04-02T01:39:04.592Z [jfrt ] [ERROR] [...] [oyDistributionStrategyImpl:148] - Read timed out: Read timed out
Understanding the Log Messages
Read timed out: This indicates a Socket Timeout. It occurs when a connection has already been established, but the source Artifactory fails to receive a response within the set time period.
Target IP unknown: Because the "Read timed out" interrupts the process before the response metadata is fully parsed, the application variable for the remote IP remains unpopulated at the time the error is logged.
Resolution
To mitigate "Read timed out" errors during large artifact distributions, you can increase the dedicated socket timeout.
- Navigate to $JFROG_HOME/artifactory/var/etc/artifactory.system.properties.
- Adjust the following property (values are in milliseconds):
artifactory.http.connection.direct.distribution.socket.timeout.millis=<value in ms> ###Default is 300,000ms / 5 minutes
- Restart Artifactory to apply the changes.
Related Configuration: Connection Timeout
If the error in your logs specifically mentions a "Connect timed out" rather than a "Read timed out," it indicates a failure to establish the initial TCP handshake. In this case, you should adjust the connection timeout property:
artifactory.http.connection.direct.distribution.connection.timeout.millis=<value in ms>
###Default is 60,000ms / 1 minute
Note:
Use caution when increasing these values. Higher timeouts allow connections to remain open longer, which consumes system resources.