[comp.sys.hp] makecdf

burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Tony Burzio) (11/02/90)

We have a cluster on our HP machines, allowing the use of CDFs on
any machine in the cluster.  A file that is cdf'ed may be different
on each node.  I would like to know from the HP gurus if this could
be expanded to correctly choose machine names across an NFS connection.
This would allow us to store binaries, with the same name for different
architectures, using cdfs.  Right now, you get the file using the
NFS servers' name (understandable) but it would be better if it was
available in general.  Comments?

*********************************************************************
Tony Burzio               * Like, spooky man!
Martin Marietta Labs      *
mmlab!burzio@uunet.uu.net *
*********************************************************************

tml@tik.vtt.fi (Tor Lillqvist) (11/03/90)

In article <44@gauss.mmlai.UUCP> burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Tony Burzio) writes:
   We have a cluster on our HP machines, allowing the use of CDFs on
   any machine in the cluster. ...  if this could
   be expanded to correctly choose machine names across an NFS connection.
   This would allow us to store binaries, with the same name for different
   architectures, using cdfs. 

I think the automounting daemon amd (written by Jan-Simon Pendry
<jsp@doc.ic.ac.uk>) can successfully be used to handle this kind of
problems *portably*.  It can also be used to support duplicated
filesystems.  Amd has been ported to all major Unix variants.  I think
it is compatible with Sun's automounter. I have compiled it on HP-UX
but haven't had time to test it yet.  It is available for ftp from
various sites, but I am sorry, I can't remember where I got it from...
(Maybe it was kth.se, but do try US sites first.)
--
Tor Lillqvist,
working, but not speaking, for the Technical Research Centre of Finland

rer@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Rob Robason) (11/03/90)

burzio> We have a cluster on our HP machines, allowing the use of CDFs
burzio> on any machine in the cluster.  A file that is cdf'ed may be
burzio> different on each node.  I would like to know from the HP gurus
burzio> if this could be expanded to correctly choose machine names
burzio> across an NFS connection.  This would allow us to store
burzio> binaries, with the same name for different architectures, using
burzio> cdfs.  Right now, you get the file using the NFS servers' name
burzio> (understandable) but it would be better if it was available in
burzio> general.  Comments?

No, CDFs residing on remote systems and accessed via NFS are resolved on
the server.  This means that non-HP servers will not recognize CDFs
(which are just directories with the SUID bit set) as anything other
that normal directories and HP servers will resolve them based on their
own context rather than the client's.  There is nothing in the NFS
protocol that knows about context, so it is impossible to pass context
info to the server for such resolution and still conform to that
protocol.

Rob Robason

jinx@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Guillermo J. Rozas) (11/06/90)

In article <44@gauss.mmlai.UUCP> burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Tony Burzio) writes:

   Path: ai-lab!snorkelwacker!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!lll-winken!uunet!mmlai!burzio
   From: burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Tony Burzio)
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
   Keywords: NFS service
   Date: 1 Nov 90 18:00:11 GMT
   Organization: Martin Marietta Labs, Baltimore
   Lines: 14

   We have a cluster on our HP machines, allowing the use of CDFs on
   any machine in the cluster.  A file that is cdf'ed may be different
   on each node.  I would like to know from the HP gurus if this could
   be expanded to correctly choose machine names across an NFS connection.
   This would allow us to store binaries, with the same name for different
   architectures, using cdfs.  Right now, you get the file using the
   NFS servers' name (understandable) but it would be better if it was
   available in general.  Comments?

   *********************************************************************
   Tony Burzio               * Like, spooky man!
   Martin Marietta Labs      *
   mmlab!burzio@uunet.uu.net *
   *********************************************************************

I second that request.  At the very least, add a new context string
(NFS) that the NFS daemons (nfsd) use so that I could choose what the
machines that NFS-mount the file system would see.

On a related note, looking through /usr/include/syscall.h and
syscalls.h, there seems to be a SETCONTEXT system call.  How about
documenting/describing it?  Maybe it does what I want if I invoke it
from a program and then exec nfsd?