[comp.sys.hp] lockd bug: NFS problems

rollow@xmos.cis.upenn.edu (Tad Rollow) (08/01/90)

Not so sure how describe this one, so see if you can follow me:

If a user creates a file on our server (9000-375 running 7.0) with his PC
using PC-NFS, it will end up owned by him in the Unix file system.  This is 
expected and good.  If another user, who has permission to write to the file,
attempts to write from the beginning of the file LESS data than was in it
originally, the resulting file will have the new user's data followed by the
remainder of the original user's data up to the old end of file.  That is, the
file cannot be made shorter by anyone other than the owner.

There are variations on this theme, such as, Borland's TOUCH utility will not
update the date of a file not owned by the person running TOUCH on his PC 
(even if that person has write permission etc).

I called Sun and they said, yes, that is a known bug in the lock daemon and
they were writing a thing to give to HP so that it could be fixed.  They said
HP has to fix the code and reissue HP-UX in order for it to work right.
The program specifically is rpc.lockd and no the source is not supplied so
I can't fool with it.  Sun said maybe source for their version may be out there
and maybe I could try that but I don't have it and doubt that it would work
anyway.

Does anyone have any experience with this situation, want it described further,
or have a fix?  We have worked around the touch problem but can't get around
the real problem.

If you email me comments I could post a summary to the net if I get anything
useful.  Thanks.

Tad Rollow
Sort of SysAdmin for Eventide, Inc  Little Ferry, NJ
(201) 641-1200
reply:  rollow@xmos.cis.upenn.edu    OR  eventid!rcf@uunet.uu.net