[comp.unix.questions] NFS help

pavlov@hscfvax.harvard.edu (G.Pavlov) (03/02/89)

  We would like to run a program on several hosts (uVaxen and MIPS) which
  would access and write to a common set of files stored on one uVAX but
  mounted remotely on the other systems via NFS.

  This program was written a long time ago, so advisory file "locking" is
  simulated via a create of an empty file, same mechanism as uucp.

  Is this a valid mechanism to use under NFS ?  Our "research" of various
  manual sets evinced only the usual warning re failure of flock, etc.  Is
  there any "guarantee" that creat() will yield valid results, if attempted
  simultaneously from several hosts, accessing a mounted NFS directory tree?

  thanks, greg pavlov, fstrf, amherst, ny

ugoday@sunybcs.uucp (Abdi Oday) (03/04/89)

In article <731@hscfvax.harvard.edu> pavlov@hscfvax.harvard.edu (G.Pavlov) writes:
>
>  We would like to run a program on several hosts (uVaxen and MIPS) which
>  would access and write to a common set of files stored on one uVAX but
>  mounted remotely on the other systems via NFS.
>
>  This program was written a long time ago, so advisory file "locking" is
>  simulated via a create of an empty file, same mechanism as uucp.
>
>  Is this a valid mechanism to use under NFS ?  Our "research" of various
>  manual sets evinced only the usual warning re failure of flock, etc.  Is
>  there any "guarantee" that creat() will yield valid results, if attempted
>  simultaneously from several hosts, accessing a mounted NFS directory tree?
>
>  thanks, greg pavlov, fstrf, amherst, ny


 I think that in general you should not have the situation where remotely 
 mounted filesystems can be written to simultaneously.  Since NFS buffers
 things, who know what will happen if two or more people are writing to
 the same file at the same time.  I think this was a major problem in 
 Sun OS 3.x  (using ND ofcouse)  I don't know if the problem is solved.


  -Abdi

Abdi Oday                       Phone:     (716) 636-3004
University at Buffalo           BITNET:    ugoday@sunybcs.BITNET
				Internet:  ugoday@cs.Buffalo.EDU
UUCP: ...!{ames,boulder,decvax,rutgers}!sunybcs!ugoday

ugoday@sunybcs.uucp (Abdi Oday) (03/04/89)

In article <731@hscfvax.harvard.edu> pavlov@hscfvax.harvard.edu (G.Pavlov) writes:
>
>  We would l>  would access and write to a common set of files stored on one uVAX but
>  mounted remotely restraeother systems via NFS.
>
>  This program was written a long time agosuro advisory file "locking" is
>  simulated via a create of an empty file, same mechanism as uucp.
>
>  Is this a valid mechanism to use under NFS ?  Our "research" of various
>  manual sets evinced only the usual warning re failure of flock, etc.  Is
>  there any "guarantee" that creat() will yield valid results, if attempted
>  simultaneously from several hosts, accessing a mounted NFS dir>
>  thanks, greg pavlov, fstrf, amherst, ny


 I think that in general you should not have the situation where remotely 
 mounted filesystems can be written to simultaneously.  Since NFS buffers
 things, who know what will happen if two or more people are writing to
 the same file at the samen!b4.  I think this was a major problem in 
 Sun OS 3.x  (using ND ofcouse)  I don't know if the problem is solved.


  -Abdi

Abdi Oday                       Phone:     (716) 636-3004
University at Buffalo           BITNET:    ugoday@sunybcs.BITNET
				Internet:  ugoday@cs.Buffalo.EDU
UUCP: ...!{ames,boulder,decvax,rutgers}!sunybcs!ugoday
#