path: root/static/unix-v10/man8/netfs.8

.TH NETFS 8
.CT 1 sa_nonmortals
.SH NAME
netfs \- network file system
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
.B /usr/netb/setup.go
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
The network file system is conventionally a set of directories
contained in
.FR /n ,
and a set of files and programs in
.FR /usr/netb .
Connections in the network file system are asymmetric:
files on a `server' system are made accessible on a `client' system,
usually in directory
.BI /n/ server-name.
.SS Client
The client runs
.FR /usr/netb/setup 
to maintain connections;
it is started by invoking
.F /usr/netb/setup.go
from
.IR rc (8).
.I Setup
uses
.F /usr/netb/friends
to control the connections to servers.
Each line in
.I friends
contains six fields:
.RS
network address
.br
network call argument
.br
mount point
.br
protocol id
.br
unique identifier
.br
debugging flag
.br
network calling username
.RE
.PP
The network address and argument give the location of the server.
They are interpreted differently according to the protocol id,
which should be one of
.TP
.B d
Call the server on the named network address,
with default network
.L dk
and default service name
.LR fsb .
The network call argument is ignored.
The server machine should respond by calling
.IR zarf ,
described below;
see
.IR svcmgr (8).
.TP
.B t
Call the named network address,
with default network
.LR tcp ,
and invoke the program named in the
network call argument
using the protocol of
.IR rsh ;
.IR con (1).
.PP
.I Setup
calls
.IR setlogname 
(see
.IR getuid (2))
to make the network call appear to have been placed
by the calling username.
The username may be omitted;
.LR daemon
is the default.
.PP
The mount point is the directory
on which the remote file system is to appear.
The unique identifier is a integer in the range 0-255;
it is used internally to distinguish connections,
and must be unique among all active remote file systems
(including those not maintained by
.IR setup ,
e.g.
.IR faced (9.5)).
The debugging flag is usually 0;
nonzero numbers
increase the chatter in various logfiles.
.PP
.I Setup
reads the
.I friends
file when it starts,
and checks for changes once a minute.
Each remote file system is probed once a minute;
if there is no response to several consecutive probes,
the connection is torn down and restarted.
Failed connections are retried every minute.
.SS Server
The server program is
.FR /usr/netb/zarf .
A separate
.I zarf
process exists for each client.
.PP
When a connection is started,
the client sends the server a list of valid user and group names
and the corresponding numerical IDs
on the client system.
The userid and groupid of user and group names that exist
on both machines are mapped so that
client and server see IDs
under the same names.
Unmapped IDs on the server appear as \-1 on the client.
Client processes with unmapped IDs are denied access.
.PP
.I Zarf
is subject to access control on the server.
It will have access only to files that its own userid 
and groupid admit.
Unless run as super-user, it will create files with its own,
not mapped, userid.
.PP
.I Zarf
reads configuration information
from
.F /usr/netb/except.local
and
.FR /usr/netb/except .
The
files are read only once,
when
.I zarf
starts,
.B except.local
first.
Usually
.B except
is the same on all machines in some administrative cluster,
.B except.local
contains things specific to a particular server system.
.PP
The files contain sections
beginning with the line
.B client
.I origin.
.I Origin
is the name of the calling client,
as provided by the network;
.L *
matches any client.
The first matching section is used.
.PP
Within each section,
lines have of one of the following forms.
Lines beginning with
.L #
are ignored.
.TP
.BI "uid " cname = sname
Regardless of the contents of password files,
map client user name
.I cname
to server user name
.IR sname .
If
.I cname
is not announced as valid by the client,
the line is ignored.
If
.I sname
is not a valid name on the server,
any previous mapping for
.I cname
is discarded.
.TP
.BI "gid " cname = sname
Map client group name
.I cname
to server group name
.IR sname ,
as above.
.TP
.BI "param otherok=" val
If
.I val
is
.LR 1 ,
client processes with unmapped userids
are granted world access
to existing files on the server.
Unmapped userids
may never create files
(who would own them?).
If
.I val
is anything else,
no access is permitted
to
unmapped client userids.
.TP
.BI "param root=" pathname
Use
.I pathname
rather than
.B /
as the root of the filename hierarchy
made visible on the client.
.SH EXAMPLES
A
.I friends
file
for a connection to
.B alice
over Datakit,
.B shamash
over TCP/IP,
and
.B bebop
over TCP/IP
without administrative help:
.RS
.EX
.ta \w'tcp!shamash!400 'u +\w'/usr/pjw/netb/zarf 'u +\w'/n/alice 'u +.3i +.3i +.3i
alice	-	/n/alice	d	0	0
tcp!shamash!400	-	/n/sun	d	1	0
bebop	/usr/pjw/netb/zarf	/n/bebop	t	2	0	pjw
.EE
.RE
.PP
Some
.I except
file rules:
.RS
.EX
client dk!nj/astro/research
param otherok=1
client *
uid root=
gid mail=other
param otherok=0
param root=/usr/spool
.EE
.RE
.PP
If the
.I research
machine calls as a client,
the whole file system tree is visible,
all userids including the super-user
are permitted normal access,
and user names unknown to the server
are permitted world access.
If any other machine calls,
only the contents of
.B /usr/spool
are visible,
.I root
and unknown users
are explicitly denied access,
and
processes in group
.I mail
on the client
are treated as if in group
.I other
on the server.
.SH FILES
.PD 0
.TF /usr/netb/except.local
.TP
.F /n/*
.TP
.F /usr/netb/friends
client connection info
.TP
.F /usr/netb/except.local
.TP
.F /usr/netb/except
.TP
.F /usr/netb/setupl
log file for
.I setup
.TP
.F /usr/netb/zarf.log
log file for zarf
server control info
.SH SEE ALSO
S. A. Rago, `A Look at the Version 9 Network File System',
this manual, Volume\ 2
.SH BUGS
The scheme works only in a modest-sized, friendly community, as it
requires a process per client, trust of clients' security, and common
login names.
.br
File modification times are adjusted for clock-time differences
between machines.
Thus, when viewed across the network,
identical files installed on different machines by
.IR asd (8)
may appear to have different modification times, and
symbol tables of random libraries
.RI ( ar (1))
may appear to be out of date.