mmsnfsutils aka. netfsutils - mmsnfs filesystem utilities Copyright (C) 2003-2004 Szymon Acedanski Network technology evolves quickly, but available bandwidths are still not sufficient for fast transfers of big files to a bunch of clients (for example populating operating systems' installation images). Multicasting Master-Slave Network Filesystem (mmsnfs) is a new method of distributing entire filesystem among several client-machines simultaneously and efficiently. Moreover it provides mechanisms for modifying distibuted filesystem structure reliably and securing it against introducing inconsistencies. It is designed to be used in small networks of similarly-configured machines, for instance university labs or internet cafes. This package provides userspace utilities for managing netfs filesystem instances. Installation ------------ 1. make 2. make install Tools will be installed to /usr/local/bin. mknetfs ------- mknetfs -i 100000 /dev/hda5 creates empty server or standalone filesystem on /dev/hda5, allocating 100000 inodes. mknetfs -i 100500 --topino 100032 --invalidate /dev/hda6 creates new filesystem suitable to be used as a cache on client machine. Specifying 100032 as top inode enables use of inodes 100032-100500 for local use on client machines, for ex. creating new slave files (refer to http://mmsnfs.sourceforge.net/documentation/dov/node5.html). Top inode must be multiply of 32. mknetfs -i 100500 --topino 100032 --invalidate --partial /dev/hda6 the same as above, but only changed files are cached. It's good idea to mount with 'noupdate' option. dumpnetfs --------- It's simple tool for checking whether specified filesystem is consistent. With -v switch dumpnetfs prints entire filesystem structure. netfsfl ------- This tool can be used for managing mmsnfs-specific flags, such as MASTER or SLAVE switches. netfsctl -------- netfsctl -E (called from mounted mmsnfs server instance fs) enables edit-mode netfsctl -e exits edit-mode incrementing revision version and populating changes among clients, forcing their 'updater' processes to run. netfstl -p forces all clients to re-run 'updater' processes. updnetfs -------- updnetfs (called from mounted mmsnfs client instance fs) forces to run 'updater' Reporting bugs -------------- All observed bugs/problems and feature requests please direct to me using SourceForge . Don't hesitate to contact me privately on if you have problems with this software. But before doing that, please review all revealant documentation. Author ------ Szymon Acedanski ul. Sloneczna 81D/1 40-136 Katowice, POLAND phone: +48 506 202715 email: accek@poczta.gazeta.pl # vim:tw=70