Re: ILA-NFS

[Daniel A Haug <aihaug@SHRIKE.AUSTIN.LOCKHEED.COM>]

> Date: 20 Jan 89 12:04:00 WET
> From: mcvax!control.lth.se!karlerik@uunet.UU.NET (KARL-ERIK ]RZEN)
> Subject: ILA-NFS


> What are the practical experience with this software? What type of
> files can be stored on the Sun.

We store both .lisp and .bin files, as well as distribution reels.
While I cannot confirm this right this minute, I believe we have
even backed up worlds as well.

> Is it possible to store the entire (or
> a single partition) of the LMFS on the Sun disk?

We have not tried to back up a specific partition onto the Sun.  I doubt
this would work as I think partitions use physical block mappings,
and you would have no way to pull partitions back from the sun and
return them to the same identical blocks.  Of course, the idea of
lmfs partitions does not exist once to translate onto unix file servers.

ILA-NFS supports unix pathname specifications, so direct references
to unix files, as you would lmfs files, works just fine.  The logical-
pathname facility also works well in translating to unix pathnames,
so all systems that make use of this (e.g. the Document Examiner,
Genera source files, dired, file maintenance frame, etc.) would
have no problem.

> What is the price in performance?

Well, not quite as lightning fast (;-) as a lispm file server.  I've
noticed a major initial hit you take when NFS has to validate your
authorized access to the specific unix pathname to which you are attempting
access.  Once NFS can validate your access to that pathname, transfer
of file data seems about the same.  However, this brings up another
issue: security.  As lispm's have no notion of user security, this
opens a back door into the sun.  I merely have to login to the lispm
as user X (not necessarily me) to get authorized access (read/write/delete)
to all of X's directories on the sun.  That's the price you pay.

Hope this helps.

dan haug
haug@austin.lockheed.com