NAME

       NetInfo - Defines machine interfaces to register with AFS servers

DESCRIPTION

       There are two NetInfo files, one for an AFS client and one for an AFS File Server or database server.
       The AFS client NetInfo file specifies the IP addresses that the client should register with the File
       Servers it connects to.  The server NetInfo file specifies what interfaces should be registered with AFS
       Database Servers or used to talk to other database servers.

   Client NetInfo
       The client NetInfo file lists the IP addresses of one or more of the local machine's network interfaces.
       If it exists in the /etc/openafs directory when the Cache Manager initializes, the Cache Manager uses its
       contents as the basis for a list of local interfaces. Otherwise, the Cache Manager uses the list of
       interfaces configured with the operating system. It then removes from the list any addresses that appear
       in the /etc/openafs/NetRestrict file, if it exists. The Cache Manager records the resulting list in
       kernel memory. The first time it establishes a connection to a File Server, it registers the list with
       the File Server.

       The File Server uses the addresses when it initiates a remote procedure call (RPC) to the Cache Manager
       (as opposed to responding to an RPC sent by the Cache Manager). There are two common circumstances in
       which the File Server initiates RPCs: when it breaks callbacks and when it pings the client machine to
       verify that the Cache Manager is still accessible.

       The NetInfo file is in ASCII format. One of the machine's IP addresses appears on each line, in dotted
       decimal format.  To match a network instead of an individual address, use a slash ("/") followed a subnet
       length.  The File Server initially uses the address that matches first in the list. The order of the
       remaining addresses is not significant: if an RPC to the first interface fails, the File Server
       simultaneously sends RPCs to all of the other interfaces in the list.  Whichever interface replies first
       is the one to which the File Server then sends pings and RPCs to break callbacks.

       To prohibit the Cache Manager absolutely from using one or more addresses, list them in the NetRestrict
       file. To display the addresses the Cache Manager is currently registering with File Servers, use the fs
       getclientaddrs command. To replace the current list of interfaces with a new one between reboots of the
       client machine, use the fs setclientaddrs command.

   Server NetInfo
       The server NetInfo file, if present in the /var/lib/openafs/local directory, defines the following:

       •   On a file server machine, the local interfaces that the File Server (fileserver process) can register
           in the Volume Location Database (VLDB) at initialization time.

       •   On  a  database  server  machine, the local interfaces that the Ubik database synchronization library
           uses when communicating with the database server processes running on other database server machines.

       If the NetInfo file exists when the File Server initializes, the File Server uses  its  contents  as  the
       basis for a list of interfaces to register in the VLDB. Otherwise, it uses the list of network interfaces
       configured  with  the  operating  system.  It then removes from the list any addresses that appear in the
       /var/lib/openafs/local/NetRestrict file, if it exists. The File Server records the resulting list in  the
       /var/lib/openafs/local/sysid file and registers the interfaces in the VLDB. The database server processes
       use  a  similar  procedure when initializing, to determine which interfaces to use for communication with
       the peer processes on other database machines in the cell.

       The NetInfo file is in ASCII format. One of the machine's IP addresses appears on each  line,  in  dotted
       decimal format.  To match a network instead of an individual address, use a slash ("/") followed a subnet
       length.  The order of the addresses is not significant.

       Optionally,  the File Server can be forced to use an IP address that does not belong to one of the server
       interfaces. To do this, add a line to the NetInfo file with the IP address prefixed with "f" and a space.
       This is useful when the File Server is on the internal side of a NAT firewall.

       To display the File Server interface addresses registered in the VLDB, use the vos listaddrs command.

EXAMPLES

       If the File Server is on the internal side of a NAT firewall, where it serves internal clients using  the
       IP  address  192.168.1.123  and  external  clients using the IP address 10.1.1.321, then the NetInfo file
       should contain the following:

          192.168.1.123
          f 10.1.1.321

SEE ALSO

       NetRestrict(5),  sysid(5),  vldb.DB0(5),   fileserver(8),   fs_getclientaddrs(1),   fs_setclientaddrs(1),
       vos_listaddrs(1)

COPYRIGHT

       IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

       This  documentation  is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0.  It was converted from HTML to POD
       by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on  work  by  Alf  Wachsmann  and  Elizabeth
       Cassell.

OpenAFS                                            2024-08-27                                         NETINFO(5)