Provided by: openafs-client_1.6.7-1ubuntu1.1_amd64 
NAME
fs_setserverprefs - Sets the preference ranks for file servers or VL servers
SYNOPSIS
fs setserverprefs [-servers <fileserver names and ranks>+]
[-vlservers <VL server names and ranks>+]
[-file <input from named file>] [-stdin] [-help]
fs sets [-se <fileserver names and ranks>+]
[-vl <VL server names and ranks>+]
[-f <input from named file>] [-st] [-h]
fs sp [-se <fileserver names and ranks>+]
[-vl <VL server names and ranks>+]
[-f <input from named file>] [-st] [-h]
DESCRIPTION
The fs setserverprefs command sets the local Cache Manager's preference ranks for one or
more file server machine interfaces or, if the -vlserver argument is provided, for Volume
Location (VL) Server machines. For file server machines, the numerical ranks determine the
order in which the Cache Manager attempts to contact the interfaces of machines that are
housing a volume. For VL Server machines, the ranks determine the order in which the Cache
Manager attempts to contact a cell's VL Servers when requesting VLDB information.
The fs getserverprefs reference page explains how the Cache Manager uses preference ranks
when contacting file server machines or VL Server machines. The following paragraphs
explain how the Cache Manager calculates default ranks, and how to use this command to
change the defaults.
Calculation of Default Preference Ranks
The Cache Manager stores a preference rank in kernel memory as a paired IP address and
numerical rank. If a file server machine is multihomed, the Cache Manager assigns a
distinct rank to each of the machine's addresses (up to the number of addresses that the
VLDB can store per machine). Once calculated, a rank persists until the machine reboots,
or until this command is used to change it.
The Cache Manager sets default VL Server preference ranks as it initializes, randomly
assigning a rank from the range 10,000 to 10,126 to each of the machines listed in the
local /etc/openafs/CellServDB file. If DNS is used to locate VL Servers, the Cache Manager
will assign a rank to every server configured in an AFSDB or SRV record for that cell.
Currently, the priority and weight information from SRV records is not used. Machines from
different cells can have the same rank, but this does not present a problem because the
Cache Manager consults only one cell's ranks at a time.
The Cache Manager sets default preference ranks for file server machine as it fetches
volume location information from the VLDB. Each time it learns about file server machine
interfaces for which it has not already set ranks, it assigns a rank to each interface. If
the local client machine has only one IP address, the Cache Manager compares it to the
server interface's IP address and sets a rank according to the following algorithm. If the
client machine is multihomed, the Cache Manager applies the algorithm to each of the
client machine's addresses and assigns to the file server machine interface the lowest
rank that results.
• If the local machine is a file server machine, the base rank for each of its
interfaces is 5,000.
• If the file server machine interface is on the same subnetwork as the client
interface, its base rank is 20,000.
• If the file server machine interface is on the same network as the client interface,
or is at the distant end of a point-to-point link with the client interface, its base
rank is 30,000.
• If the file server machine interface is on a different network than the client
interface, or the Cache Manager cannot obtain network information about it, its base
rank is 40,000.
After assigning a base rank to a file server machine interface, the Cache Manager adds to
it a number randomly chosen from the range 0 (zero) to 14. As an example, a file server
machine interface in the same subnetwork as the local machine receives a base rank of
20,000, but the Cache Manager records the actual rank as an integer between 20,000 and
20,014. This process reduces the number of interfaces that have exactly the same rank. As
with VL Server machine ranks, it is possible for file server machine interfaces from
foreign cells to have the same rank as interfaces in the local cell, but this does not
present a problem. Only the relative ranks of the interfaces that house a given volume are
relevant, and AFS only supports storage of a volume in one cell at a time.
Setting Non-default Preference Ranks
Use the fs setserverprefs command to reset an existing preference rank, or to set the
initial rank of a file server machine interface or VL Server machine for which the Cache
Manager has no rank. To make a rank persist across a reboot of the local machine, place
the appropriate fs setserverprefs command in the machine's AFS initialization file.
Specify each preference rank as a pair of values separated by one or more spaces:
• The first member of the pair is the fully-qualified hostname (for example,
"fs1.abc.com"), or the IP address in dotted decimal format, of a file server machine
interface or VL Server machine
• The second member of the pair is an integer. The possible ranks range from 1 through
65535.
As with default ranks, the Cache Manager adds a randomly chosen integer to a rank
specified by this command. For file server machine interfaces, the integer is from the
range 0 (zero) to 14; for VL Server machines, it is from the range 0 (zero) to 126. For
example, if the administrator assigns a rank of 15,000 to a file server machine interface,
the Cache Manager stores an integer between 15,000 to 15,014.
There are several ways to provide ranks for file server machine interfaces (but not for VL
Server machines):
• On the command line, following the -servers argument.
• In a file named by the -file argument. Place each pair on its own line in the file.
Directing the output from the fs getserverprefs command to a file automatically
generates a file with the proper format.
• Via the standard input stream, by providing the -stdin flag. This method enables the
issuer to feed in values directly from a program or script that generates preference
ranks by using an algorithm appropriate to the local cell. The AFS distribution does
not include such programs or scripts.
When setting file server machine preference ranks, it is legal to combine the -servers,
-file, and -stdin options on a single command line. If different options specify a
different rank for the same interface, the Cache Manager stores and uses the rank assigned
with the -servers argument.
The -vlservers argument is the only way to assign VL Server machine ranks. It can be
combined with one or more of the -servers, -file, and -stdin options, but the Cache
Manager applies the values provided for those options to file server machine ranks only.
The fs command interpreter does not verify hostnames or IP addresses, and so assigns
preference ranks to invalid machine names or addresses. The Cache Manager never uses such
ranks unless the same incorrect information is in the VLDB.
OPTIONS
-servers <file server names and ranks>+
Specifies one or more file server machine preference ranks. Each rank pairs the fully-
qualified hostname or IP address (in dotted decimal format) of a file server machine's
interface with an integer rank, separated by one or more spaces; also separate each
pair with one or more spaces. Acceptable values for the rank range from 1 through
65521; a lower value indicates a greater preference. Providing ranks outside this
range can have unpredictable results. Providing a value no larger than 65521
guarantees that the rank does not exceed the maximum possible value of 65,535 even if
the largest random factor (14) is added.
This argument can be combined with the -file argument, -stdin flag, or both. If more
than one of the arguments sets a rank for the same interface, the rank set by this
argument takes precedence. It can also be combined with the -vlservers argument, but
does not interact with it.
-vlservers <VL server names and ranks>+
Specifies one or more VL Server preference ranks. Each rank pairs the fully-qualified
hostname or IP address (in dotted decimal format) of a VL Server machine with an
integer rank, separated by one or more spaces; also separate each pair with one or
more spaces. Acceptable values for the rank range from 1 through 65521; a lower value
indicates a greater preference. Providing ranks outside this range can have
unpredictable results. Providing a value no larger than 65521 guarantees that the rank
does not exceed the maximum possible value of 65,535 even if the largest random factor
(14) is added.
This argument can be combined with the -servers argument, -file argument, -stdin flag,
or any combination of the three, but does not interact with any of them. They apply
only to file server machine ranks.
-file <input file>
Specifies the full pathname of a file from which to read pairs of file server machine
interfaces and their ranks, using the same notation and range of values as for the
-servers argument. In the file, place each pair on its own line and separate the two
parts of each pair with one or more spaces.
This argument can be combined with the -servers argument, -stdin flag, or both. If
more than one of the arguments sets a rank for the same interface, the rank set by the
-server argument takes precedence. It can also be combined with the -vlservers
argument, but does not interact with it.
-stdin
Reads pairs of file server machine interface and integer rank from the standard input
stream. The intended use is to accept input piped in from a user-defined program or
script that generates ranks in the appropriate format, but it also accepts input typed
to the shell. Format the interface and rank pairs as for the -file argument. If typing
at the shell, type Ctrl-D after the final newline to complete the input.
This argument can be combined with the -servers argument, the -file argument, or both.
If more than one of the arguments sets a rank for the same interface, the rank set by
the -server argument takes precedence. It can also be combined with the -vlservers
argument, but does not interact with it.
-help
Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored.
EXAMPLES
The following command sets the Cache Manager's preference ranks for the file server
machines named "fs3.abc.com" and "fs4.abc.com", the latter of which is specified by its IP
address, 192.12.105.100. The machines reside in another subnetwork of the local machine's
network, so their default base rank is 30,000. To increase the Cache Manager's preference
for these machines, the issuer assigns a rank of 25000, to which the Cache Manager adds an
integer in the range from 0 to 15.
# fs setserverprefs -servers fs3.abc.com 25000 192.12.105.100 25000
The following command uses the -servers argument to set the Cache Manager's preference
ranks for the same two file server machines, but it also uses the -file argument to read a
collection of preference ranks from a file that resides in the local file /etc/fs.prefs:
# fs setserverprefs -servers fs3.abc.com 25000 192.12.105.100 25000 \
-file /etc/fs.prefs
The /etc/fs.prefs file has the following contents and format:
192.12.108.214 7500
192.12.108.212 7500
138.255.33.41 39000
138.255.33.34 39000
128.0.45.36 41000
128.0.45.37 41000
The following command uses the -stdin flag to read preference ranks from the standard
input stream. The ranks are piped to the command from a program, calc_prefs, which was
written by the issuer to calculate preferences based on values significant to the local
cell.
# calc_prefs | fs setserverprefs -stdin
The following command uses the -vlservers argument to set the Cache Manager's preferences
for the VL server machines named "fs1.abc.com", "fs3.abc.com", and "fs4.abc.com" to base
ranks of 1, 11000, and 65521, respectively:
# fs setserverprefs -vlservers fs1.abc.com 1 fs3.abc.com 11000 \
fs4.abc.com 65521
PRIVILEGE REQUIRED
The issuer must be logged in as the local superuser root.
SEE ALSO
fs_getserverprefs(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.