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. The File Server initially uses the address that appears
       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. 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.