[OpenAFS] Something like $HOME in afs?

[John Hascall]

> Paul Johnson wrote:
> > We are running openafs 1.4.0 with Linux clients.
> >
> > I want to script a process for shutdown time so that the dot files
> > from the Linux $HOME directory are copied to the user's openafs space.
> >  But I can't figure how to ask openafs "where is that user's space?".
> > <...>
> > Users authenticate and they can find these things under
> > /afs/ku.edu/usr/pols.  If everybody were under the same directory, it
> > would be easy.
> >   
> AFS is just a filesystem[*]. Arguably, asking it to know about users'
> home directories is like asking ext2 or ext3 to know about users' home
> directories -- it's Someone Else's Problem, and how you solve it is an
> administrative issue.
> 
> At my site, the actual home directory ($HOME) points straight into AFS;
> this is a fairly usual way of doing things. Since you *don't* do it this
> way, you've got some options:
> 
> - Stuff this information into a directory service like LDAP
> - Have a single directory on AFS that has symlinks to the "real"
> locations of everyones' usernames
> - Throw together some other homegrown solution

Here's one.
If users are unique (i.e., there can't be a pols666/bob and a pols909/bob),
then just use a shell wildcard.

   cp $HOME/save.me /afs/ku.edu/usr/*/$USER


John