[OpenAFS] Big Initial Question about OpenAFS

[Todd M. Lewis]

I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed, unless you have only one 
OpenAFS server. The OpenAFS clients communicate with whichever server(s) 
house the volumes they are trying to use. Volumes contain what looks 
like a directory of subtrees with files, directories, and symbolic 
links, but they can also contain mountpoints (which look like 
directories) for other volumes in the same or other cells. Those other 
volumes may well be on other servers (and certainly will be if they are 
out of the parent volume's cell, as a server can only serve one cell). 
Yes, this means that a given volume can be "mounted" (referenced as a 
subtree really) from multiple places. Try not to make loops, 'kay.

Robinson, Eric wrote:
> Network connectivity differs significantly between NFS and Samba. With 
> CIFS/Samba, shares may participate in a DFS tree and appear to the 
> client as a single unified tree. However, when the client actually 
> connects to a resource, he is redirected to the IP address of the server 
> that holds the resource, so he ends up communicating with multiple 
> hosts. With NFS, a server mounts the remote filesystem(s) and the client 
> communicates only with one machine.
>  
> Which is OpenAFS more like? I am hoping it  is more like NFS because I 
> have to work around firewall limitations. I am hoping that I can 
> communicate solely with the OpenAFS server, and it will in turn 
> communicate with other servers that it has mounted. Is that the way it 
> works?
>  
> 
> --
> Eric Robinson
> Director of Information Technology
> Physician Select Management, LLC
> 775.720.2082
> 
>  
> 
> 
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