[OpenAFS-win32-devel] a couple of questions concerning the MS loopback adapter

[Jay Stamps]

Howdy:

I've been lurking on the OpenAFS lists long enough now to recognize 
that win32-devel isn't often posted to, unless inappropriately. Hope 
I'm asking real questions here...

1) Installing the MS LBA is a tricky business, granted. But every 
time I've run the installer for OpenAFS for Windows 1.4.0 or 1.4.1 (I 
haven't tested 1.4.2, but see next paragraph) on an XP or 2003 
system, when the LBA is installed there's a long delay, eventually a 
message appears stating that the installer is "Calling ExecMethod" w/ 
a 20-second countdown, and after 20 seconds a miracle seems to occur: 
The adapter is installed and configured.

Testing OpenAFS 1.5.6 (haven't tried 1.5.7), I see that the LBA 
appears to languish for some time while "acquiring network address" 
before the installer prompts for a reboot. ("Acquiring network 
address" is in fact the point at which the delay occurs for all the 
installers I've tested.)

I'm curious as to why the LBA's installation and configuration take 
so long. But if it must be so to be done right, then it must be so.

2) Why does the OpenAFS installer (even for 1.5.6) create an entry in 
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts? Some anti-spyware tools, 
which pay attention to the hosts file given its frequent use by 
hijackers, react by throwing an "unable to resolve IP" error b/c the 
LBA has a 10/8 address. Other anti-spyware software (I'm told) 
behaves even more aggressively. I suspect this AFS hosts file entry 
is no longer really necessary, but that's only a hunch. What 
documentation (random Usenet threads, really) I've been able to dig 
up suggests that maybe it once was needed; but is it needed still?

I've already noted w/in others' earshot that the anti-spyware 
software (OK, Spy Sweeper, in wide use at Stanford) is stupid to try 
to resolve an RFC 1918 address, but anyway, there ya have it...

Thanks.

-Jay