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- ' $Header: /sprite/src/cmds/prefix/RCS/prefix.man,v 1.4 92/03/25 15:53:24 shirriff Exp $ SPRITE (Berkeley)
- .so \*(]ltmac.sprite
- .HS PREFIX cmds
- .BS
- .SH NAME
- prefix \- Manipulate the file system prefix table
- .SH SYNOPSIS
- \fBprefix\fR [\fB\-p\fR [\fB\-x \fIprefix\fR]]\fR
- .br
- \fBprefix\fR \fB\-M \fIdevice\fR \fB[-rL] [-f] -l \fIprefix\fR
- .br
- \fBprefix\fR \fB\-[cdU] \fIprefix\fR
- .br
- \fBprefix\fR \fB\-a \fIprefix\fR [\fB\-s\fR \fIserver\fR]
- .br
- \fBprefix\fR \fB\-x \fIprefix\fR \fB\-[hH] \fIhost\fR
- .br
- \fBprefix\fR \fB\-x \fIprefix\fR \fB\-l \fIlocalName\fR
- .SH "OPTIONS"
- .IP "\fB\-p\fR" 14
- (The default.) Print out the prefix table.
- With \fB\-x\fR, print the export list of a prefix.
- .IP "\fB\-x \fIprefix\fR" 14
- Export a local directory given by \fB\-l\fR under the name \fIprefix\fR,
- or use with \fB\-h\fR (\fB\-H\fR) to export (not export) the prefix
- to a particular host.
- .IP "\fB\-M \fIdevice\fR" 14
- Mount the device under the local name given by the \fB\-l\fR option.
- The local name is exported.
- .IP "\fB\-L\fR" 14
- Use with \fB\-M\fR to prevent exporting the prefix.
- .IP "\fB\-r\fR" 14
- Mount read-only. Use with \fB\-M\fR.
- .IP "\fB\-U \fIprefix\fR" 14
- Unmount the file system with the given prefix.
- .IP "\fB\-f\fR" 14
- Force the installation of the prefix, i.e. don't do a stat to make sure
- the link exists.
- .IP "\fB\-l \fIdirName\fR" 14
- Specifies local name. Used with \fB\-M\fR (mount) or \fB\-x\fR (export).
- .IP "\fB\-h \fIhost\fR" 14
- Add \fIhost\fR to the export list associated with the prefix given
- by the \fB\-x\fR option.
- \fIHost\fR can either be the name of the server or its Sprite ID.
- .IP "\fB\-H \fIhost\fR" 14
- Remove \fIhost\fR from the export list associated with the prefix given
- by the \fB\-x\fR option.
- \fIHost\fR can either be the name of the server or its Sprite ID.
- .IP "\fB\-a \fIprefix\fR" 14
- Add \fIprefix\fR to the prefix table. If the \fB\-s\fR option is not
- given a broadcast will be done to find the server.
- .IP "\fB\-s \fIserver\fR" 14
- Specify the server for the prefix given by the \fB\-a\fR option.
- \fIServer\fR can either be the name of the server or its Sprite ID.
- If \fIserver\fR is 0 a broadcast will be done to find the server.
- .IP "\fB\-c \fIprefix\fR" 14
- Clear the server binding for \fIprefix\fR, but retain the prefix in
- the prefix table.
- .IP "\fB\-d \fIprefix\fR" 14
- Delete \fIprefix\fR from the prefix table altogether.
- .BE
-
- .SH DESCRIPTION
- .PP
- Prefix tables are cached mappings from file name prefixes to the
- servers that keep files under that prefix. Under normal operation
- the prefix table is updated automatically as a side-effect of
- pathname lookup. The \fBprefix\fP command is used to display the file system's
- prefix table,
- and to manipulate its individual entries. If no options are given,
- prefix prints out the contents of the prefix table (just as if the
- \fB\-p\fR switch had been given). If options are given, then they
- control what happens, as described above.
- .SH PREFIXES AND SPRITE
- .PP
- The presense of a prefix is indicated by remote links in the file system.
- A remote link is a circular symbolic link with a special type. They
- are created via the "ln -r" command. When a server encounters a remote
- link during lookup, it returns the prefix indicated by the remote link to
- the client that initiated the lookup. The client loads the prefix (if it
- isn't already loaded), broadcasts for the server of the prefix (if it doesn't
- already know who that is), and then sends the lookup operation to the
- new server. Thus the root server is bypassed after prefixes are loaded.
- Prefixes can be nested arbitrarily; remote links can occur in any directory.
- .PP
- Servers mount local disks under a prefix that
- gets exported to other Sprite hosts using the -M option. Servers
- can control what hosts have access to a prefix by adding entries
- to an export list using the -h option. If the export list is
- empty the prefix is exported to all hosts, so adding one exportee
- effectivly prevents access to all other hosts.
- .SH KEYWORDS
- prefix table, mount
-