Purpose
Initializes the File Server component of the fs process
Synopsis
fileserver [-d <debug level>] [-p <number of processes>]
[-spare <number of spare blocks>]
[-pctspare <percentage spare>] [-b <buffers>]
[-l <large vnodes>] [-s <small nodes>]
[-vc <volume cachesize>] [-w <call back wait interval>]
[-cb <number of call backs>]
[-banner (print banner every 10 minutes)]
[-novbc (whole volume cbs disabled)]
[-implicit <admin mode bits: rlidwka>]
[-hr <number of hours between refreshing the host cps>]
[-busyat <redirect clients when queue > n>]
[-rxpck <number of rx extra packets>]
[-rxdbg (enable rx debugging)]
[-rxdbge (enable rxevent debugging)]
[-m <min percentage spare in partition>]
[-lock (keep fileserver from swapping)]
[-L (large server conf)] [-S (small server conf)]
[-k <stack size>] [-realm <Kerberos realm name>]
[-udpsize <size of socket buffer in bytes>]
[-enable_peer_stats] [-enable_process_stats]
[-help]
This command does not use the syntax conventions of the AFS command suites. Provide the command name and all option names in full.
Description
The fileserver command initializes the File Server component of the fs process. In the conventional configuration, its binary file is located in the /usr/afs/bin directory on a file server machine.
The fileserver command is not normally issued at the command shell prompt, but rather placed into a database server machine's /usr/afs/local/BosConfig file with the bos create command. If it is ever issued at the command shell prompt, the issuer must be logged onto a file server machine as the local superuser root.
The File Server creates the /usr/afs/logs/FileLog log file as it initializes, if the file does not already exist. It does not write a detailed trace by default, but use the -d option to increase the amount of detail. Use the bos getlog command to display the contents of the log file.
The command's arguments enable the administrator to control many aspects of the File Server's performance, as detailed in the Options section. By default the fileserver command sets values for many arguments that are suitable for a medium-sized file server machine. To set values suitable for a small or large file server machine, use the -S or -L flag respectively. The following list describes the parameters and corresponding argument for which the fileserver command sets default values, and Table 1 summarizes the setting for each of the three machine sizes.
Table 1. File Server configuration parameters
| Parameter (Argument) | Small configuration (-S) | Medium configuration (default) | Large configuration (-L) |
| Number of LWPs (-p) | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| Number of cached directory blocks (-b) | 70 | 90 | 120 |
| Number of cached large vnodes (-l) | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| Number of cached small vnodes (-s) | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| Maximum volume cache size (-vc) | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| Number of callbacks (-cb) | 20,000 | 60,000 | 64,000 |
| Number of Rx packets (-rxpck) | 100 | 150 | 200 |
To override any of the values, provide the indicated argument (which can be combined with the -S or -L flag).
The amount of memory required for the File Server varies. The approximate default memory usage is 751 KB when the -S flag is used (small configuration), 1.1 MB when all defaults are used (medium configuration), and 1.4 MB when the -L flag is used (large configuration). If additional memory is available, increasing the value of the -cb and -vc arguments can improve File Server performance most directly.
By default, the File Server allows a volume to exceed its quota by 1 MB when an application is writing data to an existing file in a volume that is full. The File Server still does not allow users to create new files in a full volume. To change the default, use one of the following arguments:
By default, the File Server implicitly grants the a (administer) and l (lookup) permissions to the system:administrators on the access control list (ACL) of every directory in the volumes stored on its file server machine. In other words, the group's members can exercise those two permissions even when an entry for the group does not appear on an ACL. To change the set of default permissions, use the -implicit argument.
The File Server maintains a host current protection subgroup (host CPS) for each client machine from which it has received a data access request. Like the CPS for a user, a host CPS lists all of the Protection Database groups to which the machine belongs, and the File Server compares the host CPS to a directory's ACL to determine in what manner users on the machine are authorized to access the directory's contents. When the pts adduser or pts removeuser command is used to change the groups to which a machine belongs, the File Server must recompute the machine's host CPS in order to notice the change. By default, the File Server contacts the Protection Server every two hours to recompute host CPSs, implying that it can take that long for changed group memberships to become effective. To change this frequency, use the -hr argument.
| Note: | The AIX operating system does not automatically reserve a part of each partition to avoid the negative consequences that can result when the space on a partition is completely exhausted. Therefore, the AIX version of the File Server creates an 8% disk reserve automatically. To change the percentage, use the -m argument. |
The File Server generates the following message when a partition is nearly full:
No space left on device
Cautions
Do not use the -k and -w arguments, which are intended for use by the AFS Development group only. Changing them from their default values can result in unpredictable File Server behavior. In any case, on many operating systems the File Server uses native threads rather than the LWP threads, so using the -k argument to set the number of LWP threads has no effect.
Do not specify both the -spare and -pctspare arguments. Doing so causes the File Server to exit, leaving an error message in the /usr/afs/logs/FileLog file.
Options that are available only on some system types, such as the -m and -lock options, appear in the output generated by the -help option only on the relevant system type.
Options
The maximum number of threads can differ in each release of AFS. Consult the AFS Release Notes for the current release.
File Server is running at time.
| Note: | The File Server always implicitly grants the a permission to the system:administrators group, even if you use the none value. |
| Note: | This argument is available only on machines running the AIX operating system, and so does not appear in the syntax statement when the -help flag is used on other system types. |
| Note: | This argument is available only on machines running the IRIX operating system, and so does not appear in the syntax statement when the -help flag is used on other system types. |
Examples
The following bos create command creates an fs process on the file server machine fs2.abc.com that uses the large configuration size, and allows volumes to exceed their quota by 10%. Type the command on a single line:
% bos create -server fs2.abc.com -instance fs -type fs \
-cmd "/usr/afs/bin/fileserver -pctspare 10 \
-L" /usr/afs/bin/volserver /usr/afs/bin/salvager
Privilege Required
The issuer must be logged in as the superuser root on a file server machine to issue the command at a command shell prompt. It is conventional instead to create and start the process by issuing the bos create command.
Related Information