Re: 2.2 Release Progress Update #2

[Bill Hacker <wbh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Matthew Dillon wrote:
> :Questions w/r Rel 2.2 and HAMMER:
> :
*trimmed*

> :Query 1:
> :- Will 2.2 have the Version 2 / 'WIP' or otherwise?
>
>     No.  Its still version 1 because the version 2 tests did not pan
>     out.  Do not use version 2 (and the hammer program will complain a
>     lot if you try).

Noted, thanks.

> :Query 2:
*trimmed*

> :However - where /home is itself a pfs mount, as in the default install, 
> :a warning message will follow on the next three lines:
> :You are attempting to access a PFS softlink... et al
> :
> :Further operations fail with that error message and/or no such file.
>
>     It wants you to create the actual PFS softlinks on PFS #0... the root
>     mount.

Noted. Which works fine on-box.

Note for future in planning a 'production' install:

For portability, it may make sense to reserve slices and/or additional 
storage media NOT part of the base in order to keep (OS+tools) & 
(app/user datastore) less interdependent.


*trimmed*

> :w/o the 'pfs':
> :
> :     hammer mirror-copy /master /slave
>
>     They are not null-mounted by the hammer utility.  It only creates the
>     softlinks.

Noted as related to need to work from outside/above an existing PFS, 
thanks. Will dig deeper.

> :OTOH - I'm not yet able to get the user@host via ssh remote equivalent 
> :to work, with or without a pre-existing slave on the target.
> :

Hacking the offending code now. Seems that it loses ability to find the 
'involved' tty to receive an answer to the '[yes|no]' challenge whenever 
a PWD is required of one end or the other of the ssh connection. DOES 
accept a pwd for ONE end, but not for two, though it shows the 
appropriate challenge.

In either case, a countdown with 'Ctrl-c to abort' as used in 
pfs-destroy should be more universal if/as/when mirror-copy / 
mirror-stream are to be invoked by a cron script or such...

IF ALSO use of certs or other non-password auth is required, man page 
should so indicate.

> :I thought it was to be possible to mount at points other-than '/' such 
> :as to make selected substs available / exportable / mirror-able?
> :

*trimmed*

>     No, you can only mirror whole PFSs.  You cannot mirror subdirectory
>     trees.

Noted.


*trimmed*

> :.despite citing the matching pfs number in the error message.
>
>     You should be able to mount the slave after you've done the initial
>     mirroring operation.  The slave has no root directory until the initial
>     mirroring operation has been done (the root directory has to be
>     mirrored from the master first).

ACK. Absent (yet) getting the ssh toolset to agree with a 
password-authed environment, w/r either mirror-copy or mirror-stream to 
a not-yet-existing slave, 'cheating' seems to work or testing:

- create a slave on same-box, mirror-copy from master to it, dd the 
result into place on the remote box.

One of the issues for the uninitiated is that the default install leaves 
only the '/' not in a PFS, ergo the man page example fails, AND the 
change from '/home/<whatever>' to '/<whatever> requires an ssh caller 
arrive with root privs in order to create the slave.

Short term, local LAN, testing only, I have experimented with allowing 
root login and/or granting insane privs.

Longer term, mounting a separate HDD and granting requisite privs to 
that store (only) seems appropriate.

Not new - same environment a cpdup or rsync runner needs.

'Quis custodiet..' et al.

>     However, any mount_null will lock the slave's transaction id... you
>     are mounting a snapshot, not the current state of the slave.
>
> 					-Matt
> 					Matthew Dillon 
> 					<dillon@backplane.com>

I hear that last part, but ... presume the 5-sec. default updates are 
still at work on (at least) the raw soflink.

A <reload> in Thunar has no-more-than 5-sec lag between what /master and 
/slave display as I make changes in /master. Cross-box, for now, not yet 
sorted how to get remote to update.

NB: Did have an 8-hour time diff between two boxes. Both on GMT and same 
dntp now.  Starting over omce I've corrected the code (other message).....

Thanks & regards,

Bill