You can:
- install the software on each computer, either directly from the
CD-ROM or from a server.
This is the ideal solution if you want the best level of performance, but involves installing and maintaining the software on each computer.When setting up the server you can:
- copy all the software into the same folder (as illustrated above)
- or, given that the software is distributed on several CDs ( 1, 2 ...), copy the contents of each CD into a separate folder for each CD, making sure that the name of each folder corresponds to the CD number ( 1, 2 ...) etc.
- or, set up the software on a server, and simply set up a minimum
environment on each user's computer so end users can access the software
over the network.
This is the ideal solution if you want to save space on each computer, and facilitates future upgrades since means that you only have to upgrade the software on one computer: the server.
Mounting and Exporting File Systems
The distribution scenarios described in this section are based on mounting NFS file systems. Note that you can also use DFS (Distributed File System). DFS is an open, cross-platform distributed file system for managing network security and administration, and is compatible with Version 5.
The scenarios in this section involve mounting and exporting file systems between source and destination machines.
To mount a directory or a file system you must:
- on the source machine, export the file system to which the directory belongs
- on the destination machine, mount the desired directory or file system.
Furthermore, file mounts can be temporary or permanent.
Temporary Mount
Export the directory
If you do not export a directory or file system, it cannot be mounted elsewhere. On AIX and HP-UX machines, use the following command to temporarily export a directory or a file system:
exportfs -vi
[path of the file system]
Example:
exportfs -vi
[/home/V5R18/code/bin]
On Solaris machines, use the following command to export a directory or a file system temporarily:
share -F
nfs -o
right [path of the file system]
Example:
share -F
nfs -o
rw /home
Note that you can only export file systems. If the directory you are trying to export is not a file system, depending on your OS level and your machine, either it will not work at all or it will export the higher-level file system in the path. If it doesn't work, use the command:
df -k
.
in order to know which file system to export if it's done automatically.
Mount a Directory
On AIX, HP-UX and Solaris machines, the command you must use in order to mount a directory on your machine is:
mount [machine name]:/[path to mount] [path of the mount]
Example:
mount tampa:/usr/V5R18 /mnt
Note that the mount directory is not necessarily a file system, but the file system it depends on must be exported on the source machine as explained above.
Note that you must mount /CDROM with the option ro (read only).
Unmount a Directory
You can unmount the directories, which are mounted on the system by using this command:
umount [path of the mount]
Example:
umount /mnt
Permanent Mounts
To make permanent mounts, the principle is the same. The only difference is that you must write the information in files instead of launching commands.
Export the File Systems
First, modify the file in which all the permanently exported directories are written.
On AIX and HP-UX, this file is:
/etc/exports
For each file system you want to export, you must add (or modify … ) a line:
[path of the file system] -[rights],root=[name
of the computer]
Example:
/CDROM -ro,root=verre
On a Solaris computer, the file you must modify is:
/etc/dfs/dfstab
You must include this type of line:
share -F nfs [path of the file system]
Example:
share -F nfs /home
Again, we can only export file systems. If you want to mount a directory, you must export the higher-level file system in the path.
Once you've modified the file, you must use the following command. If you don't use this command, the computer will not take into account your modifications until the next restart:
exportfs -a
Make a Permanent Mount
In order to mount a directory permanently on an AIX computer, you must modify the file:
/etc/filesystems
For each directory, you must add certain lines in this file:
[local path]:
dev = [original path]
vfs = [mount type -
nfs, jfs, …]
node name = [name of the original machine]
mount = [true/false/automatic] -
at start ? -
options = [rw ,ro,wo],Basefs=[original file system type]
account = [true/false]
Example:
/data1:
dev = "/data1"
vfs = nfs
nodename = cabochon
mount = true
options = bg,hard,intr
account = false
On an HP-UX machine, the file you must modify is named:
/etc/fstab
you must insert a line like this:
[source machine name]:[source path] [destination path] [type of
FS] options 0 0
Example:
caxhh940:/VPMDATA.auto/DMUDATA /VPMDATA/DMUDATA nfs rw,suid 0 0
On a Solaris machine, the file you must modify is:
/etc/vfstab
The line structure is:
[machine name]:[FS name] -
[mount point] [FS type] no yes [options]
Example:
briadsy:/diskext - /diskextahmed nfs no yes bg,soft,wr
On all machine types, once you've modified the file, don't forget to launch the command:
mount -a
otherwise your modifications will not be taken into account until the machine is restarted.