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Commands Reference, Volume 4
Distributes identical copies of
files on multiple hosts.
rdist [ -n ] [
-q ] [ -b ] [ -D ] [ -R ] [ -h ] [ -i ] [ -v ] [ -w ] [ -y ] [ -f FileName ] [ -d Argument=Value ]
[ -m Host ] ...
[ Name ] ...
rdist [ -n ] [ -q ]
[ -b ] [ -D ] [ -R ]
[ -h ] [ -i ] [ -v ]
[ -w ] [ -y ] -c Name ... [ Login@ ]
Host [ :Destination ]
Attention:
Do not attempt to use the rdist command to send a file larger than
2 Gigabytes in size to a pre-AIX 4.2 or non-operating system
machine. Doing so will result in undefined behaviors and, in rare
cases, the loss of data.
The rdist command
maintains identical copies of files on multiple hosts. The
rdist command preserves the owner, group, mode, and modified time
of files, if possible, and can update programs that are running. The
rdist command can receive direction from the following
sources:
- The default distribution file, distfile file in your
$HOME directory.
- A different distribution
file, specified by the -f flag.
- Command-line arguments
that augment or override variable definitions in the distribution file.
- Command-line arguments
that serve as a small distribution file.
If you do not use the
-f flag, the rdist command looks for distfile
file in your $HOME directory. If it doesn't find a
distfile file, it looks for Distfile file.
The value specified by the
Name parameter is read as the name of a file to be updated or a
subcommand to execute. If you do not specify a value for the
Name parameter on the command line, the rdist command
updates all the files and directories listed in the distribution file.
If you specify - (minus sign) for the Name parameter,
the rdist command uses standard input. If the name of a file
specified by the Name parameter is the same as the name of a
subcommand, the rdist command interprets the Name
parameter as a subcommand.
The rdist command
requires that a .rhosts file be configured on each
host. See ".rhosts File Format for TCP/IP"
in AIX 5L Version 5.1 Files Reference for details.
Notes:
- If the rdist
command is not present in the /usr/bin/rdist directory on a remote
machine, create a link from the /usr/bin/rdist directory to the
actual location of the rdist command. This location is
usually the /usr/ucb/rdist directory.
- Currently, the
rdist command can handle only 7-bit ASCII file names.
| -b
| Performs a binary comparison and updates files if they differ.
|
| -c
| Directs the rdist command to interpret the remaining arguments
as a small distribution file. Available arguments are:
- Name
- Specifies single name or list of names separated by blanks. The
value can be either a file or a subcommand.
- [Login@]Host
- Specifies the machine to be updated and, optionally, the login name to be
notified of the update.
- Destination
- Specifies a file on the remote machine if a single name is specified in
the Name argument; specifies a directory if more than one name
is specified.
Note: Do not use the -c flag with the
-f, -d, or -m flag.
|
| -d
Argument=Value
| Defines the Argument variable as having the value specified by
the Value variable. The -d flag defines or
overrides variable definitions in the distfile file. The
Value variable can be specified as an empty string, one name, or a
list of names surrounded by parentheses and separated by tabs or
spaces.
|
| -D
| Turns on the debugging output.
|
| -f FileName
| Specifies the name of the distribution file. If you do not use the
-f flag, the default value is the distfile or
Distfile file in your $HOME directory.
|
| -h
| Copies the file that the link points to rather than the link
itself.
|
| -i
| Ignores unresolved links. The rdist command maintains
the link structure of files being transferred and warns users if it cannot
find all the links.
|
| -m Host
| Limits which machines are to be updated. You can use the
-m Host option multiple times to limit updates to a
subset of the hosts listed in the distfile file.
|
| -n
| Prints the subcommands without executing them. Use the
-n flag to debug the distfile file.
|
| -q
| Operates in quiet mode. The -q option suppresses
printing of modified files on standard output.
|
| -R
| Removes extraneous files. If a directory is being updated, any
files that exist on the remote host but not in the master directory are
removed. Use the -R flag to maintain identical copies of
directories.
|
| -v
| Verifies that the files are up-to-date on all hosts; files that are
out-of-date are then displayed. However, the rdist -v
command neither changes files nor sends mail.
|
| -w
| Appends the entire path name of the file to the destination directory
name. Normally, the rdist command uses only the last
component of a name for renaming files, preserving the directory structure of
the copied files.
|
|
| When the -w flag is used with a file name that begins with a ~
(tilde), everything except the home directory is appended to the destination
name. File names that do not begin with a / (slash) or a ~ (tilde) use
the destination user's home directory as the root directory for the rest
of the file name.
|
| -y
| Prevents recent copies of files from being replaced by files that are not
as recent. Files are normally updated when their time stamp and size
differ. The -y flag prevents the rdist command
from updating files more recent than the master file.
|
The distribution file specifies
the files to copy, destination hosts for distribution, and operations to
perform when updating files to be distributed with the rdist
command. Normally, the rdist command uses the
distfile file in your $HOME directory. You can
specify a different file If you use the -f flag.
Each entry in the distribution
file has one of the following formats:
| VariableName = NameList
| Defines variables used in other entries of the distribution file
(SourceList, DestinationList, or
SubcommandList).
|
| [Label:] SourceList -> DestinationList SubcommandList
|
|
| Directs the rdist command to distribute files named in the
SourceList variable to hosts named in the
DestinationList variable. Distribution file commands perform
additional functions.
|
| [Label:] SourceList :: TimeStampFile SubcommandList
|
|
| Directs the rdist command to update files that have changed
since a given date. Distribution file subcommands perform additional
functions. Each file specified with the SourceList variable
is updated if the file is newer than the time-stamp file. This format
is useful for restoring files.
|
Labels are optional and used to
identify a subcommand for partial updates.
| VariableName
| Identifies the variable used in the distribution file.
|
| NameList
| Specifies a list of files and directories, hosts, or subcommands.
|
| SourceList
| Specifies files and directories on the local host for the
rdist command to use as the master copy for distribution.
|
| DestinationList
| Indicates hosts to receive copies of the files.
|
| SubcommandList
| Lists distribution file subcommands to be executed.
|
The rdist command
treats new-line characters, tabs, and blanks as separators.
Distribution file variables for expansion begin with a $ (dollar sign)
followed by a single character or a name enclosed in {} (braces).
Comments begin with a # (pound sign) and end with a new-line character.
The distribution file source and
destination lists comprise zero or more names separated by blanks, as shown in
the following format:
[Name1]
[Name2] [Name3] ...
The rdist command
recognizes and expands the following shell metacharacters on the local host in
the same way as for the csh command.
- [ (left bracket)
- ] (right bracket)
- { (left brace)
- } (right brace)
- ( (left parenthesis)
- ) (right parenthesis)
- * (asterisk)
- ? (question mark)
To prevent these characters from
being expanded, precede them with a \ (backslash). The rdist
command also expands the ~ (tilde) in the same way as for the csh command, but does so separately on the local
and destination hosts.
Multiple commands to the shell
must be separated by a ; (semicolon). Commands are executed in the
user's home directory on the host being updated. The
special subcommand can be used to rebuild private databases after a
program has been updated.
The distribution file subcommand
list may contain zero or more of the following subcommands:
| install
Options [OptionalDestName];
|
|
| Copies out-of-date files and directories. The rdist
command copies each source file or directory to each host in the destination
list. The available options as specified by the Options
variable are the rdist command flags -b, -h,
-i, -R, -v, -w, and
-y. These options only apply to the files specified by the
SourceList variable. When you use the -R flag,
nonempty directories are removed if the corresponding file name is absent on
the master host. The OptionalDestName parameter renames
files.
If no install
subcommand appears in the subcommand list or the destination name is not
specified, the source file name is used. Directories in the path name
are created if they do not exist on the remote host. The login name
used on the destination host is the same as the local host unless the
destination name is of the
format login@host.
|
| notify
NameList;
| Mails the list of updated files and any errors that may have occurred to
the listed names (the NameList parameter). If no
@ (at sign) appears in the name, the destination host is appended
to the name (name@host).
|
| except
NameList;
| Causes the rdist command to update all the files specified by
the SourceList entry except for those files specified by the
NameList variable.
|
| except_pat
NameList;
| Prevents the rdist command from updating any files that
contain a string that matches a member of the list specified by the
NameList variable.
|
| special
NameList "String";
|
|
| Specifies shell commands (the "String"
variable) to be executed on the remote host after the file specified by the
NameList variable is updated or installed. If the
NameList variable is omitted, the shell commands are executed for
every file updated or installed. The shell variable FILE is
set to the current file name before the rdist command executes the
"String" variable. The
"String" value must be enclosed in " "
(double quotation marks) and can cross multiple lines in the distribution
file.
|
This command returns the following
exit values:
| 0
| Specifies that the command completed successfully.
|
| >0
| Specifies that an error occurred.
|
- To indicate which
hosts' files to update, enter a line similar to the following:
HOSTS =( matisse root@arpa )
where the HOSTS variable is defined to be matisse
and root@arpa. The rdist command updates files on
the hosts matisse and root@arpa. You could use
this variable as a destination list.
- To indicate a name to
use as a value for a SourceList entry, enter a line similar to the
following:
FILES = ( /bin /lib/usr/bin /usr/games
/usr/include/{*.h,{stand,sys,vax*,pascal,machine}/*.h}
/usr/lib /usr/man/man? /usr/ucb /usr/local/rdist )
where the FILES value is defined to be the files to be used
for the SourceList entry.
- To indicate which files
to exclude from the updating process, enter a line similar to the
following:
EXLIB = ( Mail.rc aliases aliases.dir aliases.pag crontab dshrc
sendmail.cf sendmail.fc sendmail.hf sendmail.st uucp vfont)
where the EXLIB value is defined as a list of files to exclude
from the updating process.
- To copy all files from /usr/src/bin to arpa
expanding the namelist variable so that all files except those
present in the namelist variable and having .o as
an extension are copied:
/usr/src/bin ->arpa
except_pat(\e\e.o\e ${<namelist> /SCCS\e ${<namelist>}
or
/usr/src/bin ->arpa
except_pat(\\.o\e ${<namelist> /SCCS\e ${<namelist>}
- To copy all files from /usr/src/bin to arpa except
those with an .o extension:
/usr/src/bin ->arpa
except_pat(\\.o\$ /SCCS\$
- To copy a source list of
files to a destination list of hosts, enter a line similar to the
following:
${FILES} ->${HOSTS}
install -R
except /usr/lib/${EXLIB} ;
except /usr/games/lib ;
special /usr/sbin/sendmail "/usr/sbin/sendmail.bz" ;
The [Label:] entry of the line is optional
and not shown here. The $ (dollar sign) and the {} (braces) cause the
file names FILES, HOSTS, and EXLIB to be
expanded into the lists designated for them in the previous examples.
The rest of the example comprises the subcommand list.
- To use the
[Label:] entry, enter the line as follows:
srcsL:
/usr/src/bin -> arpa
except_pat (\e\e.o\e$ /SCCS\e$ ) ;
The label is srcsL: and can be used to identify this entry
for updating. The /usr/src/bin file is the source to be
copied and host arpa is the destination of the copy. The
third line contains a subcommand from the subcommand list.
- To use a time-stamp
file, enter a line similar to the following:
${FILES} :: stamp.cory
notify root@cory
The $ (dollar sign) and {} (braces) cause the name specified by
FILES to be expanded into the list designated for it. The
time-stamp file is stamp.cory. The last line is a
subcommand from the subcommand list.
| /usr/bin/rdist
| Contains the rdist command.
|
| $HOME/distfile
|
|
| Contains a list of subcommands to be read by the rdist
command.
|
| /tmp/rdist
| Contains an update list. This is a temporary file.
|
The csh command, ksh
command, sh command.
The .rhosts file format.
Network
Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.1 System Management Guide:
Communications and Networks.
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