Client NetInfo

The client NetInfo file lists the IP addresses of one or more of the local machine's network interfaces. If it exists in the /etc/openafs directory when the Cache Manager initializes, the Cache Manager uses its contents as the basis for a list of local interfaces. Otherwise, the Cache Manager uses the list of interfaces configured with the operating system. It then removes from the list any addresses that appear in the /etc/openafs/NetRestrict file, if it exists. The Cache Manager records the resulting list in kernel memory. The first time it establishes a connection to a File Server, it registers the list with the File Server.

The File Server uses the addresses when it initiates a remote procedure call (RPC) to the Cache Manager (as opposed to responding to an RPC sent by the Cache Manager). There are two common circumstances in which the File Server initiates RPCs: when it breaks callbacks and when it pings the client machine to verify that the Cache Manager is still accessible.

The NetInfo file is in ASCII format. One of the machine's IP addresses appears on each line, in dotted decimal format. To match a network instead of an individual address, use a slash ("/") followed a subnet length. The File Server initially uses the address that matches first in the list. The order of the remaining addresses is not significant: if an RPC to the first interface fails, the File Server simultaneously sends RPCs to all of the other interfaces in the list. Whichever interface replies first is the one to which the File Server then sends pings and RPCs to break callbacks.

To prohibit the Cache Manager absolutely from using one or more addresses, list them in the NetRestrict file. To display the addresses the Cache Manager is currently registering with File Servers, use the fs getclientaddrs command. To replace the current list of interfaces with a new one between reboots of the client machine, use the fs setclientaddrs command.

Server NetInfo

The server NetInfo file, if present in the /var/lib/openafs/local directory, defines the following:

• On a file server machine, the local interfaces that the File Server (fileserver process) can register in the Volume Location Database (VLDB) at initialization time.
• On a database server machine, the local interfaces that the Ubik database synchronization library uses when communicating with the database server processes running on other database server machines.

If the NetInfo file exists when the File Server initializes, the File Server uses its contents as the basis for a list of interfaces to register in the VLDB. Otherwise, it uses the list of network interfaces configured with the operating system. It then removes from the list any addresses that appear in the /var/lib/openafs/local/NetRestrict file, if it exists. The File Server records the resulting list in the /var/lib/openafs/local/sysid file and registers the interfaces in the VLDB. The database server processes use a similar procedure when initializing, to determine which interfaces to use for communication with the peer processes on other database machines in the cell.

The NetInfo file is in ASCII format. One of the machine's IP addresses appears on each line, in dotted decimal format. To match a network instead of an individual address, use a slash ("/") followed a subnet length. The order of the addresses is not significant.

Optionally, the File Server can be forced to use an IP address that does not belong to one of the server interfaces. To do this, add a line to the NetInfo file with the IP address prefixed with "f" and a space. This is useful when the File Server is on the internal side of a NAT firewall.

To display the File Server interface addresses registered in the VLDB, use the vos listaddrs command.