[933] in linux-net channel archive
Re: DOS clients over NFS
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stephen Davies)
Sat Aug 19 17:33:24 1995
From: "Stephen Davies" <scldad@sdc.com.au>
To: Raj Mathur <raju@gratis.xgroup.ernet.in>
Cc: louis@khotso.sacc.wn.apc.org, linux-net@vger.rutgers.edu
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 95 15:22:48 +0930
In-Reply-To: Your message of Thu, 17 Aug 95 07:57 GMT+0530.<m0siugI-000C8tC@gratis.xgroup.ernet.in>
>I have experimented a bit with the two shareware NFS clients for
>MS-DUH^H^HOS that I found on the Net -- XFS and another client by
>TSoft. On the whole found the TSoft software better able to handle a
>Linux NFS server (don't ask me the reasons -- I've forgotten them :-)
>E-mail nfs@tsoft.net .
>
>Some of the issues that came up were:
>
>PCNFSD. The standard Linux PCNFSD (that comes with Slackware) seems to
>be broken in a couple of places. I finally succeeded in getting things
>to work by getting the source and compiling it myself. File
>linux_pcnfsd2.tgz .
>
The source which I put up on sunsite is intended for people who use the
long shadow passwords under Linux. If you do not use both of these, you
are better off with the source distributed by SunSoft.
>Security. Unfortunately the Linux PCNFSD allows you to mount _any_
>volume once you have properly identified yourself. In the environments
>where I tested NFS this wasn't an issue, but could become one where
>the users are more sophisticated or security is important.
>
This is not quite correct. PCNFSD and the NFS server honour the security
specified in /etc/exports and normal access priviledges.
For example, if the directory /foo/bar has 700 permits and owner mary
and user fred mounts that directory as G:, a dos dir of G: will say
"0 files" (because the directory cannot be read).
If /foo/bar has 755 permits, fred will be able to doa dir and see all of
the file names in /foo/bar but will only be able to actually access those
files subject to the individual file permits.
>Printing. Some hacking around with the PCNFSD sources (AFAI remember)
>and remote printing works like a charm (except for that dumb ^D that
>Windoze inserts in the beginning of PS output. Why, oh why?).
>
Some printers require (used to require) ^D to reset after each output.
Only Microsoft knows why individual printer drivers don't turn this on
and off.
I have some mods from Stefan Kuehnel in Norway which make it possible to
do the printing customisation in pcnfsd.conf. I plan to add these to the
sources on sunsite one day soon.
>Locking. Have not needed it, but the TSoft client seems to document a
>number of locking modes. Presumably one or the other will work.
>
A lock daemon should be available soon from Olaf Kirch. Some processes
do need this support. I have a mickey mouse skeleton lockd which sort
of works but has at least one memory leak.
========================================================================
Stephen Davies Consulting scldad@sdc.com.au
Adelaide, South Australia. Voice: 61-8-2728863
Computing & Network solutions. Fax : 61-8-2741015
