afs - Introduction to Auristor File System (AFS) commands
Auristor provides many commands that enable users and system administrators to use and customize its features. Many of the commands belong to the following categories, called command suites.
Interface for configuring and operating the Auristor Backup System.
Interface to the Basic Overseer (BOS) Server for administering server processes.
Interface for administering the client Cache Manager and the file namespace including mount points and access control lists (ACLs).
Interface for tracing Cache Manager operations when debugging problems.
Interface to the Protection Server for administering ID and group membership information.
Interface to the Volume Server and Location Server for administering volumes, the file servers they are stored on, and their properties including Maximum Access Lists and Security Policies.
In addition, there are several commands that do not belong to suites.
Auristor commands that belong to suites have the following structure:
command_suite operation_code -switch <value>[+] [-flag]
Together, the command_suite and operation_code make up the command name.
The command_suite specifies the group of related commands to which the command belongs, and indicates which command interpreter and server process perform the command. Auristor has several command suites, including bos, fs, pts, and vos. Some of these suites have an interactive mode in which the issuer omits the operation_code portion of the command name.
The operation_code tells the command interpreter and server process which action to perform. Most command suites include several operation codes. The man pages for each command name describe each operation code in detail, and the Auristor Administration Guide describes how to use them in the context of performing administrative tasks.
Several Auristor commands do not belong to a suite and so their names do not have a command_suite portion. Their structure is otherwise similar to the commands in the suites.
The term option refers to both arguments and flags, which are described in the following sections.
One or more arguments can follow the command name. Arguments specify the entities on which to act while performing the command (for example, which server machine, server process, or file). To minimize the potential for error, provide a command's arguments in the order prescribed in its syntax definition.
Each argument has two parts, which appear in the indicated order:
The switch specifies the argument's type and is preceded by a hyphen (-). For instance, the switch -server usually indicates that the argument names a server machine. Switches can often be omitted, subject to the rules outlined in "Conditions for Omitting Switches".
The value names a particular entity of the type specified by the preceding switch.
For example,
the proper value for a -server switch is a server machine name like fs1.your-cell-name.com.
Unlike switches (which have a required form),
values vary depending on what the issuer wants to accomplish.
Values appear surrounded by angle brackets (<>) in command descriptions and the online help to show that they are user-supplied variable information.
Some arguments accept multiple values,
as indicated by trailing plus sign (+) in the command descriptions and online help.
How many of a command's arguments take multiple values,
and their ordering with respect to other arguments,
determine when it is acceptable to omit switches.
See "Conditions for Omitting Switches".
Some commands have optional as well as required arguments; the command descriptions and online help show optional arguments in square brackets ([]).
Some commands have one or more flags, which specify the manner in which the command interpreter and server process perform the command, or what kind of output it produces. Flags are preceded by hyphens like switches, but they take no values. Although the command descriptions and online help generally list a command's flags after its arguments, there is no prescribed order for flags. They can appear anywhere on the command line following the operation code, except in between the parts of an argument. Flags are always optional.
The following example illustrates the different parts of a command that belongs to an Auristor command suite.
% bos getdate -server fs1.your-cell-name.com -file ptserver vlserver
where
bos is the command suite. The BOS Server executes most of the commands in this suite.
getdate is the operation code. It tells the BOS Server on the specified server machine (in this case fs1.your-cell-name.com) to report the modification dates of binary files in the local /usr/local/libexec/yfs directory.
-server fs1.your-cell-name.com is one argument, with -server as the switch and fs1.your-cell-name.com as the value. This argument specifies the server machine on which BOS Server is to collect and report binary dates.
-file ptserver vlserver is an argument that takes multiple values. The switch is -file and the values are ptserver and vlserver. This argument tells the BOS Server to report the modification dates on the files /usr/local/libexec/yfs/vlserver and /usr/local/libexec/yfs/ptserver.
Enter each Auristor command on a single line (press <Return> only at the end of the command). Some commands in this document appear broken across multiple lines, but that is for legibility only.
Use a space to separate each element on a command line from its neighbors. Spaces rather than commas also separate multiple values of an argument.
In many cases, the issuer of a command can reduce the amount of typing necessary by using one or both of the following methods:
Omitting switches.
Using accepted abbreviations for operation codes, switches (if they are included at all), and some types of values.
The following sections explain the conditions for omitting or shortening parts of the command line. It is always acceptable to type a command in full, with all of its switches and no abbreviations.
It is always acceptable to type the switch part of an argument, but in many cases it is not necessary. Specifically, switches can be omitted if the following conditions are met.
All of the command's required arguments appear in the order prescribed by the syntax statement.
No switch is provided for any argument.
There is only one value for each argument (but note the important exception discussed in the following paragraph).
Omitting switches is possible only because there is a prescribed order for each command's arguments. When the issuer does not include switches, the command interpreter relies instead on the order of arguments; it assumes that the first element after the operation code is the command's first argument, the next element is the command's second argument, and so on. The important exception is when a command's final required argument accepts multiple values. In this case, the command interpreter assumes that the issuer has correctly provided one value for each argument up through the final one, so any additional values at the end belong to the final argument.
The following list describes the rules for omitting switches from the opposite perspective: an argument's switch must be provided when any of the following conditions apply.
The command's arguments do not appear in the prescribed order.
An optional argument is omitted but a subsequent optional argument is provided.
A switch is provided for a preceding argument.
More than one value is supplied for a preceding argument (which must take multiple values, of course); without a switch on the current argument, the command interpreter assumes that the current argument is another value for the preceding argument.
Consider again the example command from "An Example Command".
% bos getdate -server fs1.your-cell-name.com -file ptserver vlserver
This command has two required arguments: the server machine name (identified by the -server switch) and binary file name (identified by the -file switch). The second argument accepts multiple values. By complying with all three conditions, the issuer can omit the switches:
% bos getdate fs1.your-cell-name.com ptserver vlserver
Because there are no switches, the bos command interpreter relies on the order of arguments. It assumes that the first element following the operation code, fs1.your-cell-name.com, is the server machine name, and that the next argument, ptserver, is a binary file name. Then, because the command's second (and last) argument accepts multiple values, the command interpreter correctly interprets vlserver as an additional value for it.
On the other hand, the following is not acceptable because it violates the first two conditions in "Conditions for Omitting Switches": even though there is only one value per argument, the arguments do not appear in the prescribed order, and a switch is provided for one argument but not the other.
% bos getdate ptserver -server fs1.your-cell-name.com
This section explains how to abbreviate operation codes, option names, server machine names, partition names, and cell names. It is not possible to abbreviate other types of values.
It is acceptable to abbreviate an operation code to the shortest form that still distinguishes it from the other operation codes in its suite.
For example, it is acceptable to shorten bos install to bos i because there are no other operation codes in the bos command suite that begin with the letter i. In contrast, there are several bos operation codes that start with the letter s, so the abbreviations must be longer to remain unambiguous:
In addition to abbreviations, some operation codes have an alias, a short form that is not derived by abbreviating the operation code to its shortest unambiguous form.
There are two usual reasons an operation code has an alias:
Because the command is frequently issued, it is convenient to have a form shorter than the one derived by abbreviating. For example, the alias for the fs setacl command is fs sa, whereas the shortest unambiguous abbreviation is fs seta.
Because the command's name has changed but users may know the former name. For example, bos listhosts has the alias bos getcell, its former name. It is acceptable to abbreviate aliases to their shortest unambiguous form (for example, bos getcell to bos getc).
Even if an operation code has an alias, it is still acceptable to use the shortest unambiguous form. Thus, the fs setacl command has three acceptable forms: fs setacl (the full form), fs seta (the shortest abbreviation), and fs sa (the alias).
Please note that when writing scripts it is important to specify the full name of the operation code in order to avoid failures if new operations are added in the future.
It is acceptable to shorten a switch or flag to the shortest form that distinguishes it from the other switches and flags for its operation code. It is often possible to omit switches entirely, subject to the conditions listed in "Conditions for Omitting Switches".
Auristor server machines must have fully-qualified Internet-style host names (for example, fs1.your-cell-name.com), but it is not always necessary to type the full name on the command line. Auristor commands accept unambiguous shortened forms but depend on the cell's Domain Name Service to resolve a shortened name to the fully-qualified equivalent when the command is issued.
Most commands also accept the dotted decimal form of the machine's IP address as an identifier.
Partitions that house volumes must have names of the form /vicepx or /vicepxx, where the variable final portion is one or two lowercase letters. By convention, the first server partition created on a file server machine is called /vicepa, the second /vicepb, and so on. The Auristor QuickStart Guide explains how to configure and name a file server machine's partitions in preparation for storing volumes on them.
When issuing Auristor commands, you can abbreviate a partition name using any of the following forms:
/vicepa = vicepa = a = 0 /vicepb = vicepb = b = 1
After /vicepz (for which the index is 25) comes
/vicepaa = vicepaa = aa = 26 /vicepab = vicepab = ab = 27
and so on through
/vicepiu = vicepiu = iu = 254
/vicepiu is the last acceptable partition name.
A cell's full name usually matches its Internet domain name (such as your-cell-name.com or foreign-cell-name.com. Some Auristor commands accept unambiguous shortened forms, either searching the cells listed in the local configuration /etc/yfs/yfs-client.conf(5) file or querying the local name service to resolve the corresponding domain name.
To display online help for Auristor commands that belong to suites, use the help and apropos operation codes. A -help flag is also available on every Auristor command.
The online help entry for a command consists of two or three lines:
The first line names the command and briefly describes what it does.
If the command has aliases, they appear on the next line.
The final line, which begins with the string Usage:, lists the command's options in the prescribed order; online help entries use the same typographical symbols (brackets and so on) as this documentation.
If no operation code is specified, the help operation code displays the first line (short description) for every operation code in the suite:
% <command_suite> help
If the issuer specifies one or more operation codes, the help operation code displays each command's complete online entry (short description, alias if any, and syntax):
% <command_suite> help <operation_code>+
The -help flag displays a command's syntax but not the short description or alias:
% <command_name> -help
The apropos operation code displays the short description of any command in a suite whose operation code or short description includes the specified keyword:
% <command_suite> apropos "<help string>"
The following example command displays the complete online help entry for the fs setacl command:
% fs help setacl
fs setacl: set access control list
aliases: sa
Usage: fs setacl -path <path>+ -acl <access list entries>+ [-clear]
[-negative] [-help]
Where: -clear clear access list
-negative apply to negative rights
To see only the syntax statement, use the -help flag:
% fs setacl -help
Usage: fs setacl -path <path>+ -acl <access list entries>+ [-clear]
[-negative] [-help]
In the following example, a user wants to display the quota for her home volume. She knows that the relevant command belongs to the fs suite, but cannot remember the operation code. She uses quota as the keyword:
% fs apropos quota listquota: list volume quota quota: show volume quota usage setquota: set volume quota
The following illustrates the error message that results if no command name or short description contains the keyword:
% fs apropos "list quota" Sorry, no commands found
Many Auristor commands require one or more types of administrative privilege. See the reference page for each command.
afsd(8), backup(8), bos(8), bosserver(8), buserver(8), butc(8), fileserver(8), fms(8), fs(1), fstrace(8), pagsh(1), prdb_check(8), pts(1), ptserver(8), rxdebug(1), rxperf(1), salvager(8), tokens(1), translate_et(1), unlog(1), upclient(8), upserver(8), vldb_check(8), vlserver(8), volinfo(8), volscan(8), volserver(8), vos(1), xstat_cm(1), xstat_fs(1), yfs-client.conf(5), yfs-server.conf(5), yfs-up(1)
IBM Corporation 2000. http://www.ibm.com/ All Rights Reserved.
This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.
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