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From: ok@cs.mu.oz.au (Richard O'Keefe)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Making a named pipe over NFS
Keywords: /etc/mknod, fifo, NFS, SunOS
Message-ID: <2388@munnari.oz.au>
Date: 11 Oct 89 12:35:34 GMT
Sender: news@cs.mu.oz.au
Lines: 30

I am using a Sun-3/50 called mudla.  Here's what /etc/motd says about it:
SunOS Release 4.0_Export (MULLO_CLIENT_50) #1: Wed May 24 18:23:08 EST 1989

My files are held on a file server called mullauna, an Encore Multimax,
and are accessed through NFS.  Here's what I see when I log in on mullauna:
UNIX System V Release ax.2.2f ns32332

Now, SunOS supports named pipes, and System V supports named pipes, and
the network is the computer, so named pipes should work, not so?  No.

On mullauna (the server), in my home directory:
	% rm -f zabbo
	% /etc/mknod zabbo p
	% file zabbo
	zabbo:		fifo
just as I would expect.
On mudla (the client), in my home directory (the same directory):
	% rm -f zabbo
	% /etc/mknod zabbo p
	% file zabbo
	zabbo:		empty
This came as a rather unpleasant surprise.  To check whether SunOS really
does understand named pipes, I tried
	% rm -f /tmp/zabbo
	% /etc/mknod /tmp/zabbo p
	% file /tmp/zabbo
	/tmp/zabbo:	fifo
mudla's /tmp is served from another Sun-3.

    Is this supposed to work, or should I just forget about named pipes?