Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!jaytee!bodleian!geoff
From: geoff@bodleian.East.Sun.COM (Geoff Arnold @ Sun BOS - R.H. coast near the top)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.nfs
Subject: Re: PC-NFS Wish List (Re: Enduring PC-NFS Annoyances)
Message-ID: <3192@jaytee.East.Sun.COM>
Date: 2 Nov 90 21:37:14 GMT
References: <1990Oct31.102026.20561@cs.eur.nl> <90305.173430TOMIII@MTUS5.BITNET>
Sender: news@East.Sun.COM
Reply-To: geoff@east.sun.com (Geoff Arnold @ Sun BOS - R.H. coast near the top)
Organization: Sun Microsystems PC-NFS Engineering
Lines: 83

Quoth TOMIII@MTUS5.BITNET (Thomas Dwyer III) (in <90305.173430TOMIII@MTUS5.BITNET>):
#Ok, I feel obligated to add these wishes...
#
#
#-- How about a chgrp command?

I received some strongly negative feedback on the idea of
"chown" and "chgrp" commands. Something to do with trusting
the security of the PC?

#-- Why leave unencrypted passwords sitting around in memory?
#   Some security wouldn't be bad.

Agreed. I've filed a sev2 bug against several such holes.

#-- Why, oh why can't we get a non-serialized version of PC-NFS?  Or maybe
#   get the serial number from a server?  Keeping track of 300+ boot disks,
#   making sure each machine has the right one is not acceptable.

I've passed your posting on to the people who decide pricing
and licensing questions. It's not an engineering issue. See my
posting yesterday on my longer-term thoughts on licensing & packaging.

#-- I 2nd the motion for a new telnet (with 3270 support)

Did you see the press release & story in the trade rags about the
agreement between Sun and WRQ (the Reflection folks)? Draw your
own conclusions.

#-- How about a toolkit that interfaces with NET.EXE's structures (such as
#   which drives are mounted & where?)

Longer-term (hah! there's that term again) one solution (at least in
the Windows environment) will be for PC-NFS to provide a network admin
DLL conforming to the Microsoft spec. While this interface was designed
to support the Windows control panel, it's actually a generalised admin
API, usable by applications.

#-- How about allowing set-uid programs?

Probably won't work under Windows - there isn't enough context. Run an
app in one Window, then a setuid app in a second Window, and I can't
guarantee that the first app won't get the privileges of the second.
Not safe.  DOS is still a single-user system.

#-- We could use a software-license checkout feature.

I haven't tried them, but there are several native PC schemes.
Do any of them work with PC-NFS, or are they all NetWare FAPs?

#-- Are we ever going to get a list of bug reports, as we do with SunOS?

I'll ask about this. Also about how it would be distributed. 

#-- Make the timezone (DST) functions work without the need for a battery
#   clock in the PC.

Isn't this really better answered by the last point, below?

#-- Boot the PC off the network.

It's been done by several vendors/OEMS. One whose data sheet I have in
front of me is Dirk Ko"ppen (that's o-umlaut) at dksoft@incom.de in
Denmark. Disclaimer: I haven't yet got a copy, so I can't comment
directly.

#-- Add an "rdate" command.

I've send out a version of RDATE (as a Toolkit demo) to quite a few
folks over the years, but I just checked the archive and it appears
that although I've mailed it out many times, I've never posted it here.
I'm going to post a copy in the next message.

#On the other hand, PC-NFS has served most of our needs over the last three
#years...

Thank you very much.

Geoff
-- Geoff Arnold, PC-NFS architect, Sun Microsystems. (geoff@East.Sun.COM)   --
   *** "Now is no time to speculate or hypothecate, but rather a time ***
   *** for action, or at least not a time to rule it out, though not  ***
   *** necessarily a time to rule it in, either." - George Bush       ***