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From: trevc@tecate.mips.com (Trevor Cotton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mips
Subject: Re: rpc.lockd
Message-ID: <3019@spim.mips.COM>
Date: 3 May 91 19:34:35 GMT
References: <2383@cluster.cs.su.oz.au>
Sender: news@mips.COM
Reply-To: trevc@mips.com
Organization: Mips Computer Systems Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
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In article <2383@cluster.cs.su.oz.au>, jaa@cluster.cs.su.oz.au (James Ashton) writes:
|> There seem to be a large number of bugs with this programme.  We have
|> found the following problems using fcntl to gain advisory exclusive
|> locks across multiple hosts.
|> 
|> Occasionally, locks are granted to many local processes simultaneously
|> for a file while locking for the same file operates correctly on remote
|> hosts.
|> 
|> When rpc.lockd is not running (it occasionally dies), processes which
|> request locks block permanently and cannot be killed.
|> 
|> Sometimes rpc.lockd consumes vast numbers of mbufs which eventually
|> brings the machine down.
|> 
|> Where file systems are remotely mounted with different names, the files
|> are not considered to be the same.  E.g. we have two machines basser and
|> orthanc.  /usr/tmp/tmp on orthanc is nfs mounted as /n/orthanc/usr/tmp/tmp
|> on basser but it is possible to simultaneously gain exclusive locks
|> on this file from each machine.
|> 
|> Locks seem not to be reliably released when a process is killed while
|> holding a lock.
|> 
|> We have 4.51 installed and are close to changing over to 4.52 but
|> rpc.lockd is apparently not modified in the new release.  Has anyone
|> fixed up these problems which seem to make file locking fairly
|> difficult?  Are others having these problems or could it be something
|> incorrectly set up with our configuration?  Any information would
|> be appreciated.
|> 
|> 						James Ashton.

Our engineering group has spent a large amount of time fixing numerous
problems in the Sun rpc.lockd code. The fruits of their labor are available
in the form of an updated rpc.lockd for RISC/os 4.52.

If you have software maintenance, you can contact the MIPS Customer Response
Center on 1-800-443-MIPS to request a copy.

-- 
--trevc--

  Trevor Cotton, Sustaining Engineering, MIPS Computer Systems Inc.
  MS 6-05, 930 DeGuigne Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3650
  Tel: +1 408 524 7286  Fax: +1 408 524 7521
  Email: {wyse,ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!trevc    trevc@mips.com