Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!m2c!ulowell!apollo!rees
From: rees@apollo.uucp (Jim Rees)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: NFS vs RFS (actually, vs Sprite and Andrew)
Message-ID: <3af44ad7.b8ab@apollo.uucp>
Date: 19 Mar 88 23:14:00 GMT
References: <10370@ut-sally.UUCP> <720@uel.uel.co.uk> <1695@uoregon.UUCP> <45660@sun.uucp> <8428@tut.cis.ohio-stRe: NFS vs RFS (actually, vs Sprite and Andrew)
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass.
Lines: 40
Keywords: NFS, ANDREW, TOCS, consistency


    >> Problems sited with NFS seem to fall into 2 categories:
    >> 1/	scalability to large systems, because of excessive network
    >> 	traffic, excessive server cpu loading, or difficulty in 
    >> 	administration;
    >
    >Well of course the authors of systems are going to prefer their own.
    >This is called the "Not Invented Here" syndrome.  As for scalability,
    >I would estimate about 100,000 installed systems running NFS.
    >Last I heard, about 500 run Andrew, and perhaps a few dozen run Sprite.

    	Installed base != scalability.  We have encountered scaling
    problems in existing implementations of NFS, and we worry about what
    happens when we hit scaling problems in the design.

I've never used a large NFS system, but I'm currently using a system
that includes about 2000 machines sharing a single file system.  Any
file name can be used interchangeably by any machine.  I have a hard time
imagining how this would work with NFS.

For example, we have a few hundred people in R&D.  Almost all of them
will at some time want to look at the kernel sources.  If you use NFS,
how does this work?  Does everyone mount the file system containing the
kernel sources all the time?  Do you just mount it when you want to
look at the sources?  What happens when the sources move to a different
machine?  Is it possible for 2000 clients to each mount a couple dozen
servers?  How do you keep track of where the servers are?

If I write a trip report, and want to send it to a large group of people,
I put it in a file and send the file name out via email (or news).  Then
the people who want to look at it just read that file.  How would you do
this with NFS?  E-mail the whole thing?  Send out the file name and let
people mount your disk as needed?

How does uucp work with NFS?  Does every machine mount the uucp lib and
spool, or is there a single "uucp machine" that I rlogin in to when I
want to uucp something?

This is only partly meant as a criticism of NFS.  I really am interested
in how you folks with large NFS installations get your work done.