From: Spencer Shepler Subject: Re: mountd role? Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 20:54:26 -0500 Sender: nfs-admin@lists.sourceforge.net Message-ID: <20020904015426.GX100366@dhcp-uaus08-128-212.sun.com> References: <3D755A0C.8030203@linkvest.com> Reply-To: spencer.shepler@sun.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Cc: NFS Return-path: To: Jean-Eric Cuendet In-Reply-To: <3D755A0C.8030203@linkvest.com> Errors-To: nfs-admin@lists.sourceforge.net List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Discussion of NFS under Linux development, interoperability, and testing. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: On Wed, Jean-Eric Cuendet wrote: > Hi, > I don't understand what the mountd daemon role is? > There is 2 things: > - mounting => mountd > - serving files/dirlist/acls/... => nfsd > (I think it's correct...) > > What is EXACTLY doing mountd. > Please be precise. The NFS protocols (versions 2 and 3) use a shorthand reference called a filehandle to refer to specific filesystem objects. The user and traditional operation system filesystem mechanisms use a pathname. Therefore, a method to bootstrap between pathname and filehandle must be available to the NFS client. For NFS version 2 and 3, this bootstrap mechanism is implemented by the MOUNT protocol and has traditionally been implemented by a user level mountd daemon. The mountd daemon has also been tasked with enumeration of available security mechanisms for crude security negotiation between client and server. There is nothing in the MOUNT protocol that prohibits an implementation from being done in the kernel nor done on the same TCP/UDP port that the NFS server is provided on. But since it is a separate RPC program from the NFS program, it must be demutiplexed as appropriate if it were implemented on the same port as NFS (or other RPC programs). BTW: you imply that the traditional nfsd provides ACL service. This is not true for NFS version 2 and 3. All current implementations that offer NFS ACL service do so by non-standard RPC programs that are implemented in conjunction with the NFS server. A good reference for the NFS version 2 and 3 protocols is Brent Callaghan's book "NFS illustrated". You might consider purchasing or borrowing a copy. Spencer ------------------------------------------------------- This sf.net email is sponsored by: OSDN - Tired of that same old cell phone? Get a new here for FREE! https://www.inphonic.com/r.asp?r=sourceforge1&refcode1=vs3390 _______________________________________________ NFS maillist - NFS@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nfs