stfsclient

Creates or destroys a virtual client.

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagram
>>-stfsclient-- –create--+-------------+---------------------->
                           '-client_name-'

>--+-server_name-------+--+---------+--------------------------->
   '-server_IP_address-'  '-:--port-'

>---- –kmname--kernel_ext_name---- –converter--8859-1------->

>--+-----------+-----------------------------------------------><
   '- –quiet-'

or

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagram
>>-stfsclient-- –destroy--+-------------+--------------------->
                            '-client_name-'

>-- –kmname--kernel_ext_name--+-----------+------------------><
                                '- –quiet-'

Parameters

–create
Creates a new virtual client.
–destroy
Destroys an existing virtual client.
client_name
Identifies the unique name of the virtual client that you want to create or destroy. The default client name is the host name of the client system.
server_name
Specifies the host name of a metadata server in the SAN File System. The metadata server that you specify informs the global namespace image of all other metadata servers.

This parameter is not required if this is not the first mount for a particular virtual client.

server_IP_address
Specifies the IP address, in dotted decimal notation, of a metadata server in the SAN File System.
port
Specifies the port number of the specified metadata server. The default is 1700.
–kmname kernel_ext_name
Identifies kernel-extension name of the file-system-driver instance associated with the virtual client.

The file-system driver is loaded as a kernel extension. To identify the instance of the file-system driver, you identify the kernel extension. The kernel-extension name is the same as name and location of the file-system driver that was used to load the driver (for example, /usr/tank/client/bin/stfs for AIX®).

–devices
Determines which devices (also called disks or LUNs) that the virtual client considers as SAN File System volumes. The default is the value of the STFS_DEVICES environment variable or, if that is not set, "–devices=pat=/dev/rhdisk*.

In addition to creating the virtual client, this command discovers which disks, or candidates, are available to the virtual client as volumes and transmits the candidate list to the virtual client. The –devices parameter controls the candidates list.

dir=directory
The candidates list is made up of those devices that have device special files in the specified directory (for example: –devices=dir=/dev/stfsdisk).

The easiest way to mount the global namespace is to specify –devices=pat=/dev/rhdisk* , which looks at every SCSI-disk-like device in the system and whatever looks like a SAN File System disk is accessed when the metadata server refers to that disk's SAN File System disk identifier.

If you want the client to be more selective about what disks it considers available, you can create a /dev/stfsdisk directory, put device-special files (or symbolic links) for your candidates in it, and just let –devices=dir=/dev/stfsdisk default.

pat=pattern
The candidates list is made up of those devices that have device-special files whose file specifications match the specified pattern. You can use * wildcards in the last (filename) component but not in the directory components (for example, –devices=pat=/dev/rhdisk*).
none
The candidates list is empty. Use this value when you want to establish the candidate list with a separate command, perhaps using a selection method more sophisticated than the stfsclient command offers.
–quiet
Turns off informational messages for this command. This parameter does not affect error messages.

Prerequisites

You must have root privileges to use this command.

Description

This command creates or destroys a virtual client. A virtual client is an entity that communicates with a metadata server and, indirectly, with other SAN File System client. In this release, only one virtual client is supported per client machine. The terms virtual client and client can be used interchangeably.

A virtual client is associated with exactly one SAN File System. There is one file cache and one set of disk candidates per virtual client. Each virtual client running on the same system is as separate as if it were running on a different system. They share nothing except the file-system drive code that they execute.

A SAN File System virtual client is uniquely identified in the context of its file-system driver, and in the context of its SAN File System, by its client name.

To use the files in a global namespace, the virtual client must have a global namespace image. Creating a global namespace image makes the directory structure in the global namespace appear in the client's file structure. To create a global namespace image, use the stfsmount command.

A client can access and create data that is stored in a global namespace. Each virtual client can access data on multiple images in the same global namespace.

The client considers a file to be one file even if it appears with two different file names in two different global namespace images.

Example

Create a virtual client The following example creates a virtual client:
stfsclient –create MDS1:1700 –kmname /usr/tank/client/bin/stfs 
–converter 8859-1

Parent topic: AIX-client commands

Related reference
rmstclient
stfsdriver
stfsdisk
stfsmount
stfsumount

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