NETDISTD(1M)

NAME

netdistd − network file distribution (update) server daemon

SYNOPSIS

/etc/netdistd [−C connections] [−f file] [−l] [−L logfile] [−P port] [−v]

DESCRIPTION

Netdistd is the server daemon for the “netdist” file distribution service. The netdist service supports the distribution of packages, basically collections of files, from a server host system to a client host system. Currently, the update(1M) utility is available as a netdist client.

Superuser privilege is not required to run netdistd.

Options

The options are:

−C connections Set maximum allowable number of simultaneous connections (default is 20).

−f file Use file as the central package definition file instead of the default file (see FILES below).

−l Append event information to the default log file (see FILES below). Netdistd does no logging unless this option or −L is specified. Netdistd seeks to the end of the log file before each write to it, so it is safe to truncate the logfile while the daemon is running.

−L logfile Activate logging but use logfile instead of the default log file. If logfile is —, netdistd runs in the foreground (does not detach from the display), and logging goes to standard output.

−P port Specify the Internet port number to use instead of the default port number associated with the netdist service in the network services file (see FILES below).

−v Trace package execution (verbose logging). This option is ignored unless −l or −L is also specified. Repeating −v multiple times increases the relative amount of verbosity.

Log Files

Each line in a log file begins with one of two kinds of identifiers:

netdistd.pid
counter.pid

Lines of the first form are emitted by netdistd itself and contain its process ID number. Lines of the second form are emitted by child processes and contain their process ID numbers. Counter is a number incremented for each child process. Netdistd starts a new child process to handle each connection (service request).

Control Signals

Once netdistd is running, you can send it a signal using kill(1) to change its state:

SIGHUP Re-read the central package definition file. Also, if logging is enabled, close and reopen the log file.

SIGQUIT Toggle logging off and on.

SIGUSR1 Increase the trace level by one.

SIGUSR2 Decrease the trace level by one.

Package Definition Files

Files available through the netdist service are bundled into “filesets” (see update(1M)). Each fileset has an associated “package definition file” stored in a fileset-dependent location (see FILES below). The package definition file is a netdistd driver file that, among other things, specifies which files belong to the fileset. In addition, a central package definition file identifies the filesets that are available for distribution, and contains pointers to individual fileset package definition files.

When performing a network file distribution, netdistd reads the central package definition file (see FILES below) to determine what filesets are available from the server system and to obtain the pointer to the package definition file for each fileset to be distributed.

Setting Up a Network Distribution Server

When setting up a system to support the netdist service, follow these steps:

1. Use updist(1M) to load the desired filesets onto the server system. The recommended destination directory under which to load the filesets is the default, /netdist.

Directly below the destination directory, updist creates a central package definition file (see FILES below) containing a source statement for each distributable fileset. Commenting or uncommenting the source statements affects which filesets the server program can distribute (lines beginning with # are treated as comments in the usual manner).

Note: sysrm(1M) does not know how to remove netdist packages. To remove a package (fileset), edit the central package definition file to comment out or delete references to the deleted package, and send netdistd a SIGHUP signal. Then, if desired, run rm −r on the package’s directory under the updist destination directory to remove the package’s files.

2. Ensure that there is an entry for the netdist service in the networking services definition file (see FILES below). For example:

netdist 2106/tcp # network file distribution

3. Start the netdistd daemon by invoking it with any options desired. Netdistd automatically starts a background process and returns control to the caller. Netdistd can also be called from system start up scripts, but do not call it from init(1M) directly, because it appears to terminate immediately, possibly causing init to respawn it.

4. The server system is now ready for use by update(1M). To verify, run update interactively and specify the server system’s hostname as the update source. Verify that the available filesets correspond to those loaded on the server system. Another verification method is to run:

update −c −s hostname

on the server system and look for the desired filesets in the output.

Note: If the source is a netdist server system, update −c lists only those available filesets that match the client system’s architecture type. Use the update −S option to list the other type. For example, on a Series 800 system:

update −c −s hostname −S300

Security

Whenever the netdistd daemon receives a connection request, it performs a security check using the same mechanism as inetd(1M); see inetd.sec(5).

RETURN VALUE

Netdistd returns 0 if it encounters no errors, and 1 otherwise.

DIAGNOSTICS

When invoked, netdistd parses and compiles the instructions contained in the package definition files. It then does an access check on the source files to be distributed. If an error occurs, netdistd prints an error message to standard error and halts.

EXAMPLES

Run netdistd with default connections limit, default central package definition file, default port number, and no logging:

netdistd

Run netdistd with a maximum of 2 simultaneous connections, an alternate central package definition file, very verbose logging to an alternate log file, and a special port number:

netdistd −C2 −f /netd2/MAIN.pkg −vvL /tmp/netdistd.log −P 2111

AUTHOR

Netdistd was developed by HP.

FILES

/netdist/MAIN.pkg default central package definition file

/netdist/300/fileset-name/netdist.pkg Series 300 package definition files

/netdist/800/fileset-name/netdist.pkg Series 800 package definition files

/usr/adm/netdist.log default log file

/etc/services networking services definition file; contains default port number

/usr/adm/inetd.sec inetd security file also read by netdistd

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