The vlserver command initializes the Volume Location (VL) Server, which
runs on every database server machine. In the conventional configuration,
its binary file is located in the /usr/lib/openafs directory on a file
server machine.
The vlserver command is not normally issued at the command shell prompt
but rather placed into a file server machine's /etc/openafs/BosConfig
file with the bos create command. If it is ever issued at the command
shell prompt, the issuer must be logged onto a database server machine as
the local superuser "root".
As it initializes, the VL Server process creates the two files that
constitute the Volume Location Database (VLDB), vldb.DB0 and
vldb.DBSYS1, in the /var/lib/openafs/db directory if they do not already
exist. Use the commands in the vos suite to administer the database.
The VL Server maintains the record of volume locations in the Volume
Location Database (VLDB). When the Cache Manager fills a file request from
an application program, it first contacts the VL Server to learn which
file server machine currently houses the volume that contains the file.
The Cache Manager then requests the file from the File Server process
running on that file server machine.
The VL Server records a trace of its activity in the
/var/log/openafs/VLLog file. Use the bos getlog command to display the
contents of the file. By default, it records on a minimal number of
messages. For instructions on increasing the amount of logging, see
VLLog(5).
By default, the VL Server runs nine lightweight processes (LWPs). To
change the number, use the -p argument.
This command does not use the syntax conventions of the AFS command
suites. Provide the command name and all option names in full.
OPTIONS
-p <lwp processes>
Sets the number of server lightweight processes (LWPs) to run. Provide an
integer between 4 and 16. The default is 9.
-d <debug level>
Sets the detail level for the debugging trace written to the
/var/log/openafs/VLLog file. Provide one of the following values, each
of which produces an increasingly detailed trace: 0, 1, 5, 25,
and 125.
-jumbo
Allows the server to send and receive jumbograms. A jumbogram is
a large-size packet composed of 2 to 4 normal Rx data packets that share
the same header. The VL Server does not use jumbograms by default, as some
routers are not capable of properly breaking the jumbogram into smaller
packets and reassembling them.
-nojumbo
Deprecated; Jumbograms are disabled by default.
-enable_peer_stats
Activates the collection of Rx statistics and allocates memory for their
storage. For each connection with a specific UDP port on another machine,
a separate record is kept for each type of RPC (FetchFile, GetStatus, and
so on) sent or received. To display or otherwise access the records, use
the Rx Monitoring API.
-enable_process_stats
Activates the collection of Rx statistics and allocates memory for their
storage. A separate record is kept for each type of RPC (FetchFile,
GetStatus, and so on) sent or received, aggregated over all connections to
other machines. To display or otherwise access the records, use the Rx
Monitoring API.
-allow-dotted-principals
By default, the RXKAD security layer will disallow access by Kerberos
principals with a dot in the first component of their name. This is to avoid
the confusion where principals user/admin and user.admin are both mapped to the
user.admin PTS entry. Sites whose Kerberos realms don't have these collisions
between principal names may disabled this check by starting the server
with this option.
-help
Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are
ignored.
EXAMPLES
The following bos create command creates a vlserver process on the
machine "fs2.abc.com" that uses six lightweight processes. Type the
command on a single line:
The issuer must be logged in as the superuser "root" on a file server
machine to issue the command at a command shell prompt. It is conventional
instead to create and start the process by issuing the bos create
command.
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