3 BosConfig - Defines server processes for the BOS Server to monitor
7 The BosConfig file lists the processes that the Basic OverSeer
8 (BOS) Server monitors on its server machine, and thus defines which AFS server
9 processes run on the machine. It specifies how the BOS Server reacts
10 when a process fails, and also defines the times at which the BOS Server
11 automatically restarts processes as part of performance maintenance.
12 The file must reside in the B</usr/afs/local> directory on each AFS
15 A server process entry in the BosConfig file records the
16 following information:
22 TheI< entry type>, which is one of the following:
32 Designates a server process that runs periodically instead of
33 continuously. The BOS Server starts a cron process only at specified
34 times, not whenever it fails. All standard AFS process entries except
35 B<fs> are simple (there are no standard cron processes).
43 Designates a group of interdependent server processes. If one of
44 the processes fails, the BOS Server must coordinate its restart with the
45 restart of the other processes in the group, possibly by stopping them
48 There is only one standard entry of this type, for which the conventional
49 name is B<fs>. It combines three server processes: the
50 File Server (B<fileserver> process), the Volume Server
51 (B<volserver> process), and the Salvager (B<salvager>
52 process). These processes all operate on the same data--the AFS
53 data stored on an AFS server machine's B</vicep> partitions and
54 mounted in the AFS filespace--but in different ways. Grouping the
55 processes prevents them from attempting to access the same data
56 simultaneously, which can cause corruption.
58 During normal operation, the Salvager process is not active. If the
59 File Server process fails, however, the BOS Server stops the Volume Server
60 process and runs the Salvager process to correct any corruption that resulted
61 from the failure. (The administrator can also issue the B<bos
62 salvage> command to invoke the Salvager process.) If the Volume
63 Server fails, the BOS Server can restart it without stopping the File Server
64 or running the Salvager.
69 Designates a server process that runs independently of any other on the
70 server machine. If a simple process fails, the BOS Server does not have
71 to coordinate its restart with any other process.
77 The I<entry name>. The conventional name for an entry in the
78 B<BosConfig> file and the associated process matches the binary
79 filename. When issuing any B<bos> command that takes the
80 B<-instance> argument, identify each process by the name used in the
81 B<BosConfig> file. For a list of the names, see the B<bos
82 create> reference page.
87 The process's I<status flag>, which determines whether the BOS
88 Server attempts to start the process in two cases: each time the BOS
89 Server itself restarts, and when the process fails. The
90 B<BosConfig> file currently uses a binary notation to indicate whether
91 the BOS Server attempts to restart the process as necessary or does not
92 monitor it at all. For the sake of clarity, the AFS documentation
93 refers to the flags as B<Run> and B<NotRun> instead.
94 Only a system administrator, not the BOS Server, can change the flag.
101 One or more I<command parameters> which the BOS Server invokes to
102 start the process or processes associated with the entry:
109 A cron entry has two command parameters, the first the complete
110 pathname to the program, and the second the time at which the BOS Server
116 The fs entry has three command parameters, each the complete
117 pathname to the B<fileserver>, B<volserver>, and
118 B<salvager> programs, in that order.
123 A simple entry has only one command parameter, the complete
124 pathname to the program.
131 In addition to server process entries, the BosConfig file
132 specifies the times at which the BOS Server performs two types of automatic
139 The I<general restart> time at which the BOS Server restarts itself
140 and then each process for which the entry in the B<BosConfig> file has
141 status flag B<Run>. The default setting is Sunday at 4:00
147 The I<binary restart> time at which the BOS Server restarts any
148 server process for which the time stamp on the binary file in the
149 B</usr/afs/bin> directory is later than the last restart time for the
150 process. The default is 5:00 a.m.
155 Although the BosConfig file is in ASCII format, do not use a
156 text editor to alter it. Its format is subject to change and
157 incorrectly formatted entries can prevent server startup in ways that are
158 difficult to diagnose. Instead always use the appropriate commands from
159 the B<bos> command suite:
165 The bos create command to create an entry in the file and start
166 the associated process
171 The bos delete command to remove an entry from the file after
172 the B<bos stop> command is used to stop the associated process
177 The bos getrestart command to display the times at which the
178 BOS Server performs automatic restarts
183 The bos setrestart command to set the times at which the BOS
184 Server performs automatic process restarts
189 The bos start command to change an entry's status flag to
190 B<Run> and start the associated process
195 The bos status command to display all processes listed in the
201 The bos stop command to change an entry's status flag to
202 B<NotRun> and stop the associated process
207 There are also bos commands that start and stop processes
208 without changing entries in the B<BosConfig> file. The BOS
209 Server reads the B<BosConfig> file only when it starts, transferring
210 the information into its memory. Thus a process's status as
211 represented in the BOS Server's memory can diverge from its status in the
212 B<BosConfig> file. The following commands change a
213 process's status in the BOS Server's memory only:
222 The bos restart command restarts a specified set of processes,
223 all processes, or all processes other than the BOS Server
228 The bos shutdown command stops a process
233 The bos startup command starts a process
242 L<bos_getrestart(1)>,
244 L<bos_setrestart(1)>,
257 IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.
259 This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was
260 converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ
261 Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.