[bugs #8599] updatedb / locate is unusable over NFS

[Bruno Haible]

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/**************************************************************************/
[bugs #8599] Latest Modifications:

Changes by: 
                Bruno Haible <address@hidden>
'Date: 
                Mon 22.11.2004 at 21:01 (Europe/Berlin)

------------------ Additional Follow-up Comments ----------------------------
A configuration file is a good approach for dealing with read-only
media (CD-ROMs) or with volumes that are offline (a collection of
CD-ROMs, for example).

However, it doesn't answer the usecase of NFS mounted volumes properly.
I mean, I use mount/umount typically twice a day, plus plugging in
USB sticks volumes as well. It's not realistic to expect that a user
will update a configuration file each time he mounts or unmounts a
volume. So it should be the 'mount' program which updates the configuration
file automatically. If you get these changes accepted by the 'mount'
maintainers - fine with me. But there's already an agreement that
'mount''s modifications to /etc/mtab are an anachronism, because /proc
(or system calls) provides the same information in a more accurate way.
Therefore I think it's worth thinking about a solution that works without
cooperation from the user or from the 'mount' program.

Regarding newline in pathnames: I think this is an irrealistic requirement.
We are talking about mountpoints here. Such mountpoints are usually listed
in /etc/fstab, where (AFAIK) no provisions for escaping, newlines, not
even spaces, are made.







/**************************************************************************/
[bugs #8599] Full Item Snapshot:

URL: <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?func=detailitem&item_id=8599>
Project: findutils
Submitted by: Bruno Haible
On: Fre 16.04.2004 at 20:16

Category:  locate
Severity:  5 - Average
Item Group:  None
Resolution:  None
Privacy:  Public
Assigned to:  None
Originator Name:  
Originator Email:  
Status:  Open
Release:  4.2.0
Fixed Release:  None


Summary:  updatedb / locate is unusable over NFS

Original Submission:  The updatedb / locate approach is unusable in practice on
systems with large (> 1 GB) NFS mounted volumes, simply
because of the limited speed of 'find' over NFS.

Here is a suggestion for making it work in this situation as well:
Declare that it must be the server's responsibility to maintain
the locatedb at a fixed location under the mountpoint, for
example at  {mountpoint}/.locatedb.
1) Define precisely this location, {mountpoint}/.locatedb or so.
2) Change the 'locate' program so that it looks not only in the
global /etc/locatedb, but also iterates over each NFS-mounted
filesystem and looks there as well.
3) Provide an updatedb-exports script, intended to be run on
the server, that iterates over all NFS-exported volumes
(showmount -e) and updates the .locatedb there.
4) Explain all of it in the documentation.

Follow-up Comments
------------------


-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon 22.11.2004 at 21:01       By: Bruno Haible <haible>
A configuration file is a good approach for dealing with read-only
media (CD-ROMs) or with volumes that are offline (a collection of
CD-ROMs, for example).

However, it doesn't answer the usecase of NFS mounted volumes properly.
I mean, I use mount/umount typically twice a day, plus plugging in
USB sticks volumes as well. It's not realistic to expect that a user
will update a configuration file each time he mounts or unmounts a
volume. So it should be the 'mount' program which updates the configuration
file automatically. If you get these changes accepted by the 'mount'
maintainers - fine with me. But there's already an agreement that
'mount''s modifications to /etc/mtab are an anachronism, because /proc
(or system calls) provides the same information in a more accurate way.
Therefore I think it's worth thinking about a solution that works without
cooperation from the user or from the 'mount' program.

Regarding newline in pathnames: I think this is an irrealistic requirement.
We are talking about mountpoints here. Such mountpoints are usually listed
in /etc/fstab, where (AFAIK) no provisions for escaping, newlines, not
even spaces, are made.


-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon 08.11.2004 at 21:45       By: James Youngman <jay>
Bruno,

I would rather do this with a configuration file which lists the various 
databases which must be searched, the path prefix which must be removed (=the 
location of the filesystem on the server) and the prefix which must be 
prepended on the client (= the mount point on the client).  This delivers the 
functionality you're looking for in a more  flexible way.  However, I need to 
figure out a useful configuration file format.  

This is easier said than done, because it needs to cope with filenames 
containing newlines and so forth, and yet be easily human-maintainable.  Any 
suggestions?

James.




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