Samba on SGI?
10 messages in this thread
Anyone out there using Samba to link an SGI and a PC?
John,
What's Samba ? Sounds intriquing, FTP or some such software ?
Bruce
Now I can tell you all about Samba. I'd heard about it before, and found the
source code (but not binaries) for the SGI before I had the C compiler for the
SGI, so I couldn't use it.
It's a NetBEUI-based system for mounting the SGI's file system on a PC running
any form of LAN Manager, including the simple DOS version, the straight Windows
for Workgroups version, or WinNT. You also need the TCP/IP stack in there,
too.
Interestingly, most of these components are now handed out *for free* from
Microsoft. (I.e., you can get LAN Manager client software for DOS, the Windows
TCP/IP stack, etc. on ftp.microsoft.com, and I know I've seen most of these
things in Microsoft's libraries here on CIS, too.)
I compiled it for the SGI, configured a few files, and presto, now I've got a
K: drive under WinNT that's actually my SGI's filesystem. (I've yet to try it
under straight Windows or DOS, but I suspect it will still work.)
I was exploring alternatives to buying PC-NFS and updating the SGI's license to
include an NSF server. Samba has saved me a lot of money, not to mention the
time and hassle of shopping for and configuring PC-NFS.
Samba is also available for Linux, among many other Unix variants, making it an
easy way to connect your Linux box to your PCs. It also does printer sharing.
I'm going to pass this info along to Autodesk for anyone else who's
beta-testing any sort of PC-and-SGI-based product that might happen to be in
testing and under non-disclosure. 🙂
<< I compiled it for the SGI, configured a few files, and presto, now I've got
a K: drive under WinNT that's actually my SGI's filesystem. (I've yet to try it
under straight Windows or DOS, but I suspect it will still work.) >>
cool…
I've already discovered that Samba doesn't handle the cross-translation of
attribute bits (protections, rwxa, etc.) between the platforms, or perhaps I
didn't read the docs well enough. I stupidly ran WinNT 'backup' on the mounted
K: SGI drive, and 'backup' tried to set the archive bit, but it actually
changed all the wrong bits on the SGI side, rendering it so completely
confounded that I had to re-install all the system software on the SGI.
If anything, I'm worried that Samba won't have the strong level of file locking
and protection necessary for running the 3DS render-farm. On the other hand,
it would be very convenient for people who want to save frames to their SGI's
drive for further processing. When I told Brent Malnack about this, who was
also depressed about the costs of running PC-NFS, he was elated.
!
Bruce
(That's a lightbulb switching on over my head)
No, how about Rumba? <g>
Did you say Tango? <g>
ana /krazy images
i prefer a good polka!
Polka? mmmh, too rude for me <g> Let's say anything but a waltz =)
ana /krazy images