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dmu

Section: Maintenance Commands (8)
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NAME

dmu - dataless management utility  

SYNOPSIS

/usr/sbin/dmu  

DESCRIPTION

dmu is the utility which is used to manage Dataless Management Services (DMS) environments and clients.

In a dataless management environment, a server system maintains the root, /usr, and /var file systems for client systems. All swapping and dumping is done on the client's local disk.

The dataless management utility (dmu) creates a root file system based on the software subsets installed in the DMS environment area on the server. This root file system is accessed by client systems over a Local Area Network (LAN). DMS lets system administrators customize the root file systems prior to client systems access.

The server has a reserved disk area (known as the DMS area) on which copies of the /usr filesystem resides. The /usr filesystem is shared among client systems and is mounted with read only access for clients. The server also maintains multiple copies of the root area, one for each client. Each copy of root resides in a client root directory in the DMS area and is customized for the client to provide for differences between environmental requirements. The server's DMS root and /usr areas are made available to clients by means of a network file system (NFS). The client accesses the DMS disk area through a LAN connection with the server. Each client is booted across the network from it's private root area on the server. Once booted, the client continues to use it's root files and usr files from the server's DMS area.

One or more DMS environments can reside in a DMS area. Each DMS environment contains one or more root areas; a root area exists for each general type of client to be supported. Client root areas reside in the /var/adm/dms directory. Client root areas have names of the format /var/adm/dms/dmsn.alpha, where n is a sequentially-assigned number beginning with 0 and alpha is a name identifying the client's machine architecture. The first DMS area for Alpha AXP clients would be named /var/adm/dms/dms0.alpha.

A DMS client area, called /clients. Multiple copies of the root area are in the /clients area, each tailored from the appropriate generic root for an individual client system. Each client's root area contains a customized kernel to support that client's actual system configuration (including central processor, system memory, and peripheral devices).

Each client computer sees its private root area and the shared /usr area from the appropriate /var/adm/dms environment as local although these areas are actually on the server and accessed through NFS. As with the /var/adm/dms area, multiple client areas can be established in different partitions.

After the /var/adm/dms/dmsn.alpha and clients areas are created in the DMS area, the Install Software option of dmu is used to install software into the /var/adm/dms/dmsn.alpha file system. All software must be installed and configured in the DMS server area before clients can be added to the environment. The setld utility can be used to install additional software at a later date if necessary.

Before dmu can be used to serve a client, the client must be registered with a network naming service (such as BIND or NIS) or an entry must be made in the /etc/hosts file on the DMS server. The following information must be known to register the client: The client's host name The /var/adm/dms/dmsn.alpha environment to which the client will be registered. The location of the client's root directory. The path must be located under /clients and should not exceed 25 characters. The client's network interface, subnet mask, and default route for this network interface. The client's Ethernet or FDDI hardware address. The swap device and partition and swap device type The type of kernel build support to be provided for the client

User's must have superuser privileges to invoke the dmu utility. The dmu utility allows the server's system administrator to perform the following functions:

a - ADD a client to an environment

c - CONFIGURE software environments

d - DELETE software environments

i - INSTALL software environments

l - LIST registered clients

m - MODIFY a client

r - REMOVE a client

s - SHOW software environments  

RESTRICTIONS

Tru64 UNIX servers cannot install the base operating system on clients that do not support the bootp network bootstrapping protocol.  

EXAMPLES

The following command invokes the dmu utility from the root system prompt on the server: # /usr/sbin/dmu The DMU Main menu appears from which users can select dmu functions. *** DMU Main Menu ***


    a) ADD a client
    c) CONFIGURE software environments
    d) DELETE software environments
    i) INSTALL software environments
    l) LIST registered clients
    m) MODIFY a client
    r) REMOVE a client
    s) SHOW software environments
    x) EXIT  

FILES

/var/adm/dms
Base directory for Dataless Management Services
/clients/hostname
Default location of clients root directory
/var/adm/dms/clients/dmsdb
DMS client database file
 

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands: setld(8), doconfig(8), pmerge(8), nissetup(8), bindsetup(8).

Files: bootptab(4).

Sharing Software on a Local Area Network
Installation Guide delim off


 

Index

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
RESTRICTIONS
EXAMPLES
FILES
RELATED INFORMATION

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Time: 02:40:41 GMT, October 02, 2010