Understanding CacheFS
With CacheFS you can enable a client system to cache a file system from a server. Initial access to the file system may seem slow, but subsequent uses of the same file by the user are faster. Typically you would cache an NFS or HSFS file system. You create cache file systems individually on each client system that needs improved NFS performance.
NOTE: CacheFS does not support caching of the root (/) and /usr file systems. To cache these file systems, you must purchase the Solstice AutoClient product.
- 1. Use the cfsadmin(1M) command to create a cache on a client system so that file systems you specify to be mounted in the cache can be accessed by the user locally instead of across the network. To prevent conflicts within the CacheFS software, after you have created the cache you should not perform any operations within the cache directory on the client system.
- 2. Create a mount point where the file system from the server, called the back file system, is mounted.
- 3. Mount a file system in a cache by using the mount command, adding an entry to the /etc/vfstab file, or using AutoFS to automount the file system.
After you have completed setup of the CacheFS, files are dynamically placed in the cache as the user accesses them.
NOTE: You can mount only file systems that are shared. Refer to the share(1M) manual page for more information or see See Sharing Files from a Server.
Creating a Cache
Follow these steps on a client system to create a cache:
- 1. Decide what name you want to use for the cache directory.
- 2. On the client system, become superuser.
- 3. Type cfsadmin -c cache-directory and press Return.
In this example, a cache file system named cachefile is created in the /local directory:
oak% su
# cfsadmin -c /local/cachefile
Specifying a File System to Be Mounted in the Cache
You can specify file systems to be mounted in the cache so that users can locally access files in the cache file system you create. You can specify the file systems to be cached in three ways:
- • Using the mount(1M) command. When you use the mount command, the files must be mounted from the command line every time the system is rebooted.
- • Editing the /etc/vfstab file. When you add an entry to the /etc/vfstab file, the specified files are available for caching even when the system is rebooted.
- • Using AutoFS. When you modify AutoFS maps, the specified files are available for caching even when the system is rebooted.