[Info-vax] NFS proxy database when booted from DVD?

[Dave Froble]

On 1/31/2019 4:41 PM, Craig A. Berry wrote:
> On 1/31/19 2:57 PM, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
>> On 2019-01-31 20:09:41 +0000, Craig A. Berry said:
>>
>>> ...I'm contemplating what it would take to restore one of these
>>> backups, such as to a brand new system with empty disk drives after
>>> the old system went up in smoke...
>>
>> Boot OpenVMS off a customized USB or customized DVD—based off the
>> standard installation kit, with an added procedure and maybe with an
>> added menu item—and have that procedure use sftp to retrieve and stage
>> the savesets for restoration.
>
> Using sftp or scp to fetch the savesets to local storage other than what
> will be the target of the restore and use that as the source of the
> restore does makes sense.  There is no such storage currently in the
> picture, but it's a reasonable ask.
>
>> Depending on how locked down the configuration is, the procedure could
>> perform the saveset restoration.
>>
>> If you want to get more complex with the access credentials needed for
>> the backup server, have the procedure generate a key-pair and then
>> display the generated public key, and transfer that to the target
>> server during the recovery when the restoration is necessary.
>>
>> Remember to provide a way to clobber the client known hosts entry, if
>> the backup server sshd identity might change.
>>
>> NFS support on OpenVMS has tended to be somewhat less than robust.
>>
>> If you want to use NFS and if you can't pre-populate the files for
>> read-only access, then you might have to figure out how to mount an LD
>> partition or similar using a memory-only section or paged or non-paged
>> pool or some such; an emulated disk device in memory sans backing
>> storage.  That's probably possible using a memory-resident section,
>> but I don't know that LD has support for that sort of a volatile
>> device. Generate and place anything that needs to be read-write on
>> that pseudo disk device, and aim some logical names at the files.
>
> Yes, I think that's it, but probably DECram, not LD.
>
> $ mcr SYSMAN IO CONNECT MDA0:/DRIVER=SYS$MDDRIVER/NOADAPTER
> $ initialize/structure=5/nohighwater/size=<someblocks> mda0 mda0
> $ mount/system mda0 mda0
> $ create/directory/owner=[system] mda0:[tcpip]
> $ define/system/exec TCPIP$PROXY mda0:[tcpip]
> $ tcpip create proxy
> $ tcpip add proxy system /nfs=outgoing /uid=<n> /gid=<n> /host=<host>
> $ tcpip mount dnfs0: /host=<host> /path=<path>
>
> All of that from the DCL prompt while booted from DVD, or built into a
> customized DVD or USB stick as suggested above.  This is starting to
> sound like real work.
>
>> But I wouldn't use NFS here.
>
> I wouldn't either, but not doing so means asking for things I may or may
> not get.

Just what do you think you need that you might not get?

I got a bunch of disks from David Turner, stuff he would not sell, for 
the cost of shipping.  Many more than I'll ever use.  9 GB and 18 GB. 
Need one?

-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
DFE Ultralights, Inc.
170 Grimplin Road
Vanderbilt, PA  15486