Getting started with OFS

• First of all, get the sources and compile OFS.
• Create the directory /var/ofs

Note: By now only root can use OFS, because it uses the mount command internally.

Now you should be able to mount a remote share.

Start by simply mirroring a directory. For example mount the /usr directory to /mnt. This can be done using the command:

 # mount -t ofs file://usr /mnt

You will see the word Starting at the prompt again. If you execute the command

 # mount

you should see a line similar to the following, indicating that /mnt is now an ofs managed mountpoint

 ofs on /mnt type fuse.ofs (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other)

Change to /mnt now and see your files.

Now you can try to mount a samba share (we haven't tested OFS with any other filesystem by now).

 # mount -t ofs smbfs://some.server/some/share /some/mountpoint

On some systems, you have to use smb:// instead of smbfs://. IMPORTANT NOTICE:

• Use the command in a way you do not have to type any username/password or the like interactively. Otherwise the connections to the remote FS cannot be re-established by OFS when going online
• The mount options, this means also the password, will be stored in clear text on the local harddisk!

Of course this will change in the future.

Example for mounting a SMB share with username and passwort set in the mount command:

 # mount -t ofs smbfs://some.server/some/share /some/mountpoint -o username=myuser,password=mypass

To mark a folder (and all its sub-files and folders recursively) available offline, extended attributes are used. Issue the following command:

 # setfattr -n ofs.offline /path/to/directory

See Extended attributes for more information about the command line interface.

On Mac OS X use:

 $ xattr -w ofs.offline /path/to/directory

To switch to offline mode issue the following command on the root of your mounted filesystem

 # setfattr -x ofs.available /mnt

You are now working in disconnected mode. This means, the remote filesystem has been unmounted and you can safely remove you network connection.

When browsing your share you can see only the directories you made offline before. You can edit, add and remove files and directories the same way as if you were online.

On Mac OS X use:

 $ xattr -d ofs.available /mnt

Make sure the network connection to your server is restored

Enter the following command on the root of your ofs mountpoint to switch back online

 # setfattr -n ofs.available /mnt

Now your remote filesystem will be mounted again and the changes you made during offline mode will be reintegrated to the server.

You can now see your complete share again.

If you change a file on the client and someone edits the same file on the server while you work in disconnected mode this file remains in conflicted state and does not get reintegrated.

To find conflicted files, the attribute ofs.conflict is used. It tells you if

• the given file is in conflicted state
• some file(s) is/are conflicted somewhere in the tree below the given directory

 # getfattr -n ofs.conflict /mnt

shows yes if there is a conflicted file below the /mnt directory.

 # getfattr -n ofs.conflict /mnt/*

List all files and directories below the /mnt directory and indicates for each one whether it is conflicted or not. In such a way you can go step-by-step from the root to the conflicted file.

When you have found a conflicted file, you can decide if the local should overwrite the file in the server or the other way.

The following command accepts the local file as current and overwrites the file on the server:

 # setfattr -n ofs.conflict -v=local /path/to/conflicted/file

To make the remote file current and overwrite the local file execute:

 # setfattr -n ofs.conflict -v=remote /path/to/conflicted/file