UsingAFS < IT

---+ AFS in PPE

*PPE storage provision is currently under review, and the following is subject to change.*

%TOC%


---++ Introduction

PPE uses AFS (the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_File_System][Andrew File System]]), and specifically the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAFS][OpenAFS]] distribution, as a way to share some home areas and data directories between different machines, both internally and externally.

This page provides specific information about the AFS infrastructure within PPE.  For a general introduction to AFS and information about how to use it, please refer to the [[http://docs.openafs.org/UserGuide/][OpenAFS User Guide]].


---++ Directory Layout

The local AFS cell (=phas.gla.ac.uk=, mounted as =/afs/phas.gla.ac.uk=) contains the following directories:

| *Directory* | *Description* |
| =backup= | Nightly back-up of user home areas. |
| =data= | Large storage areas for research data. |
| =group= | Storage for PPE data. |
| =project= | |
| =system= | Common programs. |
| =user= | User home areas. |

Refer to the section on [[Backups][back-ups]] for a list of those directories which are backed-up, and details of the retention schedule.


---++ Cron jobs

Normal cron jobs cannot write to the AFS file system, and will only be able to read publicly-accessible files.  You can create a cron job with full access to AFS using the [[kcrontab]] command.


---++ AFS on Mac OS X

<nop>OpenAFS clients for recent versions of Mac OS X can be obtained from Auristor:

https://www.auristor.com/openafs/client-installer/

This package should include all the necessary components, but you may find that you need to use the debug version to get it working.


---++ External Kerberos Access (Linux / Mac OS X)

You can configure Kerberos on a Linux or Mac OS X machine to enable password-less log-in to remote machines once a Kerberos ticket has been created.  To do this, open =/etc/krb5.conf= (=/Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos= under OS X) in a text editor, and add the following to the =realms= section:

<pre>
PHAS.GLA.AC.UK = {
  default_domain = phas.gla.ac.uk
  kdc = kdc2.phas.gla.ac.uk:88
  kdc = kdc1.phas.gla.ac.uk:88
  admin_server = kdc1.phas.gla.ac.uk
 }
</pre>

In the same file, add the following to the =libdefaults= section:

Then add/edit to the <code>libdefaults</code> section:

<pre>
allow_weak_crypto = true
default_realm = PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
dns_lookup_realm = false
dns_lookup_kdc = false
ticket_lifetime = 25h
renew_lifetime = 672h
forwardable = true
proxiable = true
</pre>

To use Kerberos with SSH, open =/etc/ssh/ssh_config= (=/etc/ssh_config= on OS X) and check the following values are set:

<pre>
GSSAPIAuthentication yes
GSSAPIDelegateCredentials yes
GSSAPIKeyExchange yes
</pre>

You will need administrative rights to make any changes to these files.

To use a Kerberos ticket to log-in to =ppelx=:

<pre>
$ kinit &lt;USERNAME&gt;@PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
$ ssh &lt;USERNAME&gt;@ppelx.physics.gla.ac.uk
</pre>


---++ External AFS Access (Linux / Mac OS X)

Access to the =phas.gla.ac.uk= AFS cell from a non-PPE machine requires that you first configure Kerberos as described above, then install the appropriate <nop>OpenAFS client.

After installing <nop>OpenAFS, open =/etc/krb5.conf= (=/Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos= under OS X) in a text editor, and add the following to the =domain_realm= section:

<pre>
 .phas.gla.ac.uk = PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
 .physics.gla.ac.uk = PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
 .ppe.gla.ac.uk = PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
</pre>

You will then need to edit your =CellServDB= file, which can usually be found in either =/usr/vice/etc/CellServDB= or =/etc/openafs/CellServDB= (=/var/db/openafs/etc/CellServDB= under OS X), adding the following lines:

<pre>
>phas.gla.ac.uk         #Univeristy of Glasgow Physics And Astronomy
194.36.1.27                     #afsdb3.phas.gla.ac.uk
194.36.1.19                     #afsdb1.phas.gla.ac.uk
194.36.1.33                     #afsdb2.phas.gla.ac.uk
</pre>

Finally, edit the =ThisCell= file which can be found in the same directory, replacing its contents with:

<pre>
phas.gla.ac.uk
</pre>

Restart the <nop>OpenAFS client either by restarting the service, or by rebooting the machine.

To create a Kerberos ticket and obtain an AFS token, use commands similar to the following:

<pre>
$ kinit &lt;USERNAME&gt;@PHAS.GLA.AC.UK
$ aklog
</pre>


---++ Hints, Tips and Issues


---+++ Common AFS commands

| *Command* | *Description* |
| =fs lq= | Display information about available and used space for the current directory. |
| =fs listacl= | Display the ACL (Access Control List) of the current directory. |
| =fs setacl &lt;PATHNAME&gt; &lt;USERNAME&gt; &lt;PERMISSIONS&gt;= | Add an entry to the current directory's ACL. |


---+++ AFS Access Control Lists (ACLs)

AFS uses directory-based ACLs to determine the permissions for the files contained within.  Changing the permissions on a directory changes the permissions for all the files it contains, while moving a file from one directory to another may change its permissions.  Subdirectories inherit the permissions on their parent directory when created, but may be configured independently thereafter.  A detailed description of these permissions can be found in the [[http://docs.openafs.org/UserGuide/HDRWQ46.html][OpenAFS User Guide]].  

PPE home areas contain the following directories by default:

| *Directory* | *Description* |
| =private= | Access for the user and system administrators. |
| =public= | Global access. |
| =public_html= | Location for [[WebPages#Personal_Web_Pages][personal web pages]]. |
| =public= | PPE access. |


---+++ Accessing the CERN AFS cell

Access to the CERN AFS cell (=cern.ch=, mounted as =/afs/cern.ch=) requires you to obtain a ticket for a different Kerberos realm.  When obtaining this ticket, it is important that it be written to a different file from default, otherwise it will overwrite your PPE ticket and prevent access to your local files.  To simplify this, a number of helper scripts have been provided: =kinit-cern=, =klist-cern=, =kdestroy-cern=, =ssh-cern=, =kinit-fnal=, =klist-fnal=, =kdestroy-fnal=, and =ssh-fnal=.  These commands work similarly to the standard =kinit=, =klist=, =kdestroy= and =ssh= commands.


---+++ Using =rsync= with AFS

=rsync= will raise a permissions error when attempting to copy files which have the sticky bit set.  Such errors can be safely ignored.


---+++ Automatic token renewal

AFS tokens can be automatically renewed for up to 30 days after log-in.  This requires that a small script be configured to run automatically.

Users of the Bash shell should add the following to the start of their =.bash_profile=:

<pre>
if [ -e /bin/ps ] && [ -e /bin/grep ]
then
    kproc=`/bin/ps x -u ${USER} | /bin/grep krenew | /bin/grep ${KRB5CCNAME}`
    if [ "${kproc}" == "" ] && [ -e /usr/bin/krenew ]
    then
        /usr/bin/krenew -K 60 -t -k ${KRB5CCNAME} &
    fi
fi
</pre>
This topic: IT > WebHome > UsingAFS
Topic revision: r26 - 2016-07-27 - GordonStewart