The primary function of a client machine is to communicate with File Server machines to access files for application programs. However, a client machine can also be configured as a Private File Server machine to export data from its local disk for use in the global namespace. To export data as a Private File Server machine, a client machine must meet the following additional requirements:
· Have an RPC binding in CDS
· Have a DFS server principal and associated account in the Registry Database
· Have a server entry in the FLDB
· Run the Fileset Server (ftserver process)
· Run the File Exporter, which is initialized with the fxd process
· Run the upclient process to retrieve binary files from the proper Binary Distribution machine
· Run the BOS Server (bosserver process)
· Optionally, run the Replication Server (repserver process)
Although meeting these requirements qualifies a client machine as a File Server machine, that is not the machine's primary role. The machine's local disk is not to be used for data storage for an entire cell or domain. A client machine meets the previous requirements solely to allow users who administer the machine to make data on its local disk available in the global namespace. (See File Server Machines for more information about these additional processes.)
To prohibit other users from creating filesets on the client machine, the users who administer the machine should be the only ones listed in the admin.ft list and the fxd administrative group for the machine. They should also be listed in the group that is given ownership of the server entry for the machine in the FLDB. These local privileges do not grant the owners of the workstation administrative privilege beyond the local machine. However, the owners have all of the privileges required to administer the filesets on their machine and the entries for those filesets in the FLDB. These privileges, and the ability to set the ACLs for any data that is exported from the workstation, allow the owners to prevent other users from storing data on the machine.
Because a client machine that exports data must run DFS server processes (such as bosserver, ftserver, and fxd), it must also run the upclient process to retrieve current versions of binary files for the processes from the Binary Distribution machine for its CPU/OS type in the cell. It must therefore be included in the admin.up list of the Binary Distribution machine of its CPU/OS type. Beyond that, neither the machine nor its owners need to be included in the administrative lists used by the other machines in their cell or administrative domain.