PC-NFS question: symbolic link resolution

[Norm Finn]

When you mount a directory on the PC, you use a command like:

C:> net use e: \\solar\u2

to mount Solar's directory /u2 on PC drive E.  A PC has a root directory
on every drive; drives are NOT mounted like in Unix, with additional
drives looking like subdirectories on a master directory tree.  Solar's
directory /u2/fred/sources is known as E:\FRED\SOURCES to the PC.  A
symbolic reference to /u2/sam/bin causes the PC to look on drive E for
\U2\SAM\BIN, which is not present.  If you mount Solar's root partition on
the PC's E drive, then there is no problem, because E's root partition is
the same directory as the Unix root partition.

This is not to say that PC-NFS cannot follow links or that you must mount
the root partition, however.  A symbolic link in /u2/fred/sources to the
directory "../../sam/bin" is a perfecly valid link to /u2/sam/bin and
perfectly well understood by both PC and by Unix, because both can track
down the ".." chain.  As long as the string of "../"s doesn't stretch up
over the top of the point at which the tree is mounted on the PC (in this
case, above /u2 to /), then both PC-NFS and Unix can follow the link.

PC-NFS seems to ignore symbolic links it cannot resolve.  That's why you
don't see them from the PC.  Resolvable symbolic links are resolved and
the target displayed as if it were a normal file.

NOTE: This information has been gained from experience in using PC-NFS,
not from reading the source code or even the manuals, so if someone on the
net knows better, feel free to correct me.

Norm Finn                       domain:   norm at ultra.com
Ultra Network Technologies      Internet: ultra!norm at ames.arc.nasa.gov
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