These are some of the most frequently asked questions at our NCSA AFS cell
(and answers to come). It assumes that you have a basic understanding of afs
terms and concepts. If not then please refer to the
Why does my token expire?
Token expiration is a "feature" in AFS, and there is no way to have an
unlimited token lifetime. This was added as a security feature to prevent
users from leaving a workstation unattended for long periods of time and
have another person start using it.
How can I run a cron with an AFS token?
This is a bit more difficult of a situation. Rather than trying to document
the current way we do it (which changes occasionally), you can send us
an email.
How come when I log into machine (blah blah blah) I don't get a token?
This occurs when the machine is not configured properly for with AFS and
Kerberos. Review the install documentation and if you are still having
problems then email us.
What does it mean when I get the message "lost contact with file server...."?
This message occurs when a particular AFS file server is either down (powered
down, or god forbid crashes), or it has lost network connectivity. You will
get these messages occasionally until the server is back up.
How can I tell what server my user volume is on?
You can refer to the following web page on
user volume location.
You can also run the following command and it will let you know where
your volume resides:
> /usr/afsws/bin/vos exam user.<username>
Where <username> is replaced with your username.
What does it mean when it says "afs: Waiting for busy volume...."?
You should very rarely, if ever, see this message. If you do then the
volume you are trying to access is either currently being backed up or
released.
How do I change my acl?
You can refer to the
online user guide for instructions on changing ACL's.
I cannot make changes to a file, it says read-only?
The first thing you will want to check is if you are on any of the acl's
in that directory (fs listacl). If you are, then it is usually one of two
things:
- You do not have a valid AFS token, klog to get a new token.
- You are in the read-only volume and not the read-write volume. You can
tell this by doing a
pwd and see if you are on the "dot" path
(/afs/.ncsa.uiuc.edu). You can alternately do a "fs listquota"
command and see if the volume listed has a .readonly on the
end of it.
How come I can't get access to directory (such and such)?
The first thing you will want to check is if you are on any of the acl's
in that directory.
Can I get access to directory (such and such)?
You will need to either contact the owner of that area and ask permission
or email us.
Can I get an increase in my quota?
You can request a quota increase from the following
AFS quota request page.
I accidently deleted a file, can I get a backup of it?
If it is in your home directory then you can access a copy of yesterday's
version in the OldFiles subdirectory. Otherwise you can email the
helpdesk and they can retrieve
a backup.
How often are backups done on my volume?
Backups are done nightly and we store old backups for a period of three
months.
How come it takes so long to do a "ls -l /afs"?
That is because all of the subdirectories under /afs are all remote
locations (except ncsa.uiuc.edu). So the connections to these sites
may, or may not be up. And if they are they may take a long time
to stat.
Do we have any manuals on AFS?
We do have some manuals, however, they are pretty old. Your best bet is
to check out the following sites:
Can I get AFS installed on my machine?
If you have root access you can install it yourself by referring to the install
documentation at the
NCSA AFS Homepage. Otherwise you can
email us and we can schedule a time to install it.
Why is AFS so sllooowwww?
There may be a number of reasons for this.
- A fileserver is currently down.
- Network outage, or network problems.
- High network traffic.
If the problem persists then send mail to the helpdesk,
help@ncsa.uiuc.edu.
How come I have to get a new token in each one of my xterm windows?
This is most likely because you started your X session without a token.
If you exit your X session, get a token, then restart X it should solve
the problem.
How come my UNIX permissions don't seem to matter in AFS?
UNIX permissions are not used (well, not really) in AFS. For a good
explanation you can refer to the
online user guide.
If I am having a problem, and I think it's AFS related, what do I do?
The first thing to do is send mail to the helpdesk,
help@ncsa.uiuc.edu.
They will most likely know if there is a network outage, server down, or any
other type of problem occuring.
