🚀 go-pugleaf

Alex is a user level NFS server that provides users and applications
transparent read access to files in anonymous FTP sites on the Internet.
Because it is user level it is not too hard to install.  Because it looks
like an NFS server other machines can mount the server as soon as you
bring it up.

In Alex the hostname becomes part of a normal filename.  For example:

              ftp://burgundy.nectar.cs.cmu.edu/src/README 

becomes       /alex/edu/cmu/cs/nectar/burgundy/src/README

With Alex you can do a "cd" to Berkeley, use "ghostscript" on some papers 
in Japan, "grep" through some files in Australia, run "xloadimage *.gif" 
in Germany, "lpr README" in Pittsburgh, "cat *.au > /dev/audio" in Finland,
etc.  You can use all of the commands and aliases you are used to on
internet FTP files.  Make symlinks to far off locations. :-)  Have
"makefiles" that can fetch new versions of software, etc.


The server caches files and directory information.  

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To demo Alex, as root do the following:

mkdir /alex
mount -o timeo=30,retrans=300,rsize=1000,soft,intr alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu:/ /alex

You can then wander around under /alex.  Check out
/alex/edu/cmu/cs/sp/alex/links.  After this post the server will probably
be totally overloaded, so please quickly move on to setting up your own
server (last section below).

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If you have xmosaic, check out:

ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/www/alex.html

or  /alex/edu/cmu/cs/sp/alex/www/alex.html if you mounted Alex.

If you do not have xmosaic, you should.  :-)  But you can go to
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/doc and look at README, NIR.Tool, or intro.ps

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Installing an Alex server.
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To install an Alex server on a Unix machine that does not export any NFS 
files, create a new user with the id "alexsrvr".  Best if there is lots of
disk space (nice to have 1 GB or more but 50 MB can work ok).

Then, as root (after doing the mount above), simply type:

csh /alex/edu/cmu/cs/sp/alex/src/getalex

After this finishes (copies the source, expands it, compiles it, installs
it, and starts things up in a total of 5 to 10 minutes) you should have a
fileserver installed and running on your machine.  However, if "getalex"
does not work, you can do a more manual approach by looking at
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/src/README

Once a local server has been set up other machines at your site can do a
"mountalex" to mount your server and then use /alex.

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  -- Vince
     vac@cs.cmu.edu

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Master copy of this file: /alex/edu/cmu/cs/sp/alex/doc/post