What Is a Replicated File System?

For the purposes of client-side failover, a file system can be called a replica when it is the same size and has the same file size or file type as the original file system. Permissions, creation dates, and other file attributes are not considered. If the file size or file types are different, the remapping fails and the process hangs until the old server becomes available. In NFS Version 4, the behavior is different. For more information about client-side failover, see Client-Side Failover in NFS Version 4.

Note:

All replicas need to have the same NFS minor and major versions.

You can maintain a replicated file system by using rsync, cpio, or another file transfer mechanism. Because updating the replicated file systems causes inconsistency, for best results consider these precautions:

• Rename the old version of the file before installing a new version of the file.

• Run the updates at night when client usage is low.

• Keep the updates small.

• Minimize the number of copies of the file.