Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 16:09:00 +0700 (ALMST) From: Boris Popov <bp@butya.kz> To: Julian Elischer <julian@elischer.org> Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Request for the major device number Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.10.10004241538440.3515-100000@lion.butya.kz> In-Reply-To: <390402D3.41C67EA6@elischer.org>
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On Mon, 24 Apr 2000, Julian Elischer wrote: > > in the near future I'm going to release beta > > version of native, > > kernel side SMB/CIFS filesytem for FreeBSD. It uses > > device /dev/net/nsmbX > > for the userland <-> kernel interaction. Currently it uses > > major number > > assigned to the 'joystick' device which can make some > > peoples unhappy :). > > > Can you explain a little more, what interaction there is between > the userland and kernel that requires the device? > (I am truely curious, and not trying be difficult) Sure. smbfs actually consists of two major parts - SMB requester and filesystem itself. SMB requester handles all protocol details and gives clear interface like 'connect to server', 'connect to share', 'send request' etc. An opened device used as a handle for above primitives and this saves some code which should track these handles. For example: any new connection established by userland process should be dropped when the process-owner is terminated. This can be done via at_exit handler and set of syscalls, but why to reinvent the wheel ? Kernel already does this job and does it well. (at_exit technique used in the netncp code and I don't like it much :) Of course, said above doesn't mean that mount_smbfs will hang as a daemon. The only disadvantage is the necessity to create N nsmb devices, but this should gone when device clones will be available (in fact, clones are implemented, but there is some unnegotiated conventions with Poul-Henning and lack of spare time). -- Boris Popov To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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