"braam_at_cs.cmu.edu wrote:"
> 
> How big is that server going to be?  What mostly counts is the number
> of files.
> 
> How many users will simultaneously be using the servers? 
> 
> Elliot Lee writes:
>  > The college here is getting a new server, which will inevitably be
>  > accompanied by some fairly big changes in the roles of servers and how
>  > those servers provide necessary services. One of the possibilities that we
>  > are considering is using coda to serve home directories, in order to allow
>  > a level of security with uncontrolled client workstations (and potentially
>  > redundant servers in the future).

I am also beginning to look at this. My principal need is redundancy. I
need a down server to not stop classes.

That means the client stations must fallover to a different server (which
has a copy, more or less up to date) when the closest server dies.

My personal opinion - from nothing else than trying to get server and
clients working to see how it all goes, is that coda is still a year
away from being usable by _our_ student population (they're largely
educated on windows - "what's a directory?"). The primary requirement
for the redundancy is invisibility. The reintegration that a user might
have to do would be beyond them. It'd certainly be beyond the "machine
minders", who are less intelligent. With luck the profs might be trained
to do the trick. Opinions? I have only just started to scratch arround
with coda. I'd be grateful for pointers.

What I really want is raid over nfs/the net. But that's not so
obviously easy as it sounds.

Peter