0-length files in NFS V3, FC6, FC7

[Todd Merriman]

This was not a problem in Fedora Core 4,
and became a problem in FC5, FC6, and FC7.

Could not get NFS V4 to work under FC6 after a day of fighting it,
so we use NFS V3, as we have been since before Fedora.
nfs-utils-lib-1.0.8-7.2
nfs-utils-1.0.10-14.fc6

and the Linux NFS server is
2.6.22.9-61.fc6

with /etc/exports:
/usr2/common *.local(rw,no_root_squash)

6 other Linux hosts mount the partition:
nfs.local:/usr2/common /home/common nfs
rsize=16384,wsize=16384,timeo=14,intr

Many files are updated on the partition daily via ftp. Often, after
being updated, the new file lives for awhile, then becomes a zero-length
file with the previous mtime on it. This is a very serious problem for
us because the files that are being zeroed are being shared by multiple
hosts running multiple websites. The file type does not seem to have
anything to do with it, as we have observed the effect on shell scripts,
perl scripts, javascript source, and image files. Network is 100Mb
ethernet.

My guess is that when V4 support was added to NFS, V3 code was broken.

Todd Merriman

[bcwalrus]

Post by Todd Merriman
the new file lives for awhile

How long is "awhile"? Did they last beyond the ftp operation?

Post by Todd Merriman
file with the previous mtime on it.

What about ctime?

You can also try using inotify on your server to monitor those files.

Cheers,
bc

[Todd Merriman]

Post by bcwalrus

Post by Todd Merriman
the new file lives for awhile

How long is "awhile"? Did they last beyond the ftp operation?

The files last long enough to be executed a couple of times (if they
are executable) or served if they are http objects.