[Rpm-maint] Re: RPM database on NFS root

[Axel Thimm]

Hi,

On Sat, Jul 21, 2007 at 07:24:36AM +0000, Panu Matilainen wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Jul 2007, Mark Hatle wrote:
> 
> > Jeremy Sanders wrote:
> >> Are there any plans to be able to host an RPM database over NFS? See
> >> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=141614
> >
> > In my experience (due to NFS locking), it's not possible to do an RPM
> > database over NFS.  However you do have some options.
> >
> >> For our manchines which use remote root over nfs, we use an ext3 filesystem
> >> mounted over gnbd network block devices to place the rpm database, which
> >> appears to work (except gnbd is missing from Fedora...) It would be nice
> >> not to have to do this.
> >
> > You can either use sqlite (which is probably a bit slower, and I'm not
> > sure if it's still available in the rpm-maint 4.4.2.X branch.  It _WAS_
> > in stock 4.4.2 and the rpm5.org's tree.)  If you go down the route of
> > the sqlite database, it's still only key/value pair driven, and is much
> > slower the the berkleyDB interface.  You may also STILL encounter
> > locking issues w/ sqlite (but in practice I never encountered them...)
> 
> Sqlite is available in rpm.org tree as well, no intention to remove it.

Is the conversion to sqlite painful, and if not how does one go about
it? Would it also work on RHEL3,4,5? Is there anyone really running
any RHEL with sqlite rpmdbs or would I become a guinea pig ;)?

> > Or you can use RPC for the berkley DB interface.  I don't have details
> > on this, but this will use a more reliable network interface to go back
> > to the host for the RPM database access.  This is probably be more
> > reliable then sqlite.
> 
> Probably the best available documentation on the subject is here:
> https://www.redhat.com/archives/rpm-list/2003-May/msg00383.html

Ouch! I don't want a say solaris server having to run rpmdb_svc ... :/

I think the safest/easiest way to deal with rpmdb over NFS is to pull
a copy onto a local filesystem before querying.
-- 
Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net
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