Setting-up Remote File Access

Remote file access allows you to access a file held on another database as if it were held on the local account. Once set up, any indexes associated with the file can also be accessed remotely .

Remote file access is implemented by two communicating processes: a client and a server. The server process, ROSFS, accepts connections from client processes running on Reality databases. If a ROSFS user-id exists, this is used for connections initiated by Reality databases; otherwise, the initiating user's network user-id is used.

The ROSFS command must be available in the remote account.

To configure remote file access:

1. Configure the local host and database to allow access to the remote account as described in Setting-up Remote Logon, steps 1 to 3.
2. Each local user that will access the remote account must have a security profile that permits remote file access (SSM Option 3 - Define Security Profiles, option 12).
3. Each remote database user-id that is used for remote file access must be configured to operate in server mode (set SSM Option 2 - Define User Profiles option 14 to S or *).
4. In each local account from which access is required, use SET-FILE to create a Q-pointer for each remote file to be accessed. Specify the remote account you created in step 1.

Example

A user logs on to the PERSONNEL account on his local Reality database with a UNIX user-id of bloggs and a Reality user-id of JOE. He needs to access the STAFF file which is held in the RECORDS account on a remote Reality database called DBASE on the system known as SYSTEM-B. The user-id fred is a valid user-id on SYSTEM-B and DBASE.

In order to access STAFF the following steps must be taken:

1. Create a destination entry in the ROUTE-FILE for SYSTEM-B.
2. Create a Q-type entry in the ROUTE-FILE for DBASE which references host SYSTEM-B.
3. Create a network user-id for user bloggs, specifying the user-id fred on SYSTEM-B.
4. Use SSM to edit the security profile for the user-id JOE. Set option 12 (Remote File Access) to Y.
5. On the remote database, edit the user profile for user-id fred. Set option 14 (Type) to S (server only) or *  (both interactive and server).
6. Create a remote account called RECORDS-B which references the RECORDS account on the DBASE database on SYSTEM-B.
7. Create a Q-pointer called STAFF2 that references the STAFF file in account RECORDS-B.

The STAFF file can now be accessed from the PERSONNEL account by referring to it as STAFF2.