GNBD on Debian installation howto
categories:
- Debian/Ubuntu
- Howto
- Linux
GNBD is some kind of alternative to iSCSI and to a (much) lower extent to sshfs or other filesharing systems (NFS, Samba, etc.).
Unlike iSCSI, there’s no authentication or such, I invite you to read the documentation to learn more about GNBD.
Server (server.example.org) :
Optional : Create a test filesystem
dd if=/dev/zero of=/home/disk bs=1M count=1000 losetup -f (find the next available loop device) losetup /dev/loop0 /home/disk mkfs.ext3 -j /dev/loop0
Install GNBD on the server and start :
apt-get install gnbd-server /etc/init.d/gnbd-server start or gnbd-server -n
Export the device :
gnbd_export -d /dev/loop0 -e DISK -c
Replace /dev/loop0 by any device on your system you want to share (eg : /dev/sda2). DISK will be the name of the exported device.
List the current exported drives :
gnbd_export
Client
Install GNBD on the client (client.example.org) :
apt-get install gnbd-client redhat-cluster-modules-2.6.26-2-686
(pick the package matching your architecture)
modprobe gnbd
List exports on the server from the client :
gnbd_import -e server.example.org -n
Create the device for the shared drive on the client :
gnbd_import -i server.example.org -n
This will result in a new device available under /dev/gnbd/DISK
Mount the device :
mount /dev/gnbd/DISK /mnt/DISK
Done !
Sources :
Linux Magazine France nĀ° 118 and Vincent ;-)