Re: Alternate solutions (Was: Re: NFS still has caching problem)

warlord@mit.edu
Wed, 17 Jul 1996 15:33:23 -0400

> Do we want to write a whole new filesystem from scratch or just take care
> of some issues in NFS, for me those would be security and reliability. I
> think that the more "noble" of the two solutions is to build a new one
> designed right from the and implemented with security in mind,as well as
> the replication support, and other features you listed, but do we have
> time and resources to accomplish the "noble" solution?

Unfortunately doing the "noble" thing means that you won't
interoperate with anyone else in the world. If we don't interoperate,
few people will use it. There is a better way...

Sun Microsystems is currently working on using GSSAPI (using the
Kerberos V5 mechanism, but that can be changed) to authenticate and
protect (integrity and confidentiality) ONC RPC. In fact, someone
from Sun is presenting this at the Usenix Security Symposium in San
Jose next week.

This new security method could then be used to protect NFS (v2 or v3).
I think this might be the best course of action: embrace this
technology and be the first non-Sun platform to support it! That
would be a coup, wouldn't it?

-derek