File Looper v1.0.0 for Tru64 V5.1B-[3456]

TruHobbyist

Member
Jul 27, 2019
41
38
18
Hi everybody!

I'm proud to announce the release of File Looper v1.0.0 for Tru64 V5.1B-[3456]. File Looper is a software product that brings file loops to Tru64. It allows attaching a file like an iso image to a virtual device special file and mounting it to access the contained files.

Currently, only the cdfs file system is supported (i.e. only cdfs can be mounted through the virtual device special file created). This is enough to mount any iso file created on Windows or Linux (for example using mkisofs) and makes interoperation a lot easier than before.

File Looper is proprietary software and needs a per-node license to be used. Regular purchase price for a license is 49,95 Euro for enterprise customers. For hobbyists, in particular for IN and SGUG users, I offer a reduced hobbyist price of 14,95 Euro on a user by user basis.

If you are interested, please contact me by pm or directly at truhobbyist@gmail.com and I'll happily guide you through the setup process.

A demo run from File Looper on Tru64 V5.1B-3:

Code:
bash-4.3# sizer -v
Compaq Tru64 UNIX V5.1B (Rev. 2650); Sat Dec 14 15:56:28 CET 2019
bash-4.3#
bash-4.3# fl -v
File looper version 1.0.0 on OSF/1
bash-4.3#
bash-4.3# fl -h
File looper syntax:

  $ fl -a <dev> <file>
  Attach file to device.

  $ fl -d <dev>
  Detach file from device.

  $ fl -l
  List attached files.

  $ fl -h
  Print help.

  $ fl -v
  Print version.

For more info type man fl
bash-4.3#
Pick .iso file to loop mount:

Code:
bash-4.3# ls -l debian-10.8.0-mips-netinst.iso
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    system  294803456 Mar 30 12:37 debian-10.8.0-mips-netinst.iso
bash-4.3#
Attach iso file to a device:

Code:
bash-4.3# fl -a /dev/loop/debianiso ./debian-10.8.0-mips-netinst.iso
bash-4.3#
Mount device:

Code:
bash-4.3# mount -t cdfs /dev/loop/debianiso /mnt/CDROM
bash-4.3#
Use mounted filesystem (access, read, copy):

Code:
bash-4.3# ls -l /mnt/CDROM
total 98
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 .disk
-r--r--r--  1 root    system      8158 Feb  6 14:40 README.html
-r--r--r--  1 root    system      291 Mar  4  2017 README.mirrors.html
-r--r--r--  1 root    system        86 Mar  4  2017 README.mirrors.txt
-r--r--r--  1 root    system      4816 Feb  6 14:40 README.txt
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 css
lr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system        1 Feb  6 14:40 debian -> .
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 dists
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 doc
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 firmware
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 install
-r--r--r--  1 root    system    69760 Feb  6 14:40 md5sum.txt
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      4096 Feb  6 14:40 pics
dr-xr-xr-x  1 root    system      2048 Feb  6 14:40 pool
bash-4.3#
Unmount when done:

Code:
bash-4.3# umount /mnt/CDROM
bash-4.3#
List loop attachments:

Code:
bash-4.3# fl -l
/dev/loop/debianiso: /usr/users/root/debian-10.8.0-mips-netinst.iso (294803456 bytes)
bash-4.3#
Detach file from device:

Code:
bash-4.3# fl -d /dev/loop/debianiso
bash-4.3#
Verify:

Code:
bash-4.3# fl -l
INFO: No loops attached
bash-4.3#
And that's all!

Hopefully it may help sysadmins and enthusiasts alike by bringing useful functionality to these systems.

Kind regards,
TruHobbyist
 
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Reactions: foetz, Elf and HAL

Elf

Storybook / Retired, ex-staff
Feb 4, 2019
792
252
63
Mountain West (US)
Interesting! I am not a Tru64 user, but I can appreciate the effort :)
I would guess some custom kernel modules were involved?
 

TruHobbyist

Member
Jul 27, 2019
41
38
18
Interesting! I am not a Tru64 user, but I can appreciate the effort :)
I would guess some custom kernel modules were involved?
Yeah, indeed. This was the first big challenge, as official documentation is not available any more and not even HP could help out (not even with support contract). So, a lot of trial and error was necessary to get things to work properly. The good thing is, now it works like you would expect from any other kernel module.

All in all, it was an interesting journey that started with the single thought of getting an iso file mounted as I do on any other OS like Linux or Solaris.

Let's see what comes up next :)
 

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