Re: [ProgSoc] What are .nfs* files?

[Matt <matt@nospam.uts.edu.au>]

FatCat wrote this...

> Hi, ppl,

> 	I just found some .nfs* files on my /public_html which didn't
> seem to be there a while ago and I had no idea what they are and how
> they got there.  Are they anything important? Can I just delete
> them?

.nfs* file are left behind when a NFS'ed (NFS stands for Network File
System, ie the normal Unix method for sharing files over a network) is
deleted from one machine, but may still be in use by another _remote_
machine (ie the file is open/locked/blah). becuase the remote machine
may need a copy of the file still it leaves a copy behind on the
filesystem. why it doesnt just unlink it from the file system but keep
the internal refcount up in the kernel i am not entirely sure (this is
what happens if you unlink a file locally that is still being used
locally). but there you have it. this is somewhat simplified but
should explain it. and it _should_ go away whent he remote end finally
stops using the file, but there are cases where it doesnt
sometimes. and you wont be able to deleted the file sometimes..

	   Matt

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