NCAR Mass Storage Service User Reference

DCS Version 4.0

August 1, 2008

Mass Storage Services Group

August 1, 2008


Table of Contents

1. Introduction
MSS Description
DCS Commands Description
DCS Libraries Description
Changes from DCS 3.3
2. MSS Pathnames
Name Description
Directory Behavior
POSIX Shell Pattern Support
3. Metadata Description
Class of Service
Comment
Ownership Information
Passwords
Reference Times and Counts
Retention Period
4. Command Behavior and Environment
Accessing the DCS Services
Faking an MSS Working Directory
Options
Advanced DCS Options
Project Number for Accounting
Dealing with Read and Write Passwords
Dealing with Lists of MSS files
Environment Variables
Exit Status Codes
Notes
5. MSS File Life Cycles
Definitions
Purge Policy
Remove Policy
Trash MSS file Policy
6. Usage Guidelines
Data Access Guidelines
Extra Guidelines for Large Data Users
Metadata Guidelines
7. Problem Reporting Guidelines
Where to Report Problems
What Information to Provide
I. DCS Command Reference
dcsclient — Submit and run a DCS command.
dcsjlog — Return the job summary information for DCS requests (jobs).
dcsq — Display the current DCS queue(s) contents.
dcsrm — Cancel a DCS request.
dcswait — Wait for a DCS request to complete.
msallinfo — Format output from the msrawinfo command
mscd — Change the MSS working directory
mscdsetup — Set up the shell and environment for the MSS mscd command
mschproj — Change an MSS file's project number.
msclass — Change the class of service for MSS files
mscomment — Change an MSS file's comment.
msdu — Display MSS usage statistics.
msfind — Find MSS files.
msls — List MSS directory contents.
msmv — Move (rename) MSS files.
mspasswd — Change passwords for MSS files.
mspwd — Display the MSS working directory pathname.
msrawinfo — List MSS-specific information about MSS Master File Directory (MFD) entries.
msrcp — Copy files to or from the MSS.
msrecover — Recover MSS files.
msretention — Set the retention period for an MSS file.
msrm — Remove MSS files.
mstouch — Update the last reference time for an MSS file.
II. DCS Library
DCS C/C++ Library — C and C++ callable interface to DCS commands.
DCS Fortran 90/95 Library — Fortran 90/95 callable interface to DCS commands.
DCSRunArgvAlloc — Run a command with a given argument vector and dynamically allocate the buffers for the stdout and stderr contents.
DCSRunArgvFixed — Run a command with a given argument vector and use fixed sized buffers for the stdout and stderr contents.
DCSRunParseAlloc — Run a command with a given argument string and dynamically allocate the buffers for the stdout and stderr contents.
DCSRunParseFixed — Run a command with a given argument string and use fixed sized buffers for the stdout and stderr contents.
III. DCS 3.3 Compatability Library
libdcs-33.aDCS 3.3 compatible C and Fortran 77 callable interface.
Glossary

List of Figures

5.1. The life cycle of a usage=normal MSS file.
5.2. The life cycle of a usage=backup MSS file.
5.3. The life cycle of a temporary MSS file.
5.4. The life cycle of a removed MSS file.

List of Tables

1.1. MSS Components
2.1. Shell Pattern (Wildcard) Summary
4.1. Advanced DCS Options Description
4.2. Exit Status Code Values
5. Some Acceptable timestamp Formats
6. Dcsq output description.
7. Class of Service Descriptions
8. Msrawinfo MSS file information.
9. Msrawinfo MSS file segment information.
10. Msrawinfo directory information.
11. Msrawinfo storage medium information.
12. Msrawinfo virtual volume information.
13. Commands usable with DCS 3.3 compatability library.

List of Examples

1. Display logs for all of your jobs that were submitted yesterday.
2. Display logs for jobs submitted during a specific hour that failed.
3. Display your active or queued jobs.
4. Cancel a specific job.
5. Wait for a specific job.
6. Using mscd.
7. Bourne shell specific mscdsetup.
8. Korn shell specific mscdsetup.
9. csh/tcsh shell specific mscdsetup.
10. Using a shell alias to run mscdsetup.
11. Change the project number of an MSS file.
12. Keep one copy of an MSS file.
13. Overriding the implied values set by the COS usage category
14. Set a comment.
15. Find MSS files that are going to expire.
16. Remove selected MSS files with msfind.
17. Find MSS files with specific class of service.
18. List MSS files sorted by size.
19. List MSS files sorted by various fields.
20. Display the file comment after the file name.
21. Display class of service information.
22. Rename an MSS file.
23. Rename an MSS file that has passwords.
24. Move an MSS file into a non-existent directory.
25. Add a new write password.
26. Add a new write password to all MSS files under a directory.
27. Remove the read password from some files.
28. Change a write password and set a new read password.
29. Write a file to the MSS.
30. Read a single file from the MSS to the local host.
31. Copy files selected by shell patterns.
32. Recursive copy.
33. Move several file to the MSS.
34. Synchronize a local directory with an MSS directory.
35. Target path construction.
36. Recovering a trash file when a non-trash file of the same name exists.
37. Set a retention period.
38. Remove a MSS file that has a write password.
39. Remove MSS files that match a shell pattern.