[sclug] Linux to linux file sharing

[Drew McLellan]

In the process of setting up a new file server and workstation, both 
running Debian Sarge. I want to set up file sharing between them so that 
the workstation can easily edit files directly on the server.

Seems to me it's a bit daft using samba for this purpose, as there's no 
Windows involved, so I just spent some time figuring out NFS. This has 
the benefit of the exports appearing as a locally mounted drive on the 
workstation, which is really neat.

Unfortunately, the way NFS handles permissions leaves a lot to be 
desired. Basically it would seem ignore groups and file ownership, and 
rely totally on file permissions. I'm not really keen on making all the 
files world writable.

Is there a good alternative to NFS that handles permissions in a nicer 
way? Ideally I'd like the workstation to be challenged to authenticate 
as a user local to the server.

I struggle to believe that this is the pinnacle of 'nix file sharing ;)

cheers


drew.