Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: new minix to disks
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Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
From: aje9383@osfmail.isc.rit.edu (Andrew Erickson)
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In article <1a1r19.6s.ln@darask.kjb.home.cs.vu.nl>,
Kees J Bot <kjb=732354@cs.vu.nl> wrote:

<snip stuff about making a distribution on floppies>

>Note that in general you can transport files like this:
>
>	machine1# cd /somedir
>	machine1# tar cvf - files-to-move | compress | vol /dev/fd0
>
>	machine2# cd /somedir
>	machine2# vol /dev/fd0 | uncompress | tar xvfp -
>
>You only need two floppies if the machines stand next to each other.

Of course, if the files aren't too big, you can also do something like
this (provided the floppies have been properly formatted and mkfs'd
beforehand):
	machine1# mount /dev/fd0 /mymountpoint
	machine1# cp files/to/* /mymountpoint
	machine1# umount /dev/fd0

	machine2# mount /dev/fd0 /mymountpoint
	machine2# cp /mymountpoint/files/* ./somewhere/
	machine2# rm -rf /mymountpoint/*
	machine2# umount /dev/fd0

Although not really helpful in this case, having a veritable file system
mounted does (on rare ocassions) prove helpful; should you need to move,
say, a named pipe from one machine to another, without spilling the data
inside, this might work.  (Call it IP over sneakernet!)  It's also much
more convenient for gathering lots of little files from lots of individual
(disconnected) systems.

>(Let's see, write/read a floppy in 32s, swap them in 5s, capacity
>1440*1024 bytes, compression 2x.  Sneakernet bandwidth is
>1440*1024*2*8/(32+5) = 638 kbps.  Not bad.  Network latency sucks
>though.  Ping times of 74000 ms.)

"Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of magtapes."
I guess perhaps the saying needs updating; now it ought to be "Never
underestimate the bandwidth of a minivan full of CD-RW's" or something
like that.

-- 
Andrew Erickson
