FS_SETCLIENTADDRS(1)

💅 FS_SETCLIENTADDRS — hey bestie, let's talk about it

okay so we're in the AFS Command Reference section of the manual (that's the (1) energy right there ✨), and today's main character is fs_setclientaddrs — the command that tells your machine which IPs to introduce itself with. no cap, it's a whole vibe. 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

fs_setclientaddrs — literally just sets the client interfaces to register with the File Server. that's it. that's the girl. 💖

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

fs setclientaddrs [-address <client network interfaces>+] [-help]

fs setcl [-a <client network interfaces>+] [-h]

fs sc [-a <client network interfaces>+] [-h]

three nicknames, one icon. setcl and sc are the low-effort text versions 🫶

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so fs setclientaddrs defines the IP addresses of the interfaces that your local Cache Manager registers with a File Server when it's first establishing a connection to it. first impressions matter, periodt. ✨

the File Server uses those addresses when it initiates a remote procedure call (RPC) to the Cache Manager — yes, the other direction, not the Cache Manager asking first. it's giving reciprocal. there are two common circumstances in which the File Server initiates RPCs:

• when it breaks callbacks 💀
• when it pings the client machine to verify that the Cache Manager is still accessible 🫶

the list of interfaces you specify with this command replaces the list that the Cache Manager constructs and records in kernel memory as it initializes. at that time, if the file /etc/openafs/NetInfo exists on the client machine's local disk, the Cache Manager uses its contents as the basis for the list of interfaces addresses. if that file does not exist, the Cache Manager instead uses the network interfaces configured with the operating system. it then removes from the list any address included in the local /etc/openafs/NetRestrict file. it records the final list in kernel memory. (heads up: an administrator has to create the NetInfo and NetRestrict files — there are no default versions of them, so don't go looking 🧚)

if an RPC to that interface fails, the File Server simultaneously sends RPCs to all of the other interfaces in the list, to learn which of them are still available. whichever interface replies first is the one to which the File Server then sends pings and RPCs to break callbacks. fastest reply wins, main character energy only. 👑

and if you want to list the interfaces that the Cache Manager is currently registering with File Servers, use the fs getclientaddrs command. peek, don't touch 💜

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⚠️ CAUTIONS ⚠️ (read this fr fr)

the list specified with this command persists in kernel memory only until the client machine reboots. 😭

to preserve it across reboots, either list the interfaces in the local /etc/openafs/NetInfo file, or place the appropriate fs setclientaddrs command in the machine's AFS initialization script.

changes made with this command do not propagate automatically to File Servers to which the Cache Manager has already established a connection. to force such File Servers to use the revised list, either:

• reboot each file server machine, or
• change the NetInfo file and reboot the client machine

the fs command interpreter verifies that each of the addresses specified as a value for the -address argument is actually configured with the operating system on the client machine. if it isn't, the command fails with an error message that marks the address as a "Nonexistent interface". so embarrassing 💀

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -address <client network interfaces>+ — specifies each IP address to place in the list of interfaces, in dotted decimal format. hostnames are not acceptable, bestie, don't try it 🙈 separate each address with one or more spaces.
• -help — prints the online help for this command. all other valid options are ignored. she said "help only, bye" 💅

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🌈 OUTPUT 🌈

you get a lil message like:

Adding <interface>

which confirms that each new interface was added to the Cache Manager's list. the address appears in hexadecimal format to match the notation used in the File Server log, /var/log/openafs/FileLog. yes hex, no we don't make the rules 🍓

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🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

the following example sets the two interfaces that the Cache Manager registers with File Servers:

% fs setclientaddrs 191.255.105.68 191.255.108.84
Adding 0xbfff6944
Adding 0xbfff6c54

ate. no crumbs. ✨

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🫶 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 🫶

the issuer must be logged in as the local superuser root. root only, sorry babe 👑

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

NetInfo(5), NetRestrict(5), fileserver(8), fs_getclientaddrs(1)

iykyk 💜

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📜 COPYRIGHT 📜

IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

this documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. it was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.

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and that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this all came from the OpenAFS crew, dated 2026-07-27 — go forth and set those client addrs, you're literally iconic for reading the whole thing 🌸✨🌺