distcp(1M)                                                          distcp(1M)


NAME
     distcp - copy or compare software distributions

SYNOPSIS
     distcp [ -cnrsvw ] from to [ file ... ]

DESCRIPTION
     distcp copies or compares software distributions.  Software distributions
     are software releases for one or more software products prepared by
     Silicon Graphics and installed by inst(1M) or swmgr(1M).  distcp is
     typically used to copy a software release tape or to copy software from a
     tape to a server workstation, which becomes the software distribution
     source for many workstations on a network.

     NOTE:  Installing (loading) the miniroot from tape is no longer possible
     as of IRIX 6.2.  It is still possible to install software from tape, but
     it is not supported.

     from is the location of the software distribution to be copied, and to is
     the location where the copy will be created.  from can be a tape device,
     a directory containing a software distribution, or the name of a product
     in a distribution directory.  to can be a tape device or a directory.
     from and to can include the name of a remote machine and a userid.

     When accessing a remote machine, you must be superuser to give the distcp
     command.  In addition, the userid on the remote machine (default is
     guest) must have read permission (for from) and/or write permission (for
     to).  The exact syntax for from and to is identical to the syntax for the
     source argument of the inst -f option.  See inst(1M) for details.

     The optional file arguments are another way to specify what to copy or
     compare.  A software distribution is a collection of files.  Some of
     these files are archives that contain the files in the product.  Other
     files contain information about what is in the software distribution,
     installation configuration information, and tools for performing the
     installation.

     The possible files are

     sa              Contains the standalone tools and environment for
                     miniroot installations (see inst(1M)).

     mr              Is an additional file for miniroot installations.

     product         Is known as a product descriptor for product and contains
                     information about the contents of the distribution.
                     product is a short name for one software product.

     product.idb     Is called the idb file and contains one line for every
                     file, directory, link, and fifo in a software product.


     product.image   Contains the files that will be installed by inst on a
                     workstation.  Typical images are sw and man.

     A software distribution can contain multiple products.  The sa and mr
     files are required for miniroot installations but need not be included in
     every software distribution created with distcp.  The default is to
     include them in copies or comparisons.  Use the -n option to exclude
     them.

     By default, distcp copies software distributions.  The following options
     allow you to compare distributions or otherwise alter distcp's default
     behavior:

     -c   Compare (rather than copy) from and to.

     -n   Do not include the standalone files sa and mr.

     -r   Retension tape before reading or writing.

     -s   Compare silently; return exit status only.

     -v   Verbose; report file names as they are copied.

     -w   Warnings for short files; report during comparison if file sizes do
          not match.

EXAMPLES
     To create a distribution directory that will enable users on a network to
     install from disk rather than tape, first create a directory (such as
     /d/newrel) on a system that has enough disk space to contain all the
     software on all the tapes.  Then, insert each tape in the drive and give
     this command once per tape:

          distcp /dev/nrtape /d/newrel

     To make a tape from a remote machine of just one product in a
     distribution directory, say the Network Filesystem product (nfs), give
     the command:

          distcp -n machine:/d/newrel /dev/nrtape "nfs*"


NOTES
     If you are using a tape to copy the distribution, it should be the no-
     rewind tape device.

     It is possible to copy to a remote directory, but you cannot create a
     tape on a remote machine.

     distcp cannot be used to copy distributions from CD-ROM to a directory,
     because the CD-ROM is itself mounted as a filesystem (one may of course
     use the mounted CD-ROM directory as a source when using distcp to copy to


     tape).  To make a local copy of a CD-ROM, use cp with the -r option or
     one of the many other methods of making directory copies.  Similarly, to
     copy an installable CD-ROM over the network, use rcp with -r.

     distcp takes tape as an argument by itself to be a synonym for
     /dev/nrtape.  Thus, if you want to refer to a directory named tape, you
     must refer to it by the full pathname or ./tape or similar workarounds.

SEE ALSO
     cp(1), inst(1M), rcp(1C), versions(1M), tps(7M).


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