Preventing recursive traversal of the view root directory on Linux or the UNIX system

When the MVFS is installed on Linux® or the UNIX system, the /view directory functions as the mount point for the MVFS namespace. Because this /view directory causes the root directory to contain itself recursively, commands that traverse the entire directory, starting at the system root, loop infinitely.

On many hosts that run Linux or the UNIX system, a daily cron script cleans up the file system. If this script uses a find / command, it runs the risk of looping infinitely.

Note: Any command that operates on the entire file system, beginning at /, can loop in this way, regardless of whether it is run from the command-line, a script, or a GUI, and regardless of whether it is run by root or another user.

The DevOps Code ClearCase® installation script analyzes the crontab file of the root user and modifies entries in this file to prevent the recursive traversal problem. If it cannot complete this modification, it displays a warning message.

After installation, verify the correctness of these changes, and then modify the crontab entries of other users as needed to remove any command that operates on the entire file system beginning at the system root. Detailed information about platform-specific options is in the DevOps Code ClearCase Platforms Guide. It is also a good idea to add comments to the crontab files warning others not to add entries that cause recursive traversal problems.