Support for AF

Adaptive Server version 15.7 ESD #4 and later support the AF_UNIX named pipe communication, which avoids some of the overhead incurred by the TCP protocol.

Include the AF_UNIX protocol in the interfaces file; the syntax is:

master afunix unused //host_name/pipe_name

where:

host_name is the name of the local machine on which you start Adaptive Server.
pipe_name uses this format:
```
/folder_name/pipe_name
```
You can use named pipes only for local communications.

Adaptive Server configured for AF_UNIX supports these clients:

isql
bcp
optdiag
Clients that use Sybase^® ODBC

Adaptive Server configured for AF_UNIX does not support:

Local clients using jConnect™ applications that are not local
Local clients using JConnect to connect to the dataserver
Note: Using Adaptive Server to Adaptive Server RPCs requires at least one entry in the interfaces file be a TCP entry.

If the interfaces file includes an invalid AF_UNIX entry followed by a valid TCP entry, Adaptive Server listens on the valid TCP port. Adaptive Server does not start unless there is a valid entry in the interfaces file.

Adaptive Server uses information in the interfaces file entry to create a named pipe in the specified location. AF_UNIX supports communication between the client and server only if both are present on the same machine.

Use the actual hostname of your local machine (you cannot use the network alias of the hostname). Use the hostname or uname -n UNIX commands to return the hostname.

This example shows a portion of a $SYBASE/interfaces file with a database named MYSERVER and an AF_UNIX entry for a named pipe named /tmp/big_pipe on a host named big_server:

MYSERVER 
    master afunix unused //big_server/tmp/big_pipe 
    query afunix unused //big_server/tmp/big_pipe

Managing Named Pipes

Use sp_listener to manage an AF_UNIX interfaces file entry. The syntax to start a named pipe listener is:

sp_listener "start", "afunix:machinename:pipename"

This example starts a connection on the machine named big_server and creates a pipe named /tmp/big_pipe in the /tmp directory of this machine (Adaptive Server must be running on machine big_server).

sp_listener "start", "afunix:big_server:/tmp/big_pipe"

The syntax to stop a named pipe listener is:

sp_listener "stop", "afunix:machinename:pipename"

This example stops a previously started named pipe connection (named big_pipe) on the machine named big_server:

sp_listener "stop", "afunix:big_server:/tmp/big_pipe"

Support for AF_UNIX

Managing Named Pipes