Description of problem:

Red Hat Linux 9 nfs client can no longer do seeks for nfs mounted files on server running kernel-PAE-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i686

Problem occurs with update kernel:
    kernel-PAE-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i686 .
Problem does not occur with original F11 kernel:
    kernel-PAE-2.6.29.4-167.fc11.i686

Presumably this problem is still relevant, even if one of the systems involved is very old, as one imagines that a valid nfs call is not being properly handled by the new kernel.

I have a Fedora 11 system (with full updates) acting as an NFS server.  I have a separate system running Red Hat Linux 9 (for various backwards compatibility building and testing reasons) that is an nfs client of the aforementioned server (using autofs for auto-mounting).

On the nfs client, *with current working directory set to a directory under the nfs mount*, an attempted compilation results in something like:

    $ gcc -c hw.c
    hw.o: Input/output error
    /usr/tmp/cckOXVqu.s: Assembler messages:
    /usr/tmp/cckOXVqu.s:25: FATAL: Can't write hw.o: Illegal seek

Sometimes it complains about "Illegal seek" and sometimes about "Input/Output error", although I believe the problem is wholly seek-related.

The following command reveals that the program actually issuing the diagnostic is "as":
    $ gcc -c -v -save-temps hw.c
    ...
    as -V -Qy -o hw.o hw.s
    GNU assembler version 2.13.90.0.18 (i386-redhat-linux) using BFD version 2.13.90.0.18 20030206
    hw.o: Input/output error
    hw.s: Assembler messages:
    hw.s:25: FATAL: Can't write hw.o: Input/output error

Presumably, the assembler attempts to seek within the output object file and fails.

I have worked around this problem for my own sake using a script to wrap the "as" command, substituting a tmp file on a local disk for the original output file on the nfs filesystem and then mv'ing the local file into the desired output file after assembly completes.  This workaround works reliably, again suggesting that the problem is related to the attempted seek on the nfs file.

How reproducible:

Always fails under kernel-PAE-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i686 .

Always works under the previous kernel:
    kernel-PAE-2.6.29.4-167.fc11.i686

Steps to Reproduce:
1.  Fedora 11 server running kernel-PAE-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i686
2.  RHL 9 client, autofs for auto-mount of nfs file system from server.
3.  Set current working directory to be on the nfs filesystem.
3.  Attempt compilation of a .c file using gcc