Before upgrading the media format of your NSS volumes on NetWare, make sure you understand the following guidelines:
The new metadata structure is available only for OES SP1 NetWare and later and NetWare 6.5 SP4 and later, as shown in the following table:
When you upgrade the operating system, NSS does not automatically upgrade the media format to use the new metadata structure because it might create system conflicts for system roll backs, shared volumes, migrating volumes cross-platform to OES SP2 Linux and earlier, or migrating devices to earlier releases of NetWare.
Before you upgrade the media format of NSS volumes to the new data structure, make sure the server is performing as expected with the upgrade to OES SP1 NetWare or later or to NetWare 6.5 SP4 or later. This allows you to roll back to the previous NetWare release if necessary.
WARNING:After the media format is upgraded to the new metadata structure, you cannot roll back to a previous release.
If you attempt to upgrade the media format for a shared NSS volume on a cluster with Novell Cluster Services™, the upgrade is refused until all servers on the system are configured with a supported operating system. Make sure to upgrade all cluster nodes to NetWare 6.5 SP4 or OES SP1 NetWare or later before attempting to upgrade the shared volume.
Until you upgrade the structure for an NSS volume, the volume’s format uses the same structure as is used on earlier NetWare releases and on OES SP2 Linux and earlier. Any existing hard links on your system’s NSS volumes are visible, and they can be opened, closed, read, and written. However, until you upgrade the NSS volume to the new structure, you cannot create new hard links, and you cannot rename or delete existing hard links. Attempts to do so are rejected with an appropriate error.
With a few exceptions as noted below, it is highly recommended that you upgrade the NSS volume to the new metadata structure after you upgrade the operating system to OES SP1 NetWare or later or to NetWare 6.5 SP4 or later. The next major (non support pack) release of NSS will force the upgrade anyway.
Do not upgrade the media format of the NSS volume to the new metadata structure if any of the following conditions exist:
You have not yet verified that the performance of your system after upgrading the operating system is as expected, and you might need to roll back to an earlier NetWare release.
You plan to migrate one or more devices containing the NSS volume to an OES Linux server after upgrading to OES SP1 NetWare. The new metadata structure is not supported on OES SP2 Linux and earlier.
You need to share this volume with an OES SP2 Linux or earlier server in a mixed cluster with Novell Cluster Services. The cluster software prevents the media upgrade unless all operating systems in the cluster support the new media format.
You have not yet upgraded all nodes in a NetWare cluster to OES SP1 NetWare or later or to NetWare 6.5 SP4 or later. The cluster software prevents the media upgrade until all operating systems in the cluster support the new media format.
After you upgrade the volume to use the new metadata structure, the volume supports only the new media format. The following constraints apply for its use:
The upgraded NSS volume cannot be rolled back to use the old media format.
You cannot roll back the operating system to a previous NetWare version.
You cannot migrate a device containing the upgraded volume to a system with OES SP2 Linux and earlier or to an earlier unsupported NetWare release.
Upgraded shared volumes cannot be used in clusters with nodes that use unsupported operating systems, such as OES NetWare, NetWare 6.5 SP3 and earlier, and OES SP2 Linux and earlier. Upgraded shared NSS volumes cannot be used in a mixed cluster with Novell Cluster Services.
You must enable the Hard Links attribute for your NSS volume on NetWare before you can create hard links. When you upgrade the NSS volume to use the new media format, if any old-style hard links are detected, the Hard Links attribute is automatically enabled. Otherwise, the volume is upgraded, but the attribute is disabled and must be enabled before you can create hard links. For information, see Section 21.2, Enabling or Disabling the Hard Links Attribute (OES SP1 NetWare, NetWare 6.5 SP4).
If you do not upgrade the media format for an NSS volume on an OES SP1 NetWare or later server or on a NetWare 6.5 SP4 or later server, the volume’s format uses the same metadata structure as is used on earlier NetWare releases and on OES SP1 Linux and earlier. Any existing hard links on your system’s NSS volumes are visible, and they can be opened, closed, read, and written. However, until you upgrade the NSS volume to the new structure, you cannot create new hard links, and you cannot rename or delete existing hard links. Attempts to do so are rejected with an appropriate error.
If the non-upgraded NSS volume is shared in a mixed cluster with Novell Cluster Services, hard links can be created, renamed, or deleted by first mounting the volume on a node in the cluster with an operating system that is compatible with the old media format.
If desired, devices containing non-upgraded NSS volumes can be moved cross-platform to servers with operating systems compatible with the old media format. For information about moving media cross-platform, see Section 6.6, Moving Non-Clustered Devices From NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare to OES Linux.