6.1 Accessing NetStorage

To access NetStorage from a workstation:

  1. Start your browser or Microsoft Web Folders, then specify the URL for NetStorage.

    The URL is http://server_ip_address/oneNet/NetStorage/. Replace server_ip_address with the IP address or DNS name of the server running NetStorage or the IP address for Apache-based services. If Apache-based services use a port other than 80, you must also specify that port number with the URL.

    For example, if the IP address for NetStorage is 127.1.1.1, then you would specify 127.1.1.1/oneNet/NetStorage/.

    In the above example, if you had changed the port number to 51080, then you would specify 127.1.1.1:51080/oneNet/NetStorage/.

    Although the oneNet portion of the URL is required if you are using WebDAV (Web Folders), it is not required if you are using a browser. In a browser, you can use 127.1.1.1/NetStorage/.

    If you have the Persistent Cookies feature enabled (See Section 7.2.6, NetStorage Options), the date and time on the workstation being used to access NetStorage should be within 24 hours of the date and time on the server running NetStorage in order to avoid conflicts.

  2. Enter your username and password.

    NetStorage uses your NetIQ eDirectory username and password, so you don’t need to remember or use a separate username or password.

You can use many of the same conventions for expanding and contracting folders and opening files that are available in Windows Explorer. To create new folders or to copy, paste, delete, rename, move, upload, or download existing files with a browser, click the File menu. To enable Mail option under File menu and send files as an attachment, the user must have a valid e-mail address configured in eDirectory. If you are using Internet Explorer, you can copy and move files and folders by dragging and dropping them. This functionality is not available with browsers other than Internet Explorer.

Clicking the Folder View button in the browser window displays folders in another column and lets you expand and contract folders. The Text View displays only the files and folders in the current directory and does not let you expand or contract folders. Clicking the Name, Size, or Modified headings lets you sort directory and file listings in ascending or descending order by name, size, or date.

Local files and folders in a shared directory on the Linux server where NetStorage is installed can be accessed through NetStorage. This is useful for uploading files to the local Linux server. The path to the shared folder is /var/opt/novell/NetStorage/shared.

You cannot map drives or change login scripts from NetStorage.

NetStorage lets you download folders from the linux servers on your network. You can also upload and download multiple files simultaneously.

IMPORTANT:There is no locking mechanism supported by NetStorage while accessing files. As a result, file integrity could be compromised. For example, if a file is being modified using a client and simultaneously the same file is uploaded from NetStorage, NetStorage might end up overwriting the file.