Novell Distributed File Services is a consumer of the OES 2 services identified in this section. These services must be installed and running as noted in order for DFS to function as designed.
Novell Distributed File Services is an integrated component of Novell Storage Services™ (NSS) for both OES 2 Linux and NetWare®. In addition, DFS is a consumer of other NSS features described in this section:
For information about installing NSS, see Installing and Configuring Novell Storage Services
in the NW 6.5 SP8: NSS File System Administration Guide.
DFS junctions can reside only on NSS volumes. The DFS move volume and split volume options are available only where both the source and destination volumes are NSS volumes.
When using DFS to move or split an NSS volume, the DFS Volume Manager uses the NSS Event File List (EFL) to track which files have changed while it was busy copying data from that volume. This allows DFS to recopy files as necessary after the initial copying of data is complete.
DFS provides an XML interface through the NSS _Admin volume for management. This provides support for iManager, and allows administrators to create scripts (such as in Perl) to automate tasks or to provide a command line interface.
Novell Distributed File Services uses Novell Storage Management Services™ (SMS) to move and split volumes. SMS must be installed and running on your system to use these DFS options.
For OES 2 Linux, SMS is automatically selected and installed when you select Novell Storage Services to be installed on the OES system. For OES 2 NetWare, SMS is installed automatically. For information about installing SMS, see Installing and Configuring SMS
in the NW 6.5 SP8: Storage Management Services Administration Guide.
The NetWare Emulation Mode option (--tsamode) on OES Linux for the TSAFS (File System Target Service Agent) must be set to linux when moving or splitting an NSS volume from Linux to Linux. The default setting is linux.
The NetWare Emulation mode must be set to dual when moving or splitting an NSS volume from NetWare to Linux. In dual mode, the TSA exposes both NetWare and Linux file systems on a target OES Linux server. When the move or split from NetWare to Linux is complete, reset the TSAFS mode to linux.
To set the TSAFS mode to dual:
Open a terminal console, then log in as the root user.
At a terminal console prompt, enter
smsconfig -l tsafs --tsaMode=dual
To reset the TSAFS mode to linux:
Open a terminal console, then log in as the root user.
At a terminal console prompt, enter
smsconfig -l tsafs --tsaMode=linux
For more information about the NetWare Emulation Mode on OES Linux, see NetWare Emulation Mode on OES Linux
in the NW 6.5 SP8: Storage Management Services Administration Guide.
Novell eDirectory™ must be configured and running on the server where you are using Novell Distributed File Services.
The eDirectory replica can be on any server that is the same eDirectory tree as the DFS management context. However, if the eDirectory replica is not on the same server where you are using DFS, the server must be configured for SLP. For more information about SLP, see Section 3.1.4, SLP.
Users that access data via a DFS junction must be eDirectory users. That is, the user must have a User object defined in eDirectory.
For eDirectory, usernames are case insensitive. For Linux users, usernames are case sensitive. To avoid potential login conflicts and confusion, we recommend that usernames be lowercase, which is the convention for usernames on Linux.
IMPORTANT:Use lowercase when creating usernames for administrators and users.
SLP (Service Location Protocol) is typically required to resolve tree names in networks with three or more servers. SLP must be correctly configured for Novell eDirectory on the server where you are using Novell Distributed File Services if that server does not host a Novell eDirectory replica, or if there are three or more servers in the tree.
For instructions on configuring SLP for use with eDirectory, see the following:
NetWare:
Configuring SLP
in the NW65 SP8: Installation Guide.
Linux User Management is a technology for OES 2 Linux that coordinates a user’s authentication identity in Novell eDirectory with a Linux local user identity on the server. When a user is Linux-enabled, a Linux UID is automatically created for the user. The UID is stored as an attribute for the user’s User object in eDirectory.
The administrator user identity in eDirectory is Linux-enabled by default for the server. On Linux, an administrator user has access rights equivalent to the root user.
Users must be Linux-enabled if they are using CIFS or Samba to access files. When NCP™ is not available to control file access, NSS enforces user access based on file system trustees and trustee rights for the Linux-enabled users.
When using NCP only, Linux-enabling users is optional. If a username is not Linux-enabled, the only thing that works differently for DFS is that the deleter ID for a user’s salvageable files is set to the root user, not the actual user.
IMPORTANT:Other products and services might require users to be Linux-enabled.
The case you use for usernames matters. For eDirectory, usernames are case insensitive. For Linux users, usernames are case sensitive. To avoid potential login conflicts and confusion, we recommend that usernames be lowercase, which is the convention for usernames on Linux.
IMPORTANT:Use lowercase when creating usernames for administrators and users.
NCP Server must be installed and running on the source and target server in order for DFS junctions to work. Even if users are not using NCP to access files, NCP Server must be running when the and jobs are configured and until the jobs are completed.
To install and configure NCP:
Linux:
For OES 2 Linux, you can install NCP Server during the install, or use to install and enable NCP Server at any time. For information, see Installing and Configuring NCP Server for Linux
in the OES 2 SP2: NCP Server for Linux Administration Guide.
NetWare: On NetWare, NCP is the default protocol, so NCP Server is installed and runs automatically.
Novell Distributed File Services junctions support file access with the NCP and CIFS/Samba protocols. Both the source volume and target volume for any given DFS junction must reside on servers that are configured to share the same file access protocol.
The following table provides an overview of the protocols supported for DFS functions. For details and guidelines, see Section 8.1, Guidelines for Combining Platforms, Volumes, and Protocols.
Table 3-1 Protocols Supported for DFS Functions
The Novell Client™ for Windows must be installed on user workstations in order for users to access data seamlessly via a DFS junction. You can use the Novell Client for Windows 4.9 or higher for junctions that point to the target volume root. You must use Novell Client for Windows 4.91 SP4 or later for junctions that point to subdirectories on the target volume.
The Novell Client 2.0 for Linux supports DFS junctions. It works for junctions that target the root of the volume and subdirectories on the target volume. If the junction breaks, there is no Junction Properties page to identify which junction is broken as there is for the Windows client.
IMPORTANT:Earlier version of the Novell Client for Linux do not support DFS junctions.
For CIFS on NetWare servers, you must enable DFS junction support in NetWare CIFS configuration. For instructions, see Section 3.4, Enabling DFS Junction Support in NetWare CIFS.
IMPORTANT:Junctions to subdirectories are not supported with CIFS.
Use the following guidelines for configuring CIFS:
The CIFS share name must match the target volume name.
All CIFS/Samba users must have User objects in eDirectory.
For Windows CIFS clients, DFS passes only the user’s Windows* logon username and password. For each user, the Windows logon username and password must match the user’s eDirectory Simple Password username and password.
The case you use for usernames matters. For Windows and eDirectory, usernames are case insensitive. For Linux users, usernames are case sensitive. To avoid potential login conflicts and confusion, we recommend that usernames be lowercase, which is the convention for usernames on Linux.
IMPORTANT:Use lowercase when creating usernames for administrators and users.
In order to resolve DFS junctions with CIFS, the CIFS share must be mapped using the CIFS server name. Do not use the IP address or the NCP Server name. Use the mapping function native to the operating system where you are mapping to the share; do not use the NCP mapping function in the Novell Client.
If new volumes are added within the DFS management context subtree after you enable DFS Junction support for CIFS clients, you might need to run VLDB repair to update the VLDB database. When you create an NSS volume with NSSMU or iManager, an entry is made automatically in the VLDB. For all other new Volume objects, you must run VLDB repair. For information about VLDB repair, see Section 9.14, Repairing the VLDB.
In this release, Linux Samba does not support DFS junctions, so you cannot use Samba as the file access protocol for volumes that contain junctions. However, OES 2 Linux servers running Samba can be the target of junctions on NetWare servers that are running CIFS.
Novell Distributed File Services requires Novell iManager 2.7 or later for managing DFS management contexts, the VLDB service, junctions, move volume, and split volume. Novell iManager must be available somewhere in your network.
NOTE: iManager 2.7 or later is required for managing Distributed File Services on Netware 6.5 SP7 and OES 2 Linux or later servers.
DFS requires the Distributed File Services plug-in (dfsmgmt.npm) and Storage plug-in (nssmgmt.npm). You must also install the Storage Management plug-in (storagemgmt.npm). For more information, see Section 7.0, Management Tools for DFS.
DFS junctions can be created only on NSS volumes. For OES 2 Linux, DFS is supported only on NSS volumes that reside on devices that are managed the Enterprise Volume Management System (EVMS). EVMS is installed automatically when you select Novell Storage Services to be installed on your OES 2 Linux server. Make sure to use NSSMU or iManager to create the NSS volumes so that the EVMS management is automatically configured.