File locking on cifsmount

[bfrench]

I have a user trying to copy files to a cifsmounted file system. He is running a command for VB that can turn of file locking. When file locking is turned off the copy completes. When file locking is not turned of the copy times out.

Has anyone seen this before. Is there a way to turn off file locking on a cifsmount.

Thanks,
Brian

[Eric Raeburn · Accepted solution]

Brian,

This is Eric in the HP CIFS Client software lab.

File locking is not currently supported by the CIFS Client. It cannot be turned on or off. The problem you have encountered, when the application attempts to lock the file, is therefore not exactly a problem with *how* the CIFS Client does locks; it is an unfortunate side-effect of the lack of support for file locking by the Client.

For your situation (as you have seen), the only effective method is for applications that operate on cifsmounts not to attempt to lock files.

Incidentally (and for other CIFS Client users who may read this thread), because the CIFS Client uses NFS as a frontend, implementing NFSv4 support in the Client would in turn enable support for file locking. This is under investigation; it is a massive effort and will not happen any time soon.

-Eric

[bfrench]

Eric,

Thanks for your reply. This of course is not the answer I was hoping for.
Do you know if any workarounds that will allow us to lock a file within our environment?

Thanks,

brian

[Eric Raeburn]

Brian,

Without a more detailed understanding of your environment, it is difficult to know if any workaround would be available.

If you are trying to solve a particular problem, and not necessarily looking for a full-featured file-locking solution, then HP may be able to help. I suggest you open a support call; this way we can ensure the right breadth of experts can be involved (for example, CIFS Server, NFS, etc).

-Eric