Win SFU: NFS server

[romano r]

Hello,
we have just installed a new NAS system based on a WIN clustered server running SFU 3.5 that shares a file system to our UX boxes. After some trouble for users mapping I started to test a little bit the NFS mount point. One of the first problem I found is the filename with ":" inside not supported.
Does anyone know some way to skip it?
Doeas anyone know some other "surprise" reserved by SFU?

thank you in advance
Romano

[Dave Olker]

Hi Romano,

I can't speak for the ":" issue because I haven't came across that one yet.

However, in the area of "surprises" I found that SFU by default doesn't allow HP-UX clients to obtain file locks via NFS.

I started looking in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for known problems of SFU denying file lock requests and I came across article 328858, which states:


Lock Requests With No Authentication Credentials Server for NFS does not honor lock requests that do not have authentication credentials.

To allow NFS clients to lock files without providing any authentication credentials, Server for NFS has been modified to support advisory locks.

To support advisory locks, set the following registry value to zero to disable mandatory locks:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NfsSvr\NlmNsm\EnableSMBLocking


I logged onto my SFU server and changed this registry value to "0" as suggested and then stopped/restarted the NFS server portion of SFU (right-click the "Server for NFS" entry in the Services for UNIX Administration tool and select "stop" then wait a bit and right-click again and select "start").

Once the NFS server was restarted with this registry entry I was able to successfully lock files from my HP-UX client.


Figured I'd pass this along in the event that you want to use file locking with non-Microsoft clients.

Regards,

Dave

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom romano,

Perhaps this device allows windows connections, being a windows box.

If so, HP-UX might be able to connect in normally using CIFS/Samba.

Client: http://h20293.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=B8724AA
Install requires a boot.

Server:
http://h20293.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=B8725AA
don't think you need this.

SEP

[romano r]

Thank you Dave,
thank you Steve, I used CIFS client and the behaviour is the same, filename with ":" are not allowed.
eg:
touch: :lino: cannot create

Any other idea?
thank you
Romano

[eric roseme]

Hi Romano,

I assume that you are trying to create a file like "test:" from a *ix client on the Windows 2003 Storage Server mount or share. But : is an illegal filename character in Windows (along with \/:*?"<>|), so you cannot do that. The problem is with the server file system, not the client DFS protocol.

Interestingly, if I try to create test: from a Windows client onto a HP-UX Samba share, the client will not allow it either. If I created the file test: from HP-UX on the Samba share, then list it from the Windows client, the client will name-mangle the file name to eliminate the illegal character. In this case, they mangled test: to TFNZPE~P. Bizarre.

Anyway, looks like you'll need a *ix file server to use the : character in a file name.

Eric Roseme

[Steve Lewis]

Its just Windows. It does not support the : character in any filename. Forget UX, SFU, NFS or Samba this is a pure windows issue.

This is because in Windows : is traditionally the character that separates the drive letter from the filename.

E.g. If you put a file called a:b.txt onto the share, Windows would interpret that as to write the file y.txt onto drive a: - the floppy.

Test it by opening up a command prompt on your windows machine and try this:
copy system.ini test:xyz.ini

It says bad filename. Even if you put the filename in quotes.
If you ftp test:xys.ini to windows you get a file called test.
If you rename a file in windows explorer to include a : it tells you that it is not allowed, just like \ etc.

We had the same issue with Unix files that we timestamped in the filename e.g.
myfile_HH:MM.log - windows does not like them and we had to rename the file on Unix before copying.

[romano r]

Thank you Eric, Steve!
what you wrote is exactly what my tests said.
But, I hope someone knows some trik.

The problem is migrating the home in fact I found a log file inside them:
~/.dt/sessionlogs/[machine name]_DISPLAY=[machine_display]:0

that could create some trouble...

rgds

[Zinky]

Raise an issue with Microsoft.

I have a experience with several NAS with Microsoft NAS Heads which I suspect also uses SFU (Microsoft Windows 2003 Storage Server Edition)-- I have had no issue with filenames with ":" on them.

SFU is a very solid product and has saved me a number of times in the politics of CIFS and NFS cross platform sharing. I used to have an environment where a UNIX boxen was sharing files for both Windows(CIFS/NFS) and other UNIX (NFS). Due to the cost of the UNIX environment sa a fileserver, it was migrated to a NAS - which does the job very well by serving the fileshares in a vareiety of protocols --- CIFS/Windows/SMB, NFS v2/v3, Netware IPX/SPX and native Appletalk. And I never ever recall having to contend with filenames having ":".

[romano r]

Hello,
the problem solved thanks to HP's support:

Windows and UNIX operating systems have restrictions on valid characters
that can be used in a file name. The list of illegal characters for each
operating system, however, is different. For example, a UNIX file name
can use a colon (:), but a Windows file name cannot use a colon (:). If
a UNIX user attempts to create a file with a Windows illegal character
on a Windows Services for UNIX network file system (NFS) share, the
attempt is unsuccessful and the UNIX client computer receives an input
or output error.

To work around this issue, use file name character mapping to replace
characters that are not legal.

see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;289627&

[romano r]

Thank you all for your help.
Merry Xmas
romano