5.2 Upgrading CIFS File Services to OES

5.2.1 About CIFS File Services in OES

The CIFS file services that were previously available only on NetWare through the Native File Access Protocols (NFAP) service have been ported to OES as Novell CIFS.

The Novell CIFS service lets users on Windows workstations access and store files on OES servers with NSS volumes without installing any additional software, such as the Novell Client (see Figure 5-2).

Figure 5-2 How Novell CIFS Works

The following table explains the information illustrated in Figure 5-2.

Access Methods

Authentication

CIFS File Services

eDirectory users on Windows workstations have two native Windows file access options:

  • CIFS Client Access: Windows Explorer users can access and modify files on the OES server just as they would on any workgroup server share.

  • Web Folder: Users can create Web Folders in Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer.

    Files on the OES server are accessed and maintained with the HTTP-WebDAV protocol.

All file service access is controlled by LDAP-based authentication through the eDirectory LDAP server.

Although it is shown separately, eDirectory could be installed on the OES server.

Of course, the same files can also be accessed through other OES file services (such as NetStorage) that connect to NSS volumes.

5.2.2 Platform Differences in CIFS File Services

The differences in CIFS services on NetWare and OES are summarized in the following table.

Table 5-3 CIFS services on NetWare and OES

Service

NetWare

OES 2015 SP1

64-Bit Support

No

Yes

CIFS-enabled shared NSS pool/volume in a mixed NetWare-to-OES cluster

No

No

CIFS-enabled shared NSS pool/volume in a NetWare-to-NetWare or OES-to-OES cluster

Yes

Yes

Cross Protocol Locking

Yes

Yes

Distributed File Services for NSS Volumes

Yes

Yes

Domain Emulation

Yes

Future

Dynamic Storage Technology Support

No

Yes

File and Record Locking

Yes

Yes

iManager Support and Administration tool

Yes

Yes

LDAP User (Subtree) Search

No

Yes

Monitoring

No

Yes

Multi-File System Support

No

Future

Multi-processor/Multicore Server Support

No

Yes

NSS Support

Yes

Yes

NTLMv2

No

Yes

OpLocks

Yes

Yes

Xen Virtualized Guest Server Environment

Yes

Yes

Xen Virtualized Host Server Environment

NA

No

5.2.3 Planning to Upgrade CIFS Services

The OES Migration Tool supports transferring CIFS file services from NetWare to OES. The upgrade process is quite straightforward, but there are, of course, some planning steps that you must take to ensure success.

Requirements

Table 5-4 CIFS Source and Target Server Requirements

Source Server

Target Server

NetWare 5.1 or later

OES or later

 

The Novell CIFS service pattern is installed but not configured.

 

Data can be moved independently of the service. Users can always see what they have rights to see.

Limitations

Cross-Tree Migration Not Supported

The OES Migration Tool does not support transferring CIFS services across eDirectory trees. However, CIFS services can be effectively transferred by first moving the data to an OES target server in the other tree, and then configuring CIFS on the target server.

For details, see Migrating Data to a Server in a Different Tree in the OES 2023: Migration Tool Administration Guide and Installing and Setting Up AFP in the OES 2018 SP3: OES AFP for Linux Administration Guide.

Server Configuration Information Not Transferred with Migration

The CIFS shares configuration and CIFS Users contexts are transferred by using both migration types (Migrate and Transfer ID), but the server configuration information is transferred only with a Transfer ID migration.

Upgrading Novell Samba Not Supported

The OES Migration Tool does not support Novell Samba as a source service for transferal to Novell CIFS.

Universal Password

A Universal Password policy is required for Novell CIFS.

5.2.4 Upgrading CIFS

You can use either of the two migration types offered by the Migration Tool to transfer CIFS file services from NetWare to OES:

  • Migrate: If you want to move just the CIFS shares and associated data to an OES server, you can perform a migration. The CIFS server configuration is not transferred. For more information, see Migrating Selected Data or Services.

  • Transfer ID: If you are transferring an entire NetWare server, including the CIFS service and associated data, to an OES server, then you should perform a Transfer ID migration. For more information, see Transferring an Entire NetWare Server.

To upgrade Novell CIFS from NetWare to OES, follow the instructions in Migrating CIFS to OES 2023 in the OES 2023: Migration Tool Administration Guide.

5.2.5 Post-Upgrade Checks

Restarting CIFS

After the CIFS service is transferred, restart CIFS at a terminal prompt by using the following command:

rcnovell-cifs restart

Verifying Success

Be sure to complete the instructions in Verifying the Migration in the OES 2023: Migration Tool Administration Guide.