The Common Internet File System (CIFS) remote file access protocol is supported by QoreStor, and is also known as a Server Message Block (SMB). SMB occurs more commonly than the Network File System (NFS) protocol on systems that run the Microsoft Windows operating system. CIFS allows programs to request files or services on remote computers.
CIFS also uses the client-server programming model, whereby the client requests access to a file or passes a message to a program running on the server. Servers review all requested actions and return a response. CIFS is a public (or open) variation of the SMB that was originally developed and used by Microsoft.
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NOTE: QoreStor currently supports version 2.0 and 3.0 of the Server Message Block (SMB). |
QoreStor supports the use of access control lists (ACLs) for CIFS and share-level permissions. By definition, an ACL is simply a list of permissions that can be associated with any network resource.
Each ACL can contain access control entries (ACEs) that define or describe the permissions for an individual user or a group of users. An ACL can consist of zero (meaning that all users have access) or a number of ACEs that define specific permissions on a per-user or per-group basis.
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NOTE:If an ACE list is empty (meaning that it contains zero entries), this means that all access requests will be granted. |
An ACL describes the entities that are allowed to access a specific resource. ACLs are a built-in access control mechanism in the Windows operating systems.
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NOTE: QoreStor supports setting up share-level permissions for a CIFS share using a Microsoft Windows administrative tool. Share-level permissions let you control access to shares. For more information, see Configuring share-level security for CIFS shares. |
The Network File System (NFS) is a file system protocol that is designated to be a file server standard, and its protocol uses the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) method of communication between computers. Clients can access files via the network similar to the way that local storage is accessed.
NFS is a client-server application in which a client can view, store, and update files on a remote system just like they are working on a local system. System or Network Administrators can mount all or a portion of a file system, and the file system (or portion) that is mounted can be accessed using the privileges assigned to each file.
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NOTE: If you want to do a mount on AIX, you must set the nfs_use_reserved_ports and portcheck parameters first. The parameters cannot be set to 0. For example: root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po portcheck=1 root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po nfs_use_reserved_ports=1 |
When Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS are used with QoreStor they offer the following benefits:
- Reduce network utilization and DMA backup time
- Chunk data and perform hash computation on the client; transfer chunked hash files on the back-end
- Reduce the amount of data that must be written across the wire
- Improve performance
- Support DMAs such as CommVault, EMC Networker, and Tivoli Storage Manager. For the current list of supported DMAs, see the QoreStor Interoperability Guide.
- Compatible with existing NFS and CIFS clients — just need to install a plug-in (driver) on the client
- Can use Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS to accelerate I/O operations on any client — including a client that uses home-grown backup scripts
- Can service multiple and concurrent media server backups
