NetStorage provides a WebDAV server interface for all OES NetWare files and directories.

Use any WebDAV-compliant application, such as web browsers, Windows Explorer (My Network Places), or Office 2000 to access OES NetWare files and folders.

NetStorage can provide clientless access to iFolder files.

NetStorage provides the WebDAV support for the NetDrive client.

NetDrive client is available on-line at http://support.novell.com/servlet/filefinder.

NetDrive supports access of OES NetWare files and folders using standard protocols: FTP, WebDAV, or iFolder.

Synchronize files between remote clients and a centralized iFolder server, so that user data is available anytime, from anywhere.

Configure and manage iFolder server through the iFolder management console, available through Web Manager after iFolder is installed.

Use iFolder client to provide synchronization between the iFolder server and regularly used machines.

If you are using a machine for one-time access, use NetStorage to access the iFolder server without having to synchronize all files.

Use NetDrive to access the iFolder server without synchronizing the entire directory. Useful when the desktop application is not WebDAV aware.

iFolder access requires that the iFolder server be installed and configured prior to use.

NetStorage can be installed during the installation of the OES NetWare server, or after the fact through iManager or the graphical server console. Typically, you need to install NetStorage on only one OES NetWare server in your eDirectory tree, or on one server at each geographical site, although very heavy usage might require more than one per site.

To install NetStorage through iManager, complete the following steps:

1. Insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 1 (Operating System) into your workstation.

2. Launch iManager and open the Install and Upgrade link in the Navigation frame.

3. Select Install NetWare 6.5 Products and then click Remote Product Install in the Content frame.

4. At the Target Server screen, select the server to which you want to install NetStorage and click Next. Authenticate as an Admin user for your eDirectory tree and click OK.

5. At the components screen, click Clear All and select only Novell NetStorage. Click Next.

6. At the Summary screen, click Copy Files. You will be prompted to insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 2 (Products).

7. At the NetStorage Install screen, specify the required information, and click Next. You can change these settings after the installation through iManager by opening the NetStorage link and selecting Authentication Domains:

Primary eDirectory Server—Specify the DNS name or IP address of a server in your eDirectory tree that hosts a master or a read/write replica of eDirectory. This does not have to be the server where NetStorage is being installed. NetStorage will use this server to authenticate users when they attempt to log in to NetStorage.

(Optional) Alternate eDirectory Server—Specify up to two other eDirectory servers to use for user authentication. These can be different servers entirely, or the same server but a different associated context.

(Optional) iFolder Server—Specify the DNS name or IP address of your iFolder server, as well as the port number used by the iFolder service. This will make iFolder contents available via NetStorage (WebDAV). More information on iFolder is available later in this chapter.

8. At the Installation Complete screen, click Reboot Server to complete the installation of NetStorage.

You must restart your OES NetWare server after completing the NetStorage installation.

Use iManager to configure and manage your NetStorage environment by opening the File Access (NetStorage) link in the Navigation frame. There really isn’t much in the way of required configuration, but it’s nice to understand the control you do have over NetStorage:

Authentication Domains—This page enables you to add/remove/modify authentication domains to NetStorage. These are eDirectory servers that NetStorage will search for user authentication information.

Current Sessions—This page shows a list of current NetStorage sessions.

Files—This page enables you to view the available NetStorage files. You will be required to authenticate as a valid user, and the user must exist in one of the authentication domains defined for this NetStorage server.

iFolder Storage Provider—This page enables you to review and change basic iFolder parameters that relate to its operation with NetStorage. In most cases you won’t have to change any of these, but they are available if necessary.

NetWare Storage Provider—This page enables you to review and change basic parameters related to the use of NetWare mapped drives with NetStorage. In most cases you won’t have to change any of these, but they are available if necessary.

NetStorage Options—This page enables you to do some configuration of the XTier server configuration. In most cases you won’t have to change any of these, but they are available, if necessary.

NetStorage Statistics—This page displays a report with information about server uptime, login failures, number of NetStorage sessions, and so on.

Resource Usage—This page shows server resources being used in support of the NetStorage middle-tier server environment. It is useful for keeping track of how server resources are being used for troubleshooting server issues.

WebDAV Provider—This page lists the location of the NetStorage WebDAV provider (XDAV.NLM) and the location of NetStorage template files used for building the NetStorage web interfaces.

Storage Location—Use the Storage Location links to access pages that create/delete/modify storage location objects in your eDirectory tree. Storage location objects are pointers to NetWare directories that can be given more useful names than those typically seen when looking at NetStorage resources. This is particularly useful for common directories shared by multiple users.

For more detailed information on any of these parameters, see the OES online documentation.

To avoid timestamp issues and confusion over the most current version of a file, Novell recommends that the date and time on the NetStorage server and the WebDAV client be reasonably close, within a few hours of each other.

You can access NetStorage from any WebDAV client. Two of the most obvious are web browsers and Microsoft Windows web folders. However, there are WebDAV clients for Linux and Macintosh systems as well. The following process is equally applicable to those environments:

1. From your WebDAV client, enter the NetStorage URL, which is the DNS name or IP address of your NetStorage server with /oneNet/NetStorage appended to the end. Remember to include the http:// prefix and remember that URLs are case sensitive. For example:

2. At the authentication screen, specify your eDirectory username and password. This user object must be accessible from the eDirectory server(s) you specified during the NetStorage installation.

When authenticated, your WebDAV client displays the network files and folders that are currently accessible. To do this, NetStorage reads the user’s NetWare login script to determine drive mappings, reads eDirectory user object properties to determine the path to the user’s home directory, and then displays a list of files and folders based on mapped drives and home directories. Figure 12.1 shows NetStorage views from both a web browser and Windows web folders.

Figure 12.1. Accessing NetWare folders through NetStorage.

If you have an iFolder account, you will see an iFolder folder in addition to your mapped drives and home directory, as shown in Figure 12.1. The first time you open the iFolder folder, all you will see is a file called PASSPHRASE.HTM. To access the contents of your iFolder directory, open PASSPHRASE.HTM, as shown in Figure 12.2, and specify the passphrase of your iFolder account.

Figure 12.2. Specifying your passphrase to access iFolder from NetStorage.

This lets NetStorage decrypt your iFolder files so that it can interpret them properly. The passphrase for NetStorage is stored as an encrypted attribute on your user object, so it is not at risk of discovery.

After you are connected to your NetWare files through WebDAV, you have full access to them. You can browse, open, and close folders; copy files to your local drive; and open files with WebDAV-compliant applications such as web browsers, Microsoft Office 2000, and so on.

In addition, if you use Microsoft Windows web folders, you can use all the normal Windows mechanisms for copying, cutting, pasting, and renaming files. To perform similar actions from a browser interface, click the Down arrow next to the file or folder with which you want to work.

If you need to use a file with a non-WebDAV application, you will need to copy the file to your local drive so that the application can use normal operating system mechanisms for working with the file. This is the only real drawback to NetStorage: It does not provide low-level integration with the operating system, such as creating a drive letter that enables applications to access the files as if they were local.

Novell helps you resolve this issue for Windows workstations with NetDrive, which is described in the next section. The trade-off is having full access to network files as if they were local versus having a clientless solution for accessing your network files.

NetDrive runs on any Windows workstation, including Windows 95/98/Me and Windows XP/2000/NT. You need only 2MB of available space on your hard drive to install and run the NetDrive client.

NetDrive supports three protocols for accessing network files:

WebDAV—NetDrive integrates with NetStorage to provide a comprehensive file-access solution with very little client overhead. NetStorage must be installed and configured prior to using NetDrive with WebDAV.

FTP—NetDrive can access network files using the standard File Transfer Protocol (FTP). An FTP server must be installed and configured on your network before using NetDrive with FTP. You can use the NetWare FTP server, described earlier in this chapter, to provide this type of access.

iFolder—NetDrive can access files from your directory on the iFolder server. iFolder must be installed, and your iFolder account configured, prior to using NetDrive with iFolder.

The choice of protocol depends largely on your network environment. One is not preferable to another. Use the protocol that best fits your network strategy.

The latest version of the NetDrive client is available at http://support.novell.com/filefinder. If you need help installing the NetDrive client, see Chapter 3.

With the NetDrive client installed, you can access files on your OES NetWare servers using standard Internet protocols. However, not every protocol is supported on every version of Windows:

iFolder—Windows NT and XP/2000

FTP—Windows 95, 98, NT, and XP/2000

WebDAV (HTTP)—Windows 95, 98, NT, and XP/2000

Secure WebDAV (SSL)—Windows NT and XP/2000

The NetDrive installation inserts an icon in the Windows system tray (lower-right corner of the Explorer window). To configure NetDrive and begin using it to access your network files, complete the following steps:

1. Click the NetDrive icon in the system tray.

2. From the main NetDrive window, as shown in Figure 12.3, you can create new sites, map network drives, and configure and manage the websites to which you have mapped drives.

Figure 12.3. The NetDrive 4.1 configuration window.

Each of these functions is discussed in the following sections.

This makes an OES NetWare site available to NetDrive so that drive mapping can take place. To add a site to NetDrive, complete the following steps:

1. In the main NetDrive window, click New Site.

2. At the Add New Site screen, enter the requested information, and click Finish:

Name for your new site—Enter a descriptive name for the new NetDrive site.

Address/URL—For an FTP connection, specify the DNS name or IP address of your FTP server (ftp://ftp.quills.com/files). For a WebDAV connection, specify the DNS name or IP address of the server where NetStorage is installed, along with the NetStorage access path (http://prv-serv1.quills.com/oneNet/NetStorage). For iFolder, specify the DNS name or IP address of your iFolder service (http://ifolder.quills.com). If you omit the FTP or HTTP prefix, NetDrive defaults to FTP. If you want to use a nonstandard HTTP port, make sure you append it to the end of the URL.

After you have created a site, the name of the new site and the URL of the OES NetWare server are listed in the main NetDrive window. The rest of the page defaults to common connection options for the file protocol you have chosen (refer to Figure 12.3). However, you can change any of this information after the fact:

Server Type—Specify the protocol that you will use to access this site.

Drive—Specify the drive letter that you want to use for the mapped drive.

Connect at Login/Startup—Check this box to have NetDrive map its drive automatically when your workstation starts.

Add Tray Connect Menu—If you right-click the NetDrive icon in the system tray, you will see a Connect To option. Check this box to add the site to those listed in the Connect To menu.

Anonymous/Public Logon—Check this box to bypass user authentication for an FTP connection. Both WebDAV and iFolder access require specific user authentication. Leave this box unchecked if you want to require authentication to access the site. If you do this, you will have to enter a valid username and password.

(Conditional) Passphrase—If you are connecting to an iFolder server, enter a passphrase. This is used to encrypt your files as they are transferred over the Internet. iFolder is discussed later in this chapter.

Save Password—Check this box if you want NetDrive to remember your authentication password.

Click the Advanced button to set optional download, caching, and file-locking parameters for the NetDrive site. You won’t normally have to do anything in the Advanced area.

When you are finished configuring site properties, click Connect to map the drive. When NetDrive maps the drive, Windows opens a new window corresponding to the drive letter that you have just mapped.

When NetDrive has successfully mapped a drive to the site, the Monitor window appears. It provides you with connection status, file transfer statistics, and a connection log. With the newly mapped drive, you can copy, cut, and paste files as you would in any other Windows drive.

For more information on the advanced options available with NetDrive, see the OES online documentation.

Novell iFolder can be installed as part of the OES NetWare server installation, or it can be installed after the fact through either iManager or the graphical server console. To install iFolder with iManager, complete the following steps:

1. Insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 1 (Operating System) into your workstation.

2. Launch iManager and open the Install and Upgrade link in the Navigation frame.

3. Select Install NetWare 6.5 Products and then click Remote Product Install in the Content frame.

4. At the Target Server screen, select the server to which you want to install iFolder and click Next. Authenticate as an Admin user for your eDirectory tree and click OK.

5. At the Components screen, click Clear All and select only Novell iFolder Storage Services. Click Next.

6. At the Summary screen, click Copy Files. You will be prompted to insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 2 (Products).

7. At the iFolder Server Options screen, as shown in Figure 12.4, provide the required information and click Next:

LDAP Hostname or IP—Enter the hostname or IP address of the eDirectory server that will authenticate your iFolder users. This server must have a replica of your eDirectory root partition.

LDAP Port—Enter the LDAP port you want to use. Use the default LDAP port (389) for unencrypted communications or port 636 for SSL-encrypted communications. If you use port 389, make sure that your LDAP environment allows clear text passwords. Similarly, if you use port 636, make sure that your LDAP server is configured to support SSL.

LDAP Context for Admins—Specify the context for all Admin users who need rights to modify iFolder user account information.

iFolder server Hostname or IP—Specify the domain name or IP address of the server on which iFolder services will be running.

iFolder Admin name(s)—Specify the user objects that will act as iFolder administrators. Separate multiple names with semicolons, but no spaces.

User Database Path—Enter the path to the directory where you want the iFolder user data to be stored on the iFolder server.

Figure 12.4. iFolder server configuration options during installation.

At the Installation Complete screen, click Reboot Server to complete the installation of iFolder.

The first time the iFolder client is installed, a user account is automatically created on your iFolder server. In addition to the default iFolder website, another website is available for performing server management.

After iFolder is installed, you can access the iFolder Management console through the following URL: https://<iFolder server DNS or IP address>/iFolderServer/Admin. For example:

The initial view of iFolder Management console shows you the types of tasks you can perform, but you won’t be able to do anything until you log in via LDAP. Use an administrative user account you specified during the iFolder installation. When authenticated, you will get a new authenticated view of iFolder Management console that enables you to perform the various iFolder administrative tasks (see Figure 12.5). There are four types of iFolder management activities:

Global settings

User management

System monitoring

Reporting

Figure 12.5. iFolder Management console.

USER MANAGEMENT

Before your users can start using iFolder, you have to enable their user objects from the User Management button in the iFolder Server Management console. You can select users individually or in groups. To enable user objects to work with iFolder, complete the following steps:

1. Launch iFolder Server Management and click the User Management button in the Header frame.

2. Click Advanced Search in the Navigation frame.

3. Specify how you want iFolder to search for users and then click Search. You can search by a name, a portion of a name, the context, or even the entire server. After you perform the search, all user objects located within your defined criteria will be listed (see Figure 12.6).

Figure 12.6. Configuring iFolder users with the iFolder Management console.

4. Click Enable All Found Users as iFolder Users to allow the user objects that have been found to use iFolder. Alternatively, you can check the boxes next to only those user objects for which you want to provide iFolder access and click Enable Checked Users as iFolder Users.

Note

As new user objects are configured on your network, you will have to add those users for them to have access to iFolder. iFolder access is not granted by default.

After iFolder is installed and configured on the server and user access has been defined, your users can begin to take advantage of iFolder’s file synchronization capabilities. The first thing iFolder users need to do is install the iFolder client. The iFolder client is available on the iFolder web page, which is http://<iFolder server DNS or IP address>/iFolder. For example:

To install the iFolder client, complete the following steps:

1. From the iFolder web page, select Download Windows Client in the Navigation frame. You can download the Linux client for use with Linux desktops as well. For more information on using iFolder with Linux, see the OES online documentation.

2. At the File Download screen, choose to either save the client file to disk or run it directly from the server, and then click OK. If you are accessing the server from a remote location, it will probably be faster to download the file prior to installing the iFolder client. If you do this, specify a location for the file. After the download is complete, execute the file you downloaded.

3. At the Welcome screen, click Next.

4. At the License Agreement Language screen, select the language in which to view the license agreement and click Next. This will open a browser window with the iFolder license agreement. To continue the installation, close the browser window.

5. At the License Agreement screen, click Yes to accept the agreement.

6. At the Destination Location screen, specify the location where you want the iFolder client files to be installed and click Next.

7. At the Installation Complete screen, select Yes, I Want to Restart My Computer Now and click Finish.

8. After your workstation reboots, you will see a Setup Complete message, with instructions on using iFolder. Click Continue to finish the installation.

9. The Login screen will be displayed, as shown in Figure 12.7. Specify the required information and click Login. You will provide a username (typically your NetWare username) and password. Typically, the iFolder server information will be provided for you.

Figure 12.7. The iFolder Login screen.

10. At the iFolder Location screen, specify the location on your local drive to which your iFolder files will be synchronized and click OK.

11. At the iFolder configuration screen, make your selections and click OK:

Enable automatic login at startup—Select this option if you want iFolder to start automatically when you boot up your computer.

Encrypt Files—Select this option if you want to encrypt files that are stored on the iFolder server.

12. (Conditional) If you elected to encrypt files, specify a passphrase. The passphrase is used as a cryptographic key to encrypt your files on the iFolder server. You can also specify a hint to help remember the passphrase should you forget it.

13. Select Enable passphrase recovery if you want your admin to be able to recover your passphrase for you. Click OK.

After you log in, you will see new iFolder icons on your desktop and in the Windows system tray (lower-right corner of the desktop). The desktop icon is a shortcut to your iFolder files. The system tray icon gives you access to iFolder user account information and configuration parameters. To do this, right-click the iFolder icon that appears on the system tray of your workstation. The following major menu options are available:

Logout/login—If currently logged in, the Logout option is displayed, which will log you off of the iFolder server and stop all iFolder synchronization. If currently logged out, the Login option is displayed, which enables you to log in to the iFolder and initiate synchronization activities.

Sync Now—Forces synchronization between the workstation and the iFolder server to begin immediately.

Account Information—This option enables you to view account settings and synchronization activity, as well as enables you to set account synchronization preferences. The Account Information screen is shown in Figure 12.8. From the Account Information screen, you can do the following:

Account Information tab—Displays basic account information, including username, iFolder directory location, iFolder servername, account space statistics, and to-be-synchronized statistics.

View Activity tab—Enables you to view, save, and clear your iFolder account activity log. The log is automatically cleared each time you log in to iFolder.

Preferences tab—Enables you to enable/disable automatic synchronization and define how often files will be synchronized to/from the iFolder server. You can also choose to have the iFolder client remember your iFolder password and passphrase so that you don’t have to type them each time you log in.

Figure 12.8. The iFolder Account Information screen.

Open iFolder—Opens the iFolder directory associated with your iFolder client account. This is equivalent to double-clicking the iFolder icon that is created, by default, on the Windows desktop.

View Conflict Bin—The conflict bin exists to save files that were deleted or changed during an iFolder synchronization. You can manually review the files in the conflict bin to make sure that the correct version of the file has been synchronized.

About iFolder—Provides version information for the iFolder client.

iFolder Web Site—Selecting this option opens the iFolder website associated with your iFolder server. From this page, you can download the iFolder client, view iFolder product information and instructions, and access your iFolder account via a web browser.

Help—Opens the iFolder client help file.

Exit—This option closes the iFolder client interface and effectively logs you out of the iFolder server. The icon will disappear from the system tray, so to restart the iFolder client, you have to click Start, Programs, Novell iFolder, iFolder Client.

As you can see, nearly every feature needed by a user is available through the iFolder icon in the Windows system tray.

ACCESSING IFOLDER THROUGH A BROWSER

iFolder has a browser-based option that eliminates the need for the iFolder client to access files in your account on the iFolder server. With iFolder web access, you can download only the files that you need, as opposed to synchronizing the entire directory. With the iFolder web access, all you need is Internet access to get to your iFolder account.

To access your iFolder account through a web browser, complete the following steps:

1. Open the iFolder Applet, which is found at the following URL: http://<iFolder server DNS or IP address>/iFolder/applet/java.htm.

2. At the Login screen, provide your iFolder username, password, and passphrase and click Connect.

When logged in, you will see your iFolder files, listed in a directory structure in the browser window (see Figure 12.9). Expand folders by double-clicking them.

Figure 12.9. iFolder Java WebAccess interface.

From the browser interface, you can download, upload, delete, create, and rename files. However, after downloading a file, changes will not be synchronized automatically. Make sure you upload files after making changes, so they can be synchronized to all other workstations where you have installed the iFolder client.

The FTP server can be installed as an optional component during the OES NetWare installation or it can be installed later through iManager or the graphical server console. To install the FTP server using iManager, complete the following steps:

1. Insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 1 (Operating System) into your workstation.

2. Launch iManager and open the Install and Upgrade link in the Navigation frame.

3. Select Install NetWare 6.5 Products and then click Remote Product Install in the Content frame.

4. At the Target Server screen, select the server to which you want to install FTP server and click Next. Authenticate as an Admin user for your eDirectory tree and click OK.

5. At the Components screen, click Clear All and select only NetWare FTP Server. Click Next.

6. At the Summary screen click Copy Files. You will be prompted to insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 2 (Products).

After the FTP server files are copied, click Close to complete the installation.

Before you start the NetWare FTP server software, you should configure it by setting the configuration parameters in the configuration file. The default configuration file is SYS:/ETC/FTPSERV.CFG. The parameters in this configuration file are commented with their default values.

When the NetWare FTP server is started, the IP address of the host (HOST_IP_ADDR) and the port number of the NetWare FTP server (FTP_PORT), as defined in the configuration file, are used to bind to and listen for FTP client connection requests. If these parameters are not defined in the configuration file, the FTP server binds to all configured network interfaces in the server and uses the standard FTP ports.

Multiple instances of the NetWare FTP server can run on a single machine with different IP addresses or port numbers. The various parameters in the configuration file along with the default values are described in the tables presented later in this chapter.

You can use iManager as an access point for administering the NetWare FTP server. To do so, launch iManager and select File Protocols, FTP in the Navigation frame. The FTP server utility is shown in Figure 12.10.

Figure 12.10. FTP Server Administration page in iManager.

The first time you open the FTP server utility, specify the FTP server in the Server field to populate the FTP Server Instances list. After you have done this, you can manage your FTP server in your environment simply by clicking its link in the FTP Server Administration page. Additional server instances can be added through this page as well.

The FTP server configuration file can be edited manually with any text editor. However, it is much easier to configure and manage FTP server from iManager. iManager also gives you the freedom to manage the FTP server from any network connection and web browser.

From the FTP Server Administration page, you can start and stop the FTP server as necessary. This loads or unloads NWFTPD.NLM on the OES NetWare server running FTP services. You can also select Monitor Active FTP Sessions to view statistics about the currently active FTP sessions.

The server reads the default configuration file SYS:/ETC/FTPSERV.CFG and configures itself accordingly. If there is any change in the FTP configuration file, you should stop and restart the FTP server.

When you select an FTP server instance to manage in iManager, you will see four pages of configuration options (see Figure 12.11). Each provides access to specific types of configuration parameters and information, as described in the following sections.

Figure 12.11. FTP Server configuration page in iManager.