Office of Information Technologies (OIT) Network File Shares

Transcription

1 Office of Information Technologies (OIT) Network File Shares October 13, 2008

2 Contents 1 Introduction Quick Overview of Microsoft s Distributed File System (DFS) Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) Additional Notes Home Directories (H: Drive) Faculty/Staff Students Resources Folder (I: Drive) Research Staff (Departments) Students Data Instructors Projects Public StudentOrgs UNIX / Web Directories... 13

3 1 Introduction OIT hosts a variety of network file shares that are typically made available to faculty, staff and students via the I: and H: drives. There are several different ways to connect to the I: and H: drives depending on your operating system and whether or not you are on campus (or have access to the VPN). This document is meant to aid campus administrators in understanding and locating the connection options and paths for network file shares hosted by OIT. If you are on campus with a PSU domain attached Windows system then you will automatically have I: and H: drives available in My Computer. This type of connection uses the CIFS/SMB protocol, and is the simplest and fastest way to connect. For those using other operating systems or who wish to connect from off campus, there are several options. To connect from off-campus we have setup WebDAV and SFTP servers (see the sections below for more details on WebDAV and SFTP). WebDAV and SFTP can be used on campus as well, but will not be as fast as connecting directly to the I: and H: drives using CIFS/SMB. If you are not using a PSU domain attached Windows machine (e.g. Mac and Linux clients) then you cannot connect directly to the root of the I: drive with CIFS/SMB. This is because the I: drive uses something called the Distributed File System (DFS) to make multiple network file shares appear to be in one place, and you must be using a PSU domain attached Windows system to use DFS at Portland State. To connect to network file shares displayed within the I: drive using CIFS/SMB from a non PSU domain attached Windows machine (e.g. Mac and Linux clients), you will need to use the direct paths specified in the following sections of this document. As an alternative, WebDAV and SFTP can be used instead of attempting to locate the direct paths for CIFS/SMB. WebDAV and SFTP are hosted on PSU domain attached Windows servers so they will do the DFS translation for you and present the complete I: drive tree. This is the recommended option for Mac and Linux clients connecting to the I: drive. 1.1 Quick Overview of Microsoft s Distributed File System (DFS) DFS is a technology that enables OIT to group shared folders located on different servers and present them to users as a virtual tree of folders. Browsing to I:\Staff on a PSU domain attached workstation is an example of DFS in action. All of the individual department folders in I:\Staff appear to be in one location, but they are actually located across multiple servers and/or volumes. The following operating systems are compatible with DFS: Windows 98 (with AD client extension software), Windows NT w/sp6a, Windows 2000, Window XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista, and Server You must be joined to the PSU domain to use DFS at Portland State. 1.2 Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) WebDAV is a technology that was implemented to give off-campus users the ability to access network file shares without a VPN connection. WebDAV communicates securely through a 128 bit SSL connection on port 443, and is one of the connection options described in this document for each network file share. In order to make WebDAV easier to navigate for the end user, a front end web interface has been created at This page provides links to the authenticated user s home directory ( H: Network File Shares Page 1

4 drive), the I: drive, and the user s UNIX/web directory. Microsoft Windows with Internet Explorer is recommended while using this web site. By default, other configurations will allow downloading/retrieval of files, but not uploading/saving them. If you are NOT using Microsoft Windows with Internet Explorer, see for instructions on how to upload/save files from off-campus. You will need personalized links from this site: Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) SFTP (also referred to as SSH File Transfer Protocol) is available as a supplement to WebDAV/myFiles.pdx.edu for off campus access to network file shares. The SFTP server uses SSH2 with Host Key Encryption and communicates on port 22 at sftp.myfiles.pdx.edu. Most operating systems do not come with a built-in graphical SFTP client. OIT-USS has a list of recommended clients here: It s important to note that unlike SSL (which is used by WebDAV/myFiles.pdx.edu), SFTP does not use a central authority such as VeriSign or Thawte to verify the identity of the SFTP server before you hand over your logon credentials. Instead, the first time you connect to sftp.myfiles.pdx.edu you will be asked to trust the server s host key and store it in the client s local cache. If you are connecting to sftp.myfiles.pdx.edu for the first time from a particular client then you should add the host key to your local cache. If you are prompted to accept a new host key on a client that has already connected to sftp.myfiles.pdx.edu then you may be the subject of a man in the middle attack. Remember that this prompt might show up again if your operating system has been rebuilt or the SFTP client software has been reinstalled. 1.4 Additional Notes All paths use the CIFS/SMB protocol (except WebDAV and SFTP). CIFS/SMB connections are only allowed while on campus, or while connected to the PSU VPN. Network File Shares Page 2

5 2 Home Directories (H: Drive) 2.1 Faculty/Staff Faculty and staff are provided with a home folder ( H: drive) for their files, and can save up to 10 gigabytes of data there. OPTION 1 H: Drive Mapping H:\ This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The H: drive is automatically mapped on Windows workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\emphome\firstletterofusername\username DFS compatible systems that do not have an H: drive mapping should use this path. \\emphome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\firstletterofusername\username Mac: smb://emphome.psu.ds.pdx.edu/firstletterofusername/username path Path: Hdrive-HomeFolder-EmpFirstLetterOfUsername Network File Shares Page 3

6 2.2 Students Students are provided with a home folder (H: drive) for their files, and can save up to 500 megabytes of data there. OPTION 1 H: Drive Mapping H:\ This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The H: drive is automatically mapped on workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\stuhome\firstletterofusername\username DFS compatible systems that do not have an H: drive mapping should use this path. \\stuhome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\firstletterofusername\username Mac: smb://stuhome.psu.ds.pdx.edu/firstletterofusername/username Systems that are off-campus and do not have access to the PSU VPN client should use this path Path: Hdrive-HomeFolder-StuFirstLetterOfUsername Network File Shares Page 4

7 3 Resources Folder (I: Drive) The I: drive is a common starting point for most of the shared disk space provided by OIT. From the root of the I: drive you can browse to Research, Staff, and Student shared folders. As mentioned in the introduction, the root of the I: drive is NOT accessible via CIFS/SMB from non PSU domain attached Windows machines (e.g. Mac and Linux clients). However, non PSU domain attached Windows machines can connect to the root of the I: drive by browsing to and clicking on the (I:) Resources Folder link, or by pointing a WebDAV client directly to: The root of the I: drive is also available via SFTP at sftp.myfiles.pdx.edu (see for a list of free SFTP clients). If you prefer NOT to use WebDAV or SFTP on a non PSU domain attached Windows machine (e.g. Mac and Linux clients) then continue reading this section for the direct CIFS/SMB paths to each network file share. Network File Shares Page 5

8 3.1 Research Research shares are available to faculty who need space for their research projects. Most of the research shares are hosted on UNIX file servers, but have been linked into the I: drive tree using Samba and DFS. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Research\Samba\SHARE This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\research\samba\share DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\share.research.pdx.edu\research\share Mac: smb://share.research.pdx.edu/research/share path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Research/Samba/SHARE Network File Shares Page 6

9 3.2 Staff (Departments) Most PSU departments share files with co-workers via a Staff share. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Staff\DEPARTMENT This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\staff\department DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\departments.psu.ds.pdx.edu\department Mac: smb://departments.psu.ds.pdx.edu/department path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Staff/DEPARTMENT Network File Shares Page 7

10 3.3 Students Data By default these folders are viewable by all faculty, staff, and students. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Students\Data\SHARE This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\students\data\share DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\data.psu.ds.pdx.edu\share Macintosh: smb://data.psu.ds.pdx.edu/share path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Students/Data/SHARE Network File Shares Page 8

11 3.3.2 Instructors These folders are meant to be a place where instructors can share files with their students. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Students\Instructors\SHARE This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\students\instructors\share DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\instructors.psu.ds.pdx.edu\share Macintosh: smb://instructors.psu.ds.pdx.edu/share path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Students/Instructors/SHARE Network File Shares Page 9

12 3.3.3 Projects These folders are meant for ongoing projects that need a place to share files with multiple individuals. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Students\Projects\PROJECT This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\students\projects\project DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\projects.psu.ds.pdx.edu\project Macintosh: smb://projects.psu.ds.pdx.edu/project path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Students/Projects/PROJECT Network File Shares Page 10

13 3.3.4 Public The public folder is available to all faculty, staff, and students. Anyone can create files or folders here. By default new files or folders are readable by everyone and modifiable by the creator/owner. Each Friday night the contents of the public folder are moved to an archive folder, and the contents of the archive from the previous week are deleted. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Students\Public This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\students\public DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\public.psu.ds.pdx.edu\public Macintosh: smb://public.psu.ds.pdx.edu/public Systems that are off-campus and do not have access to the PSU VPN can use this path with a WebDAV client. Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Students/Public Network File Shares Page 11

14 3.3.5 StudentOrgs Student organizations can store and share files amongst its members in one of these folders. OPTION 1 I: Drive Mapping I:\Students\StudentOrgs\SHARE This is the best option and should be used whenever possible. The PSU I: drive is automatically mapped to DFS compatible workstations joined to the PSU domain. \\psu.ds.pdx.edu\resources\students\studentorgs\share DFS compatible systems that do not have an I: drive mapping should use this path. \\studentorgs.psu.ds.pdx.edu\share Macintosh: smb://studentorgs.psu.ds.pdx.edu/share path Path: Idrive-ResourcesFolder/Students/StudentOrgs/SHARE Network File Shares Page 12

15 4 UNIX / Web Directories All faculty, staff, and students are provided with a UNIX directory. It is primarily used for updating PSU web sites. By default, files stored in this directory are accessible to all faculty, staff, and students. OPTION 1 UNC non-dfs Path \\smb.oit.pdx.edu\username Macintosh: smb://smb.oit.pdx.edu/username Computers that are on-campus should use one of these paths. OPTION 2 WebDAV path OPTION 3 SFTP Path: UNIX-Web-Folder Network File Shares Page 13