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[redant2u]

can any one clear this up for me what way to go on network access file system SMB or NFS?
all the pc on the network 28 of them is Win XP or Win 7, gigabit LAN + Fiber + Layer 2 DGS-1216T x3 & 3 LAN printers.
what can i say i work from home. :

[gunrunnerjohn]

Since NFS support is an add-on for Windows, I think you'd clearly go SMB for this environment.

I work from home too, but I'd have a hard time using 28 computers!  I have my hands full keeping the four in my office busy! 

[redant2u]

thanks for the fast reply... will keep it in mind.

[m2k3423]

If all your computers are using some versions of Microsoft Windows, then SMB is the way to go.

If you have any computers with UNIX variants (OS X, Linux ...), then you may need NFS for the following reason:  SMB (Samba) has it's root in the DOS/FAT era, extended through the years to support longer names (LFN), but still it has limitations.  For example, on OS X, you can have filename with '/' in the name, but this is not allowed in SMB. Therefore, if you have mixed OS X and Windows environment, the OS X folks who drop a file with a '/' in the name into a shared folder will cause havoc for the Windows folks.  On the other hand, , SMB may play around with UNIX mode attributes to map the 'archive' bit which some Windows/DOS/FAT aware programs will look at. This will cause problems for the *NIX people.

However, be warned that the add-on NFS for DNS323 is an user-space implementation, which means, do not expect high performance or high stability.   Also, due to the design assumptions at the time of creation, NFS is not secure file system, it is very easy to spoof somebody and gain access to NFSv2.  You will need NFSv3 which is not available for DNS323, and since it uses Kerberos by design, it has export control restrictions.

[gunrunnerjohn]

I think I'd use FTP if SMB wasn't appropriate, sounds like NFS isn't fully baked.

[m2k3423]

Yes, FTP is another way to avoid some of the problems  DOS/FAT & *NIX compatibility. However, SMB gives the end user a "drive" metaphor, so does NFS.

Well, NFS is very old, it seems broken because it is old. Given that it was invented in the days when most people on earth do not even known the word Internet, we need to respect that it is well bake at that time for most people's taste, but just that it is getting old.

FTP is a protocol to help transfer files, like Kermit in the BBS era. Having said this, FTP too can have a file system metaphor via FUSE, which allow user to mount many of such transfer protocols as a file device.  All these can be done in Linux, but currently DNS323 does not support these for good reasons.

[redant2u]

Thanks for all the info - good to have someone that knows their stuff.

[jejones3141]

So am I correct in thinking that the reason the 323 complains about some file names is because of limitations in SMB? That's rather ironic, since I'm using it with Linux systems using ext4, while the 323 runs Linux and I have the drive formatted ext3, which should be happy with any file name on the source ext4 file system.

[redant2u]

I found that the files that had the problems was like eg: Work-2010 or Work 2010-2011. These were the ones with special characters in that had the issues but renaming them (Work 2010 to 1011) made the problem dissolve into thin air.

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have many file names with dashes, that seems to pose no issue with the DNS-323.

I only have to look in the root of Volume_1 to see Brother HL-5140 Printer Drivers, no issues at all with that one.

[jejones3141]

The ones I saw complaints about, while copying my music files to the 323, were those that had colons or question marks in the name.

[badmem]

I have just upgraded to FW1.08 and I only have the option to use SMB, there is no NFS option. Is there a way to get this to show up?

TIA

Neil

[m2k3423]

Just a comment about '-' in names;  sometimes, though a '-' look on screen to be like an ordinary '-', it may actually be an unicode'd '-' ...

On the point about SMB being picky on file names when underlying filesystem is ext3 or ext4 - the key point is that SMB is a layer of network protocols on-top of whatever actual filesystem on the media, exposing the filesystem to users on the network, behaving in accordance to specifications that originally strived to mimic DOS filesystem (8.3 filenames), then modified to handle LFN.  So, whatever VFAT does not like, even if the underlying filesystem supports them, SMB will choke on them.

This is the root of many filename related problems, for:

• files saved via rsync
• files saved via NFS
• files saved via FTP
• files created or modified in telnet or ssh sessions
• files saves via any daemon that assume ext2/3/4 or any *nix friendly filesystem
  

In any of the above situations, depending on how you set 'force xxxx mode', 'map archive' and others 'map xxx' options in smb.conf, one can easily end up seeing the files, but not able to access them, or worst, seeing them sometimes, and see them disappear in a flash.  

[jejones3141]

So, is there any chance that D-Link will update the firmware to provide reasonable support for non-Windows users, i.e. so that we can use the DNS-323 to get reasonable performance and preserve file names and permissions?

[m2k3423]

Well, NFS is available as a APKG. However, it is an user space implementation. Anyway, note that NFS by itself is not very secure due to the assumptions that it will only be used in intranet when NFS was designed. A recent version of NFS addressed the security  problem but will require setting up Keberos like authentication, too much complexity for a box like DNS323.

If you are on Mac or linux, you may want to consider using FUSE (user space virtual file system) to mount via FTP or SSH.

If you are on any UNIX variants (I use OS X, Linux), our best bet is for DNS323 to support iSCSI target mode. Some of DLINK competitors are already beginning to do so. If that happens, we can have HFS+ or whatever filesystem ext4 ... over the network cable.