Chapter 5

The most critical resources offered by a network operating system are the shared files being accessed by end users. NetWare administrators are typically responsible for setting up the file system on the server, granting access rights to end users, and managing the files and directories. The NetWare file system is the operating system component that makes these tasks possible.

NetWare’s file system is the organization of disk storage on the network. Servers provide files to workstations through the file system. Workstations are typically DOS-based or DOS-compatible PCs, but there are many other types of workstations running a variety of operating systems, such as OS/2, MacOS, and UNIX, that need to access those same files. As a result, the NetWare file system is DOS compatible and extensible for access by other workstation operating systems.

During the NetWare server installation, the server hard drive is partitioned to create (1) a DOS partition, from which the NetWare operating system is booted, and (2) a NetWare partition, where the NetWare file system resides. Once the NetWare operating system starts, the NetWare disk drivers are loaded and the NetWare partitions are ready to be accessed. The NetWare partition is a hard disk drive space allocation, so that a logical structure can be applied to it. When adding a new physical disk drive, the administrator can use NWCONFIG.NLM (see Figure 5-1) to create a NetWare partition on that new drive. There is only one NetWare partition per disk drive.

Volumes are the fundamental units of storage on the NetWare server. The volume name is comparable to a disk drive letter in DOS. Just as a disk can have several disk drive letters representing the logical divisions on the disk, there can be several volumes per disk in NetWare. However, unlike DOS drives, a volume can span across more than one disk drive.

At installation, the volume is configured after a NetWare partition is created, since the volume will occupy space within the NetWare partition of a physical disk drive. The first volume is always named SYS:. Additional volumes can be named anything that the installer decides, and meets NetWare’s volume-naming criteria.

Within Novell Directory Services, a volume object corresponds to a physical volume on a NetWare server’s hard drive. The default volume object name is a concatenation of the server name, an underscore, and the volume name. For example, for the BASE volume on a server named DATA, the volume object would be named DATA_BASE. The names of servers must be unique, and since every server must have a SYS: volume, by concatenating the server name and volume name, several servers can exist in the same NDS context without repetition of a volume object name.

Data can exist in the root of a volume or in various data repositories called directories. A directory on a NetWare volume is the same as a directory on a disk drive in DOS. A subdirectory is a directory contained by another directory. The terms directory and subdirectory are considered interchangeable.

Directories and subdirectories are logical mechanisms that store and organize files. Files are a unit of data that can be an executable application or a document, graphic, or database. The filename format under DOS is 8 characters for the filename and 3 characters for the extension. The extension typically identifies the type of file. For example, a batch file ends in the letters .BAT. Under Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, Macintosh, and OS/2 operating systems, longer filenames, with extensions, are supported.

There are a wide variety of utilities included in NetWare that manage network resources, including the files stored on NetWare servers. There are two command-line utilities, a DOS utility, and the NetWare Administrator that can be used for file system management.

NLIST is a command-line search tool for NDS objects that can be found in the SYS::PUBLIC directory. Although generally used for NDS searching, NLIST can display some file system data. It is useful for showing volume object information. To view volume information in a specific context, type NLIST VOLUME /CO .OU.OU.O /D. This command will show detailed volume information for all the volumes in the .OU.OU.O context. The following is the output of this command:

Object Class: Volume
Current context: ENG.PHX.MA
Volume: CRAFT_SYS:
Name: CRAFT_SYS:
Name: SYS:
Object Trustees (ACL):
Subject: [Root]
Property: Host Resource Name
Property Rights: [ R ]
Object Trustees (ACL):
Subject: [Root]
Property: Host Server
Property Rights: [ R ]
GUID:
Value:
0000: 01 A3 AE 38 F5 2E D2 11 B9 87 00 80 C6 05 A9 4F .£®8õ.Ò.¹‡.€Æ.©O
Host Resource Name: SYS:
Host Server: CRAFT
Object Class: Volume
Object Class: Resource
Object Class: Top
Revision: 5
Used By:
Volume Name: [Root]
Path:
Name Space Type: DOS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Volume object was found in this context.

The administrator can use NLIST to display specific volume properties. In order to view all of NLIST’s features, type NLIST /? ALL at the F:\PUBLIC prompt (assuming the SYS:: volume is mapped to F:). The output is shown in Figure 5-2.

Anyone familiar with DOS knows that the DIR command lists all the files in a directory. In NetWare 5, the NDIR command is similar in function. NDIR enables viewing information about files, directories, and volumes. However, the NDIR command can also be used to display additional NetWare file system information that the DOS DIR command cannot. Table 5-1 describes all the NDIR switches available. NDIR also allows manipulating a directory search through:

• the display format of the resulting search
• the sort order
• search filters (restrictions) and attribute filters
• logical operators

To view the help information at any time, type NDIR /? at a DOS prompt. The NDIR /? ALL command will display several screens worth of information discussing the usage and syntax for NDIR. The first screen is shown in Figure 5-3.

The FILER utility in the SYSSYS::PUBLIC directory is a DOS menu-based utility. It can search for files, create new directories, delete files and directories, and salvage files.

1. Start FILER by choosing Start | Run, type [path to SYS::PUBLIC\ or mapped drive letter:]FILER, and press ENTER; or type FILER at the command (DOS) prompt.
2. In the first menu, select Manage Files and Directories; then press ENTER.
3. The current path will display in the upper-left corner of the screen. Navigate through the path by selecting the two dots (..) to move back a directory, or pressing ENTER when a directory is highlighted to browse that directory.
4. Select a file and press the F10 key. To select multiple files, mark them by pressing the F5 key when each file is selected; then press F10 after all files are marked.
5. The F10 key brings up a small menu that enables the user to copy, move, view, display the rights, or display the file information. Select View | Set File Information and press ENTER. The screen in Figure 5-4 will be displayed.

The most valuable feature of FILER is the ability to undelete files from NetWare volumes. In older versions of NetWare this feature was a separate utility called SALVAGE , but it is now integrated into FILER. The option in the first menu is still Salvage Deleted Files.

1. If drive F: is not mapped to volume SYS:, then right-click Network Neighborhood, select Novell Map Network Drive, select drive F: under Device, and type \\SERVERNAME\SYS: in the Path area; then click Map.
2. Start FILER by selecting Start | Run and type F:\PUBLIC\FILER; then press ENTER.
3. Select Salvage Deleted Files and press ENTER.
4. Select View | Recover Deleted Files and press ENTER.
5. FILER will prompt for a filename or file pattern to filter. If only looking for an executable file, type *.EXE and press ENTER .
6. The next screen enables you to browse through the directories for deleted files that match the pattern you have entered. Select a file and press INS to salvage that file. To select multiple files, highlight each and press F5.

The NetWare Administrator application enables the viewing of files and directories that exist within NetWare volumes. Files and directories can be managed, copied, moved, salvaged and deleted. To view files and directories, double-click the volume object. The files in the volume are displayed, as shown in Figure 5-5. Double-click a directory to display the files within that directory. To view the file or directory information, right-click the file or directory icon and select Details from the pop-up menu.

Files can be undeleted from within the NetWare Administrator. To undelete a deleted file, the administrator can select the directory the file was deleted from, click the Tools menu, and select the Salvage option. The dialog box that appears enables the administrator to sort and select the files to be salvaged, as well as identify the user who deleted the file.

File system information is available for each file and directory in the volume objects. The information about a directory or a file is available in the NetWare Administrator, as the Details of that object, as illustrated in Figures 5-6 and 5-7. An object’s details can be viewed by highlighting that object, selecting the Object menu and choosing the Details option. Directory and file properties are defined in Tables 5-2 and 5-3.

A workstation can access the NetWare 5 server through browsing the Network Neighborhood, or mapping a drive as long as the logged-in user or [public] trustee has been granted rights to those files. After Client 32 is installed in Microsoft Windows 95, as well as Windows 98 and Windows NT v4.0, the Network Neighborhood is able to browse through the NetWare 5 servers, their volumes, directories, and files.

Some applications require a drive letter in order to function properly. For those applications, the user can map a drive letter to the volume and directory. In Windows 95, a drive can be mapped by right-clicking the Network Neighborhood icon on the desktop and selecting Novell Map Network Drive. In the drive letter space, select a letter. In the Path space, type the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) name for the server and volume in the \\SERVERNAME\VOLUME format.

Drives can be mapped from a DOS prompt using the MAP command. This can even be done using a Windows 95 DOS prompt window and from within a login script. The MAP command, which is located in the SYS::PUBLIC directory, enables a user to map root drives and search drives:

• Root drive a root drive is the way to make a subdirectory on a NetWare volume appear to be the root of the drive. The way to do this is by typing MAP R K:=SYS::PUBLIC\WIN32 and pressing ENTER. When viewing the R: drive, all the files that are in the SYS::PUBLIC\WIN32 directory appear at the root of K:\. Search drive search drives enable applications to look in that drive for an executable file or command. If a file such as FILER.EXE is in SYS::PUBLIC, and a search drive Z: is mapped to SYS::PUBLIC, then typing the word FILER at the DOS prompt, regardless of the current directory, will automatically search in the SYS::PUBLIC directory and start FILER, even if the user is currently in the C: drive. To map the next available search drive to the PUBLIC directory, type MAP INS S16:=SYS::PUBLIC.

DOS commands can be used on a drive mapping the same way that they are used on local drives. A subdirectory can be created using the MD command and the user can move about the directory structure using the CD command. Directories can be deleted using the RD command. In Windows 95, the same method of managing a local directory in the Explorer works for mapped network drives.

The directory structure can also be managed using the NetWare Administrator. To create a directory from the NetWare Administrator, navigate to the Volume object or one of its subdirectories, and press the INSERT key. A dialog box appears for the name of the directory and checkboxes to define additional properties or create another directory. To delete a directory in the NetWare Administrator, select the directory and press the Delete key. To rename the directory, highlight it, click the Object menu, and select Rename. Moving and copying are also available in the Object menu for the directory.

Renaming directories can be tricky from a DOS prompt. There is no easy way to do it in DOS. However, NetWare includes a DOS command-line utility in the SYS::PUBLIC directory called RENDIR.EXE, which is specifically used for renaming directories. The syntax for this command is RENDIR directory [TO] newdirectory. Note that renaming home directories using RENDIR or the NetWare Administrator will not change the value of the home directory for a user object. To change the value, you must edit the user object property for home directory.

Files can be browsed, copied, moved, and deleted from the NetWare Administrator. To browse the files in NetWare Administrator double-click the volume object and each subdirectory until the desired files are displayed. When a file is double-clicked, it opens the file information page, not the file itself.

When to use local workstation operating system utilities versus NetWare utilities for managing the file system can be a puzzling choice if you are not aware of how each works. One of the reasons that might lead to confusion is that NetWare is aware of most DOS and Windows 95 file system management compiled into COMMAND.COM and for Windows NT, comparable commands compiled into CMD.COM. This makes it very easy to use the utilities built into your local workstation operating system, sometimes at the expense of taking advantage of some of the benefits that the NetWare utilities provide.

A simple way to approach the dilemma is to determine: Where are the files and directories physically stored, and where should the processing be taking place? If the answer, is "on a NetWare server" to either, choose to use the NetWare utility. Additionally, if a NetWare utility is used, the bulk of the processing of the command is done on the server, not the workstation. This can have enormous implications when managing files and directories between multiple servers and sites. There will always be exceptions to the general rule, but for most situations, improve your efficiency and make the network work for you by using NetWare commands and utilities for the server file system and use local O/S commands and utilities for local workstation file management.

—By Dan Cheung, CNI, MCNE, MCT

NetWare has a comprehensive command-line utility for copying files on NetWare volumes. This command, NCOPY, is similar to the DOS COPY command, but maintains NetWare file attributes.

In Novell Directory Services, there are objects that represent the volumes on each server. Each volume object has properties as described in Table 5-5.

Volumes can be directly managed within NDS. The Statistics property page, shown in Figure 5-9, displays information that can assist in troubleshooting problems with the server. For example, if a user cannot save a file with a long name to a directory within the volume, the administrator simply needs to view the Name Spaces information. That would determine whether the Long Name name space was installed on that volume. If the name space was not there, then the file-save issue could be resolved by adding that name space.

Volume space can be managed by adding users and their respective space limitations to the User Space Limits property page of the Volume object.

The file system components that are most important during a NetWare server installation are the NetWare partition and the NetWare volume. NetWare volumes can span multiple hard drives. The volume in a NetWare server is a logical structure that contains directories and files. Directories are organizational units for file storage. Files are data units such as graphics, documents, executable applications, and text files.

There are two command-line utilities that can help manage the NetWare file system: NLIST and NDIR. NLIST is used mainly for viewing NDS object properties from a command line. The volume object and its properties are viewed with NLIST. NDIR is a directory search and listing utility that is similar but contains more options than the DOS DIR command.

FILER is a DOS menu utility that can manage files and directories. One of FILER’s most useful features is the ability to salvage deleted files. That is, when a user has deleted files, the file can be undeleted.

The NetWare Administrator offers a single-seat administration point of the entire network, including the ability to manage files, directories, and volumes. Files and directories can be browsed, moved, copied, renamed, and deleted.

Other utilities that can be used for file management are NCOPY, RENDIR, and MAP. NCOPY allows a user to copy files and directories on NetWare drives. RENDIR can rename directories. MAP is the command-line utility to connect drive letters to NetWare volumes. It can be used to map root drives and search drives to assist in the way applications work from the network.

The User Space Limits properties of the volume object in the NetWare Administrator restricts the amount of space that each user is allowed on a volume. The Statistics property page displays other troubleshooting information.

• NetWare’s file system is the organization of disk storage on the network. Servers provide files to workstations through the file system. Workstations are typically DOS-based or DOS-compatible PCs, but there are many other types of workstations running a variety of operating systems that need to access those same files. NetWare file system is DOS compatible and extensible for access by other workstation operating systems.
• During the NetWare server installation, the server hard drive is partitioned to create (1) a DOS partition, from which the NetWare operating system is booted, and (2) a NetWare partition, where the NetWare file system resides. Once the NetWare operating system starts, the NetWare disk drivers are loaded and the NetWare partitions are ready to be accessed. The NetWare partition is a hard disk drive space allocation, so that a logical structure can be applied to it.
• Volumes are the fundamental units of storage on the NetWare server. The volume name is comparable to a disk drive letter in DOS. Just as a disk can have several disk drive letters representing the logical divisions on the disk, there can be several volumes per disk in NetWare. Unlike DOS drives, a volume can span across more than one disk drive.
• Within Novell Directory Services, a volume object corresponds to a physical volume on a NetWare server’s hard drive. The default volume object name is a concatenation of the server name, an underscore, and the volume name. The names of servers must be unique, and since every server must have a SYS: volume, by concatenating the server name and volume name, several servers can exist in the same NDS context without repetition of a volume object name.
• A directory on a NetWare volume is the same as a directory on a disk drive in DOS. A subdirectory is a directory contained by another directory.
• There are a wide variety of utilities included in NetWare that manage network resources, including the files stored on NetWare servers. There are two command-line utilities, a DOS utility, and the NetWare Administrator that can be used for file system management. NLIST is a command-line search tool for NDS objects that can be found in the SYS::PUBLIC directory
• NDIR enables viewing information about files, directories, and volumes. However, the NDIR command can also be used to display additional NetWare file system information that the DOS DIR command cannot.
• The FILER utility in the SYSSYS::PUBLIC directory is a DOS menu-based utility. It can search for files, create new directories, delete files and directories, and salvage files. The most valuable feature of FILER is the ability to undelete files from NetWare volumes. In older versions of NetWare this feature was a separate utility called SALVAGE , but it is now integrated into FILER. The option in the first menu is still Salvage Deleted Files.
• The NetWare Administrator application enables the viewing of files and directories that exist within NetWare volumes. Files and directories can be managed, copied, moved, salvaged and deleted.
• File system information is available for each file and directory in the volume objects. The information about a directory or a file is available in the NetWare Administrator, as the Details of that object. An object’s details can be viewed by highlighting that object, selecting the Object menu and choosing the Details option.
• A workstation can access the NetWare 5 server through browsing the Network Neighborhood, or mapping a drive as long as the logged-in user or [public] trustee has been granted rights to those files. After Client 32 is installed in Microsoft Windows 95, as well as Windows 98 and Windows NT v4.0, the Network Neighborhood is able to browse through the NetWare 5 servers, their volumes, directories, and files.
• Drives can be mapped from a DOS prompt using the MAP command. This can even be done using a Windows 95 DOS prompt window and from within a login script. The MAP command, which is located in the SYS::PUBLIC directory, enables a user to map root drives and search drives.
• DOS commands can be used on a drive mapping the same way that they are used on local drives. A subdirectory can be created using the MD command and the user can move about the directory structure using the CD command. Directories can be deleted using the RD command. In Windows 95, the same method of managing a local directory in the Explorer works for mapped network drives.
• The directory structure can also be managed using the NetWare Administrator. To create a directory from the NetWare Administrator, navigate to the Volume object or one of its subdirectories, and press the INSERT key.
• There is no easy way to rename directories in DOS. NetWare includes a DOS command-line utility in the SYS::PUBLIC directory called RENDIR.EXE, which is specifically used for renaming directories.
• Files can be browsed, copied, moved, and deleted from the NetWare Administrator. To browse the files in NetWare Administrator double-click the volume object and each subdirectory until the desired files are displayed. When a file is double-clicked, it opens the file information page, not the file itself.
• Volumes can be directly managed within NDS. The Statistics property page displays information that can assist in troubleshooting problems with the server. Volume space can be managed by adding users and their respective space limitations to the User Space Limits property page of the Volume object.