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LaCie 12big Rack Network Technical Brief

LaCie 12big Rack Network Technical Brief

Professional server shared folders
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LaCie Professional Server
Technical Brief: Shared Folders

Table of Contents

1. Technical Brief: DFS ...................................................................................................... 3
2. Administrator ............................................................................................................... 3
3. Distributed File System (DFS) ........................................................................................ 4
3.1. Namespaces (DFS-N) . ...................................................................................................................... 4
3.1.1. Namespace Example - Branch Office . ...................................................................................... 5
3.2. Replication (DFS-R) ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.2.1. Replication Example - Branch Office ...................................................................................... 12
3.2.2. DFS-R as Backup . ................................................................................................................. 14
3.2.3. DFS-R and Simultaneous File Sharing . .................................................................................... 14
4. Namespaces ............................................................................................................... 15
4.1. Create the Namespace . .................................................................................................................. 15
4.1.1. New Namespace.................................................................................................................. 15
4.1.2. Add a Namespace Server (Domain only) ................................................................................ 20
4.1.3. Namespace: Creating Tree Folders and Adding Shared Folders ............................................... 22
5. Replication.................................................................................................................. 31
5.1. Why DFS-R? .................................................................................................................................. 31
5.2. DFS-R Setup .................................................................................................................................. 32
6. Contacting Customer Support ..................................................................................... 54
6.1. LaCie Technical Support Contacts ................................................................................................... 54
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Summary of Contents for LaCie 12big Rack Network

  • Page 1: Table Of Contents

    LaCie Professional Server Table of Contents Technical Brief: Shared Folders page 1 Table of Contents 1. Technical Brief: DFS ...................... 3 2. Administrator ....................... 3 3. Distributed File System (DFS) ..................4 3.1. Namespaces (DFS-N) ........................4 3.1.1. Namespace Example - Branch Office ..................5 3.2. Replication (DFS-R) ........................
  • Page 2 Trademarks disk, another external hard disk or some Apple, Mac, Mac OS, and Macintosh are other form of removable storage media. registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Micro- LaCie offers a complete line of CD and soft, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Win- DVD drives. If you would like more informa- dows Vista, and Windows 7 are registered tion on backup, please refer to our website. trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Oth- er trademarks mentioned in this manual are the property of their respective owners.

  • Page 3: Technical Brief: Dfs

    LaCie Professional Server Introduction Technical Brief: DFS page 3 1. Technical Brief: DFS Please consider this Technical Brief as a valuable resource on how to integrate DFS Namespaces and DFS Replication into your LaCie professional server. While an exhaustive explanation Microsoft File Services is beyond the scope of this Technical Brief, LaCie encour- ages users and network administrators to further their understanding via the numerous books, instruction manuals, courses, and web sites on this subject. 2. Administrator In order to review, confirm, or redefine the software settings on your LaCie professional server, you must have Administrative rights to the device. Quick Links Click a topic: Namespaces (DFS-N) ✦ Replication (DFS-R) ✦ Create the Namespace ✦...

  • Page 4: Distributed File System (Dfs)

    LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 4 3. Distributed File System (DFS) A network administrator uses a distributed file system (DFS) to main- tain and share the numerous files stored on the company server(s). Important functions such as data security, permissions, and acces- sibility are integrated into the DFS. A key feature for Windows Storage Server 2008 is DFS Manage- ment, a role service that is part of Windows Server File Services.

  • Page 5: Namespace Example - Branch Office

    Tree Folder A virtual folder used in DFS to organize folders and data. It can contain Target folders or other The New York office has just installed a LaCie 5big Storage Server. Tree folders. Since LaCie professional servers are powered by Windows Storage Server 2008, they can receive critical user and permission instruc- tions from Windows Server Active Directory. In the domain lacie. com, the administrator adds Shared folders based upon business unit and geography (Accounting Americas and Accounting Europe, Marketing Americas and Marketing Europe, Software Development Americas and Software Development Europe, etc.). Users may cre- ate individual folders within each Shared folder to properly organize individual documents (budget spreadsheets, corporate presenta- tions, etc.). Branch business units must have access to the data of their overseas counterparts in order to avoid waste and needless duplication. That...
  • Page 6 LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 6 Table 02 - LaCie Shared and Data Folders LaCie 12big Rack Network (x2) - Paris 5big Storage Server - New York Shared Folders Accounting Europe Accounting Americas Data Folders Accounts Payable Europe Accounts Payable Americas ✦ ✦...
  • Page 7 Technical Brief: DFS page 7 Seeing so many Shared folders, it is very easy to understand why a Namespace would help with file management and data security. Noting the list of Shared folders in Table 02 - LaCie Shared and Data Folders, a salaried employee who works in accounting must use files from three Shared folders: Accounting Americas, Accounting Europe, and Common Resources (Fig.
  • Page 8 LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 8 An accounting manager must use files in eight of the ten Shared folders: Accounting Americas, Accounting Europe, Marketing Amer- icas, Marketing Europe, Software Development Americas, Software Development Europe, and Creative Services (Fig. 02). Fig. 02 The amount of Shared folders becomes somewhat unwieldy for the employees as they attempt to hunt for files located in numerous net- work volumes. It is far more efficient to limit the mounted drives.
  • Page 9 LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 9 Table 03 - A Single Namespace with Folder Hierarchy Namespace Tree Folder Target Folders Shared Folder Server Location LaCie_Files Accounting Americas ✦ Accounting Americas ✦ 5BIGSTORAGE (New York) ✦ Europe ✦ Accounting Europe ✦...
  • Page 10 LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 10 In Fig. 03, the DFS Management window lists the Tree folders and their Target folders. Fig. 03 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 11 LaCie Professional Server DFS-N & DFS-R Technical Brief: DFS page 11 All users in New York and Paris will have access to LaCie_Files. Note the Target and Shared folders on the left in Fig. 04. Fig. 04 From our example earlier, a salaried employee in the Accounting department has been granted permission to open the Accounting Americas and Accounting Europe Shared folders. Both are accessi- ble within the Accounting Target folder. He can search his assigned Shared folders within the Namespace LaCie_Files for important data related to his job. However, he will not have access to other Shared folders without receiving additional permission(s) from the admin-...

  • Page 12: Replication (Dfs-R)

    3.2.1. Replication Example - Branch Office Returning to LaCie, we see that the administrator has created Shared folders to store the company data. He has also assigned a Namespace for convenient access to data folders. Each user no longer looks for data over a large group of server volumes and Shared folders.
  • Page 13 Table 04 - Replicating Folders 12BIGNETWORK-1 (LaCie Paris) 12BIGNETWORK-2 (LaCie Paris) Namespace: LaCie_Files DFS-Replication Namespace: LaCie_Files ✦ Accounting Europe ✦ Creative Services Europe ✦ Marketing Europe ✦ Software Development Europe ✦ Common Resources Europe DFS-Replication DFS-Replication Namespace: LaCie_Files ✦ Accounting Americas ✦ Common Resources Americas ✦ Creative Resources Americas ✦ Marketing Americas ✦ Software Development Americas 5BIGSTORAGE (LaCie New York)

  • Page 14: Dfs-R As Backup

    A second potential conflict could arrive when users are not working on a document at the same time but within a period between file replications. For example, the user at LaCie Paris edits a file and saves it. Soon after, the user at LaCie New York opens the same file, makes changes, and saves. Since there was no replication dur- ing the interval that LaCie Paris and LaCie New York saved their respective files, only the changes made by LaCie New York will be replicated. The changes made by LaCie Paris will be ignored and his...

  • Page 15: Namespaces

    LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 15 4. Namespaces Once DFS has been installed on your LaCie professional server, you can create Namespaces to organize Target folders and files. 4.1. Create the Namespace 4.1.1. New Namespace 1. To launch the New Namespace Wizard, go to Start >Admin- istrative Tools > DFS Management > New Namespace 2. The first window prompts you to select the server that will host the Namespace. You can type the name of the server or search for it using the Browse... button (Fig. 05). Click Next>. Fig. 05 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 16 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 16 Enter a name for the new Namespace (Fig. 06). Fig. 06 4. To modify the settings for the Namespace, click Edit Settings... (Fig. 06) and see the next step. continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 17 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 17 5. In Fig. 07, we are creating a path for the Namespace in D, the letter assigned to the 12BIGNETWORK-1 Data volume. As a default, Windows Storage Server creates DFSRoots to better identify the DFS in comparison with other files. The name can be changed by the administrator. Click OK then Next>. Fig. 07 6. Choose the type of Namespace you wish to create, domain- based or stand-alone. Click Next>.
  • Page 18 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 18 7. Review the choices you have made for the Namespace and click CREATE (Fig. 09). Fig. 09 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 19 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 19 8. It will take a few minutes to create the Namespace. Once fin- ished, a confirmation window appears (Fig. 10). Fig. 10 The Namespace has been added to the server (Fig. 11). Fig. 11...

  • Page 20: Add A Namespace Server (Domain Only)

    LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 20 4.1.2. Add a Namespace Server (Domain only) Once a new Namespace is created, you can add it to other servers in the domain. While many of the steps are similar, this process is not the same as making a new or separate Namespace. Create the first Namespace (4.1.1. New Namespace). 2. Go to Start >Administrative Tools > DFS Management > Namespaces. 3. Right-click on the Namespace to select Add Namespace Serv- er... (Fig. 12). Fig. 12 Choose the destination server (Fig.
  • Page 21 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 21 Choose the path for the Namespace folder on the server (Fig. 14). Click OK. Fig. 14 The Namespace will be created on the new server (Fig. 15). Fig. 15 7. For our example, the same steps would be repeated for the third LaCie professional server, 5BIGSTORAGE. continued on the next page>>...

  • Page 22: Namespace: Creating Tree Folders And Adding Shared Folders

    LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 22 Fig. 16 illustrates the Namespace on all three servers in the domain lacie.com. Fig. 16 4.1.3. Namespace: Creating Tree Folders and Adding Shared Folders Once the Namespace has been created and added to other servers in the domain, the administrator can begin to create Tree folders. The Tree folders will help to organize the Shared folders within the Namespace. In this example, Tree folders are based upon the de- partment or business unit (i.e. Accounting) Create Tree Folders 1. Go to Start > Administrative Tools > DFS Management >...
  • Page 23 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 23 2. Right-click on the server Namespace and choose New Fold- er... (Fig. Fig. 17 3. Type the name of the folder. This is the name of one of the Tree folders (Fig. 18). Click Add... Fig. 18 4. Create additional Tree folders as in Step 3. Click OK when finished. continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 24 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 24 Fig. 19 illustrates the Tree folders shown earlier on Table 03 - A Single Namespace with Folder Hierarchy. Fig. 19 6. Our example has offices in New York and Paris. Earlier, the ad- ministrator created Shared folders for the Americas and Europe. Now, he will now create Target folders to act as links to the Shared folders. Right-click on one of the Tree folders and select Folder... (Fig. Fig. 20 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 25 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 25 7. Type the name of the folder. This is the name of one of the Target folders (Fig. 21). Fig. 21 To create the links to Shared folders, click Add... (Fig. continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 26 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 26 The Browse for Shared Folders window will appear (Fig. 22). Click Browse... to select the Server with the Shared folder. From Table 03 - A Single Namespace with Folder Hierarchy, we know that Accounting Europe is stored on 12BIGNETWORK-1. Fig. 22 10. Select the Shared folder then click OK...
  • Page 27 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 27 11. An Add Folder Target pop-up window will appear. Confirm your selection and click OK (Fig. 23). Fig. 23 12. Click OK again (Fig. 24). Fig. 24 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 28 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 28 13. Repeat the same steps for additional Target folders (Fig. 25). Fig. 25 14. Fig. 26 shows the server directory after creating the Accounting Tree folder and adding the Target folders. Fig. 26 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 29 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 29 15. Fig. 27 shows the same directory after adding all the Target folders to the Tree folders. Fig. 27 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 30 LaCie Professional Server Namespace Technical Brief: DFS page 30 16. Fig. 28 shows the workstation directory. Note that only one net- work drive is mounted, the Namespace LaCie_Files. Access to the folders and files is now easy to manage. Fig. 28...

  • Page 31: Replication

    LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 31 5. Replication Setting up DFS-R requires a number of steps but the level of difficulty is not high. However, it is important to remember the reasons for replicating folders and how it will help to resolve certain bandwidth issues. 5.1. Why DFS-R? In our ongoing example with the professional servers, we have used two branch offices for the company LaCie. There is a 5big Storage Table 05 - A LAN or WAN? Server Status by Branch Office Server in New York and two 12big Rack Networks in Paris. For im-...

  • Page 32: Dfs-R Setup

    For DFS-R to work, the administrator must add the Target folders to the servers that will receive the replicated files. Select the Target folder that you wish to replicate. In our example, we will choose the Target folders, Americas and Europe. Go to (Fig. 21) Start > Administrative Tools> DFS Manage- ment > Namespaces > Domain [lacie.com] > Target folder [Americas]. 1. Right-click on the Target folder [Americas] to select Add Fold- er Target... (Fig. Fig. 29 2. Select Browse...
  • Page 33 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 33 3. Select the server that will receive the replicated files. For this Table 06 - Initial Replication step, the administrator chooses 12BIGNETWORK-1 (Fig. 31) to receive data stored on 5BIGSTORAGE. Server Replication 12BIGNETWORK-1 Receives replicated data from the Shared folder Accounting Americas. 5BIGSTORAGE Original server location for the Shared folder Accounting Americas.
  • Page 34 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 34 6. While it is possible to give this folder any name, the administra- tor uses the same name as the original Shared folder to avoid confusion. Confirm the permissions (Fig. 32). Fig. 32 7. Click BROWSE... (Fig. 32) to choose a local path for the Shared folder. The administrator chooses the “d” partition for data (Fig. 33). Click Make New Folder to enter the name of the Shared fold- er. Select the new folder and click OK. Fig. 33 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 35 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 35 9. Click OK (Fig. 34). Fig. 34 10. The Shared folder on the 12BIGNETWORK-1 is now ready to receive replicated data. Select it and click OK (Fig. 35). Fig. 35 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 36 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 36 11. Note the path to the new Shared folder (Fig. 36). Click OK to enter the Replicate Folder Wizard. Fig. 36 12. A Replication window will appear, asking if you wish to keep the two folders synchronized (Fig. 37). In this case, it is the Shared folder on 12BIGNETWORK-1 and the original folder on 5BIGSTORAGE. Click Yes.
  • Page 37 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 37 13. The Replicate Folder Wizard appears. Note that the fields con- tain the information from the earlier steps (Fig. 38). Clck Next>. Fig. 38 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 38 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 38 14. Based upon the name given to the Shared folder, the wizard will search for eligible folders on the network for replication (Fig. 39). Click Next>. Fig. 39 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 39 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 39 15. Choose the server that has the Shared folder with the data. 5BIGSTORAGE is considered the Primary member at this stage since it holds the data (Fig. 40). Once the replication is finished, both Shared folders will be equal, each containing the same data. Select the Primary member and click Next>. Fig. 40 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 40 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 40 16. Full mesh will replicate data in all directions between the serv- ers in a replication group. This is the ideal choice for our ex- ample since data added to 12BIG NETWORK-1 will be auto- matically replicated onto 5BIGSTORAGE, and vice-versa. Click Next >(Fig. 41). Fig. 41 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 41 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 41 17. Select how the replication should occur, continuously or on a fixed schedule (Fig. 42). The administrator may also select the amount of bandwidth to assign the replication. Click Next>. Fig. 42 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 42 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 42 18. Review the settings and click Create (Fig. 43). Fig. 43 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 43 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 43 19. The Confirmation window will appear once the replication is complete (Fig. 44). Click Close. Fig. 44 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 44 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 44 20. A notification window provides details on the Replication Delay (Fig. 45). Fig. 45 21. There are now two replicated folders in New York and Paris. Please note the green arrow above the Americas Target folder. It means that data is being replicated (Fig. 46). Fig. 46 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 45 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 45 22. The administrator will now add a third server to the replica- tion group. For some companies, additional servers may be lo- cated at other branch sites. For this example, the administrator is providing greater flexibility to the network by replicating onto 12BIGNETWORK-2. The steps are a bit different now that the replication group has been created. Right-click on Americas and select Add Folder Target... (Fig. Fig. 47 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 46 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 46 23. In the New Folder Target window, the administrator may choose how to replicate data to the third server. For the full replication, choose Full mesh to all members (Fig. 48). Click Browse... to create the Shared folder on 12BIGNETWORK-2. Fig. 48 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 47 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 47 24. Click Browse... or type the name of the server (Fig. 49). 25. Click Show Shared Folders to see the current folders on the third server (Fig. 49). 26. Click New Shared Folder (Fig. 49). Fig. 49 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 48 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 48 27. Write the name of the Shared folder in the Share name field (Fig. 50). 28. Click Browse... to create the path to the 12BIGNETWORK-2 (Fig. 50). Fig. 50 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 49 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 49 29. Type the name of the Shared folder for the third server (Fig. 51). Click Make New Folder to enter the name of the Shared folder. Select the new folder and click OK. Fig. 51 30. In the Create Share window, confirm the Shared folder settings and click OK (Fig. 52). Fig. 52 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 50 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 50 31. In the Browse for Shared Folders window, click once on the newly created Shared folder (Fig. 53). Click OK. Fig. 53 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 51 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 51 32. The Shared folder has been created. In the New Folder Target window, confirm the settings and path before clicking OK (Fig. 54). Fig. 54 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 52 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 52 33. The replication Progress window will appear (Fig. 55). Fig. 55 34. The Shared folder is now replicated on three servers (Fig. 56). Fig. 56 continued on the next page>>...
  • Page 53 LaCie Professional Server Replication Technical Brief: DFS page 53 35. To view the servers in the replication group, go to Start > Ad- ministrative Tools > DFS Management > Replication > Domain [lacie.com]\Shared folder [Accounting Americas] (Fig. 57). Fig. 57 36. Repeat the steps to enable DFS replication for additional Target folders.

  • Page 54: Contacting Customer Support

    LaCie Professional Server Contacting Customer Support Technical Brief: DFS page 54 6. Contacting Customer Support 6.1. LaCie Technical Support Contacts LaCie Asia LaCie Australia http://www.lacie.com/cn/contact/ http://www.lacie.com/au/contact/ LaCie Belgium LaCie Brazil http://www.lacie.com/us/contact/ http://www.lacie.com/be/contact/ (Dutch) http://www.lacie.com/befr/contact/ (French) LaCie Canada LaCie Denmark http://www.lacie.com/dk/contact/ http://www.lacie.com/ca/contact/ (English) http://www.lacie.com/cafr/contact/ (French) LaCie Finland LaCie France http://www.lacie.com/fi/contact/ http://www.lacie.com/fr/contact/ LaCie Germany LaCie Ireland http://www.lacie.com/de/contact/...

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