ONTAP Discussions

alias for cifs server

RONNIEMBENGTSEN
11,070 Views

I have configured a CIFS server on a cluster-mode system and I would like to configure an alias for it. So I can connect to the same cifs server from two different host names. In 7-mode there is an option called nbalias that is normally used for this. But as i understand it, this is only if you use netbios and wins. We do not use either of those. Beside there is no nbalias option for the cifs on cluster-mode that I can find.

So what I have done so far is only to create a dns alias, so the ip answers to two different hostnames. But when connection to the alias, I get an error.

original hostname: kbnpdnap01 (the hostname used every where, and the name used when joining the domain)

alias hostname: kbnuxsrv159 (an old cifs server that has retired and all shared moved to netapp, and I want to preserve the name)

ip: 10.100.2.219

Microsoft Windows [Version 5.2.3790]

(C) Copyright 1985-2003 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\x-kbn_itrb>ping kbnpdnap01

Pinging kbnpdnap01 [10.100.2.219] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 10.100.2.219: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255

C:\Documents and Settings\x-kbn_itrb>ping kbnuxsrv159

Pinging kbnuxsrv159 [10.100.2.219] with 32 bytes of data&colon;

Reply from 10.100.2.219: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255

C:\Documents and Settings\x-kbn_itrb>net view kbnuxsrv159

System error 31 has occurred.

A device attached to the system is not functioning.

C:\Documents and Settings\x-kbn_itrb>net view kbnpdnap01

Shared resources at kbnpdnap01

Share name          Type  Used as  Comment

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As said netbios and winns are disabled on the windows server that I am using to connect to the netapp.

Anyone have any idea?

2 REPLIES 2

mrinal
11,070 Views

Response after an internal discussion.... I don't believe enabling NetBIOS on the Windows machine can help. SMB as additional security checks for name of file share server in SMB request. If this name doesn't match to actual server name, request is denied and client throws error message. Server name aliases or alternative/optional names can help to get around this. In 7-Mode "cifs nbalias" command is exactly for this reason. Unfortunately there is no similar command in Cluster-Mode. As of DNS A or CNAME records, they are only for IP address resolution and DNS doesn't intercept SMB requests and replace server alias to server name.

If customer wants to keep existing old name. the only solution I can see is to have Windows Server with old name as server name or alias running DFS. Downside of this - all DFS links have to be created manually pointing to new filer's shares. 

Hope this helps.

RONNIEMBENGTSEN
11,070 Views

After looking through the AD, and trying both to change and move the original OU of the old CIFS server, we got it working. It was a combination of a bad dns entries and OU entries in the AD that keept it from working. We ended up deleting all the OU entries for the old CIFS in the AD and deleting the DNS entry before creating an alias on netapp dns entry.

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