NetApp CIFS/Microsoft Excel 2003 Time Stamp Issue

[SYSADMIN91]

Hello,

After migrating data from Windows Server 2003 CIFS to NetApp CIFS, we've noticed 3 issues with Microsoft Excel files. 

1) When trying to save a Microsoft Excel workbook to the NetApp CIFS share, the following window would pop-up randomly after a certain number of saves:

The file (filename.xls) may have been changed by another user since you last saved it. In that case, what do you want to do?

    Save a copy

    Overwrite changes

2)  If an user clicks the Cancel button (when the above window pops up), and then clicks File->Save As, the file name would change to Copy of (original file name).  This is strange since somehow Excel believes the original file is opened as Read-Only, which is not the case.

3) Whenever an Excel file is opened from the NetApp CIFS share and then closed without any modification, the time stamp on the Excel file would change to the current date/time.

Issues 1 & 3 are documented in the Microsoft KB article 324491 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324491), but the registry fix for Excel 2003 did NOT resolve our problems as the pop-up window still shows up after a certain number of saves.

At this time, #1 is an annoyance but #3 is a major issue for us.

Some background info:

FAS3240 running 8.0.1P4 7-Mode in Active/Active

CIFS shares are accessed via a LACP VIF w/ IP load balancing

Excel 2003 SP3 w/ the latest Office patches

Do you have any idea why this is happening?  Any recommendation on how to fix the issues above are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

[shaunjurr]

Hi,

What OS and version is accessing the files?

Are you using terminal servers?

Are you using vscan services?

Are there indexing/content or accounting services scanning your CIFS shares?

Have you checked for AD authentication or network erorrs?

Are you PC clients syncronized with a time server (NTP/AD server with NTP)?

What, if any, messages do you see in the message file on the filer?

[SYSADMIN91]

Hi shaunjurr,

Thank you for your reply.  Sorry for my late response since we are in the middle of the NetApp deployment project.  Anyway, please see my answers below and thanks again for your help.

Q: What OS and version is accessing the files?

A: Windows XP SP3.

Q: Are you using terminal servers?

A: Yes, we use Windows 2000 TS for remote access only.

Q: Are you using vscan services?

A: Yes, we have McAfee VirusScan installed on users' PCs but the CIFS shares are excluded from scanning.

Q: Are there indexing/content or accounting services scanning your CIFS shares?

A: No.

Q: Have you checked for AD authentication or network erorrs?

A: Yes, I checked but there are no AD authentication errors.  The CIFS protocol on the filer is configured properly and users can access the CIFS shares (via either IP or NetBIOS name) without any problems.

Q: Are you PC clients syncronized with a time server (NTP/AD server with NTP)?

A: Yes (NTP/AD server with NTP).

Q: What, if any, messages do you see in the message file on the filer?

A: The syslog on the filer does not show anything CIFS-related in particular (except for the usual kernel uptime info messages).