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Chapter 3 - Managing StreetTalk for Windows NT File Services

Overview of Managing StreetTalk File Services

Stopping and starting a StreetTalk file service
Modifying the properties of a StreetTalk file service
Modifying Share Points
Disconnecting users from a file service
Managing files and directories in a StreetTalk file service
Using the Banyan VCOPY Command

Stopping and Restarting a StreetTalk File Service

To Stop a StreetTalk File Service from StreetTalk Explorer

1. Open the property sheets for the file service.

2. On the Summary property sheet, click Stop.

3. Verify the status of the service on the Summary property sheet. By default, this information updates every 30 seconds. Press F5 to update the status of the service immediately.

Modifying the Properties of a StreetTalk File Service

Windows NT path
Idle timeout
Log settings
ARL option
User limit
Share type
Share points in a group share

Modifying the Windows NT Path

To Modify the Windows NT Path for a Single Share File Service

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for the file service.

2. Specify a path for the file service by doing one of the following:

- Click the dropdown arrow and select a drive letter from the list of available drives. Extend the path as necessary to specify a directory on the Windows NT Server and click OK.

- Click the browse button. The Select Directory dialog box appears. Choose a drive and directory and click OK. The Shares Page appears.

3. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Modifying the Idle Timeout for a File Service

Specifying the Timeout Value for Idle Connections

Note: If you enable timeouts for VINES Files, after a workstation is disconnected, it broadcasts for a new VINES Files service, and may not automatically re-connect to the service it was using before the connection was broken.

To Modify the Timeout Value for a File Service

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Timeouts property sheet for the file service.

2. Select the Idle Timeouts checkbox to enable timeouts.

3. Enter the timeout value in the adjacent text box and select the appropriate unit of time (seconds, minutes, hours, or days) from the drop-down list box. The maximum timeout value is 999.

4. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the share close. The StreetTalk Explorer browser appears.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Modifying Log Settings

Table 3-1. Events Logged by the StreetTalk File Service

Event Name Description of Event or Operation Recorded
Errors

Serious errors that may signify a shutdown or conditions, which, if not corrected, could result in a serious degradation of performance or an inaccessible file service.
Warnings Warnings.
Security Violations ARL security violations.
Connects/Disconnects Users connecting to and disconnecting to the service.
File Opens Opening files.
File Closes Closing files.
File Reads Reading files.
File Writes Writing to files.
Other File Operations Other file operations, such as getting attributes, locking files, or searching for files.
File/Directory Deletes Deleting files or directories.
File/Directory Renames Renaming files or directories.
Directories Any directory operations.
Other Disk Operations Other disk operations, such as getting disk attributes.
ARL Operations Accessing or modifying ARLs.
SMB Level Operations SMB operations. SMB is the protocol that is used by workstations to access file services.
Note:
Enabling this option slows the file service considerably.
Debugging Info Debugging information at the lowest level.

To Modify Event Log Settings

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Log Settings property sheet for the file service.

2. Do one of the following:

- From the Available window on the right, select events to record in the log and click Add. The events selected appear in the Logged window on the left.

- Click Add All to record all events.

- From the Logged window on the left, select events you no longer want to record in the log and click Remove. The events selected appear in the Available window on the right.

- Click Remove All to eliminate logging.

3. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the share close. The StreetTalk Explorer browser appears.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Modifying the Access Rights List (ARL) Option

Specifying an ARL option
Specifying ARLs for files and directories

Setting the Access Rights List Option for a File Service

Single ARL
Directory-Level ARL
File-Level ARL

Note: For file services mapped to CD-ROM drives or other drives with removeable media, it is recommended that you set the ARL option to Single. When you set ARLs for a file service, the ARL for each file or directory is stored in the ARL database. If you set ARLs for a disk and then replace it with another disk, the ARL database can no longer match access rights to the new directory structure, resulting in unpredictable access and inefficient ARL processing.

To Modify the ARL Option for a File Service

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Options property sheet for the file service.

2. From the ARL Option drop-down list box, select one of the following ARL options to apply the StreetTalk file service:

- Single ARL

- Directory-Level[default]

- File-Level

3. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Modifying the User Limit

Specifying a User Limit for the Connection

To Modify the User Limit for a File Service

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Advanced property sheet for the file service.

2. In the User Limit text box, enter the new user limit.

3. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close. The StreetTalk Explorer browser appears.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Converting the Share Type of a File Service

To Convert a Single Share File Service to a Group Share File Service

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for a single share file service.

2. Click Convert to Group Share. You are prompted to confirm that you want to convert the existing StreetTalk file service to a group file service.

3. Click OK. A window listing the share points configured for the group share appears, displaying a share point with the name SHARE. The path for this default share point is the same as the path for the original single directory share. Modify the default name and path as necessary.

4. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish.

Converting Group Share File Services to Single Share File Services

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for a group share file service.

2. Right-click the share point that you want to use as the single directory share, and select Convert from the context menu.

You are prompted to confirm that you want to erase all existing share points and set the default path to the path specified for the selected share.

3. Click OK. All share points, except the selected one, are deleted, and the share is converted to a single share.

4. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Proceed to another configuration task or click OK to finish..

Modifying Share Points in a Group Share File Service

Add and remove share points
Modify share point names
Modify the path of a share point

Adding Share Points to a Group Share

To Add a Share Point to a Group Share

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for the file service and do one of the following:

- Right-click the window displaying the share points and select New from the Context menu.

- Press INSERT.

2. The cursor appears beside a new icon in the Name column of the window. The default path is C: and the default drive type is Fixed.

3. Enter a name for the new share point. Share point names are limited to 8 characters.

4. Specify a path for the share point by doing one of the following:

- Enter a new drive letter and path at the cursor.

- Click the browse button to the right of the current path. The Select Directory dialog box appears. Choose a drive and directory, and click OK.

The drive icon and drive type designation change to reflect the type of drive specified.

To Rename a Share Point

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for the file service.

2. Right-click the share point to rename, and select Modify, Share from the Context menu. The share point name is highlighted.

3. Type the new share point name and press ENTER.

4. Do one of the following for the new name to take effect:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Create additional share points or click OK to finish.

Users see the new name the next time they access the file service.

To Modify the Path of a Share Point

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares page for the file service and right click the share point to modify.

2. From the context menu that appears, point to Modify and select Path. The share point path is highlighted.

3. Specify a path for the share point by doing one of the following:

- Enter a new drive letter and path at the cursor.

- Click the browse button to the right of the current path. The Select Directory dialog box appears. Choose a drive and directory and click OK.

4. Do one of the following for the new name to take effect:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button becomes grayed out. Modify additional share points or proceed to another configuration task. Click OK to close the property sheets for this file service.

Deleting a Share Point

You no longer want Banyan clients to share the data in the corresponding Windows NT directory
The drive for this share point is no longer available
You no longer want the contents of the directory associated with the other information in the group share

Note: You cannot delete the last share point in a group share.

To Delete a Share Point

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Shares property sheet for a group share file service.

2. Select the name one or more share points to delete and do one of the following:

- Right-click the name of the share point, and select Delete from the Context menu that appears.

- Click DELETE.

You are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the share point.

3. Click Yes. The share point is deleted.

4. Do one of the following:

- Click OK. The property sheets for the file service close.

- Click Apply. The Apply button is dimmed. Modify additional share points or click OK to finish.

Temporarily Disconnecting Users from a Share

Note: If you disconnect a user from VINES Files, the user's workstation broadcasts for a new VINES Files service, and may not automatically reconnect to the service it was using before the connection was lost.

To Disconnect Users from a Share

1. In StreetTalk Explorer, open the Users property sheet for the file service.

2. Do one of the following:

- To disconnect individual users, select the users to disconnect. Right-click, and select Disconnect from the Context menu.

- To disconnect all users, right click anywhere within the users window. From the context menu that appears, select Disconnect All.

The selected users are temporarily disconnected.

Managing Directories and Files in a File Service

Listing contents of a directory
Copying files and directories and their attributes
Creating new files and directories
Deleting files and directories
Renaming files and directories

Table 3-2 Access Required to Perform File and Directory Operations

OPERATION

Type of Access Required
File Directory
COPY a file none SRW
COPY a directory* RW SRW
Create a file RW SRW
Create a directory none W
Delete a file none SRWD
Delete a directory none SRWD
Rename a file none SRW
Rename a directory none SRW
View files/directories none SR
*If the directory is empty, no file rights are required, and only RW rights are required on the parent directory.

Using DOS and OS/2 Commands with File Services

The attributes for the directory and file permit the type of access requested
The user has the access rights required to perform the necessary operation on the target file, directory, or file service

Listing the Contents of a Directory

Renaming Files

Note: The DOS RENAME command renames files on a network drive differently than it does on a local workstation drive. On a local drive, the RENAME command aborts if it encounters a file that matches the destination template. On a network drive, the command renames all files that it can before displaying an error message if it encounters duplicate names. That is, the command continues on error and renames all the files that it can.

Creating Directories on File Services

Table 3-3. Methods for Creating Directories and Folders

Workstation type Tool for Creating Directories
All client types MKDIR command.
OS/2, Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51 Create Directory in File Manager
Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4.x New Folder in Windows Explorer

Copying Files into StreetTalk File Directories

Table 3-4. Methods for Loading Files on StreetTalk File Services

Workstation type Tool for Loading Files
All client types VINES VCOPY command
DOS or OS/2 DOS COPY command
Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51 Drag source files to the target directory in File Manager
Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4.x Windows Explorer

Using the Banyan VCOPY Command

Copying Attributes

Table 3-5. Access Rights Needed for VCOPY

File Service Component Access Rights Required
Root directory of file service Search
Parent directories Search
Source directory Search and Read
Source file Read
Existing target directory Search, Read, and Write
Existing target file Read and Write

Caution: If you start to copy a large number of directories and files, you cannot abort the copy without rebooting. Only those files that had been copied before the reboot are copied.

VCOPY Command Syntax

VCOPY source-pathname [destination-pathname] [/A] [/E] [/O] [/P] [/S] [/HELP]

Table 3-6. VCOPY Parameters

Use To Notes
source-pathname Specify the DOS name of the file (or group of files) that is the source of the copy. Enter a drive letter, path, or file name for the source pathname. If source is a group of files, indicate group with wildcards.
destination-path Specify the DOS name of the destination, or target, file name of the copy. If you omit a destination path name, the default is the current directory. If file names are omitted or if *.* is specified, the source file names are used. When you specify a destination pathname, a prompt asks you to specify if the destination is a file or a directory. See "Example: To Copy a Directory Using Switches" later in this chapter. If the destination pathname ends with a backslash (\), the prompt does not appear.
/A Copy the Access Rights List (ARL) associated with the source file to the target file.  
/E Copy all directories, including empty directories. Always use the /E switch in conjunction with the /S switch.
/O Bypass the prompt "File exists, do you want to overwrite? Y/N" that appears if you omit this switch and the specified destination file already exists. Use the /O switch with care, as you might overwrite a file by mistake.
/P Use this switch if you copy multiple files and need to interrupt the process. Receive a prompt before each file is copied.
/S Copy all subdirectories and their contents. If you omit the /S switch, VCOPY copies only the contents of the specified directory and does not copy the subdirectories or their contents.
/HELP Display the VCOPY syntax and a definition of each switch. This same text appears if you make a mistake in syntax when entering the command.

How to Use the VCOPY Command

Copy a file to an existing directory
Copy a file to a new directory
Copy a directory with switches
Copy a directory to the root of another file service
Use the VCOPY Command menu

Copying Files with VCOPY

1. Enter:

vcopy f:\user\old_file.exe h:\public\new_file.exe

The following message appears:

Does new_file.exe specify a directory (D) or a file name (F) on the target?

2. Enter F. VCOPY copies the file old_file.exe in the f:\user directory and names the copy new_file.exe in the h:\public directory.

1. Enter:

vcopy f:\user\my_file.exe \newuser.

The following message appears:

Does NEWUSER specify a directory (D) or a file name (F) on the target?

2. Enter D to create the new directory. VCOPY copies the file my_file.exe to the newuser directory that it has created. The copy keeps the same file name.

If you enter F, VCOPY does not create a new directory; instead, it copies the file my_file.exe to the file called newuser within the user directory.

Preserving ARLs When Copying Files

Copying Directories with VCOPY

Enter:

vcopy f:\user\applica*.* h:\public\*.* /e /p /s.

VCOPY copies everything within the f:\user directory matching applica*.*, including files, directories, and empty subdirectories, to the h:\public directory and prompts you before copying each file.

To copy the directory \mydir to the root directory of another StreetTalk file service, enter:

vcopy s:\mydir p: /s.

VCOPY copies all files and subdirectories in the directory s: and places the destination files in the root of the file service assigned to drive p (p:\). VCOPY does not create the directory mydir in the root of the other file service.

Using the VCOPY Command Menu

CHANGE source - Lets you enter and change the source file or directory.
CHANGE destination - Lets you enter and change the destination file or directory.
SELECT options - Lets you select copy options.

Note: You must first enter a source file or directory before you enter a destination file or directory.

To Use the VCOPY Command Menu

1. From a PC on the network, enter VCOPY at the command prompt. The VCOPY Command menu appears.

2. Choose CHANGE source. The cursor moves to the bottom half of the screen and a new function key template appears at the bottom of the menu. Table 3-7 describes these keys.

Table 3-7. Changing Pathname Function Keys

Press To
F5 Display the Select Pathname screen
F10 Return to the options at the top of the menu
ESC Return to the command prompt

3. Select a source pathname by either:

- Entering the pathname and pressing F10.

- Pressing F5 and choosing a pathname from the Select Pathname screen. Use the arrow keys to highlight the pathname and press ENTER.

The VCOPY Command menu displays the source pathname you choose in the Source field. CHANGE destination is highlighted.

4. Press ENTER. Choose a destination pathname by either:

- Entering the pathname and pressing F10.

- Pressing F5 and choosing a pathname from the Select Pathname screen. Use the arrow keys to highlight the pathname and press ENTER.

The VCOPY Command menu displays the destination pathname you selected in the Destination field. SELECT options is highlighted.

5. After selecting the source and destination, do one of the following:

- Choose SELECT options to set switches. Move the cursor to the desired switch and press ENTER. An asterisk (*) appears next to the enabled switch. The ENTER key toggles the selection of a switch on and off. You can set more than one switch. Press F10 to execute VCOPY. A message appears confirming the copy.

- Press F10 to execute VCOPY. A message appears confirming the copy.

6. Press ESC to return to the command prompt.

Renaming a File Service

Viewing Service Status

Viewing StreetTalk File Log Reports

Monitoring Service Disk Usage

Backing Up StreetTalk File Services

C:\Program Files\Banyan\File\Data

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