Chapter 5 - Sharing Files and Applications
Native VINES file services let you store and share files created by DOS, OS/2, and Macintosh workstations.
This chapter discusses sharing files and applications in a mixed environment that includes these different workstations. It describes where files and applications are stored on a VINES network and how to access VINES file volumes.
Where Files Are Stored in the Network
In a VINES network, files are stored in file volumes, which are large partitions on a disk in a VINES server. A file volume is similar to a locally attached fixed disk in that it contains the files and applications you use in your work. File volumes, however, typically have a much greater storage capacity and are shared among a group of users.
Accessing files and applications in a network drive is similar to accessing them on a workstation's local drive. Just as you would use the drive designator C: to access your local fixed disk, you use other drive designators, such as E: or F:, to tell the system which network drive you want to work with.
Because you use drive designators to access file volumes at your workstation, file volumes are also referred to as network drives. Depending on how your system administrator configures the VINES software on your workstation, you can access up to 25 different network drives.
In a VINES network, you can use your workstation's local drives in addition to your network drives. However, you cannot use VINES to access information stored on the local drives of another user's workstation.
Your system administrator sets up the file volumes needed by your group and assigns a StreetTalk name to each one for easy identification. The administrator also sets access rights to the file volumes, securing information within the volumes so that only designated users have access to it.
Example Using Network Drives
In Figure 5-1, both Duncan Fraser in the Sales Department and Courtney Bryan in the Marketing Department can access Sales Files@Sal@WCTUS and Mkt Files@Sal@WCTUS, which are located on the server disk on the server Sales Server. However, Duncan cannot access the files located on Courtney's hard drive, nor can she access his.
The rest of this section describes how to access the different file volumes specified in your user profile and how to access directories and subdirectories within a file volume.
You need access to certain file volumes whenever you log in to the network. Your system administrator specifies these file volumes and assigns drive designators to these file volumes in your user profile.
As discussed in Chapter 2, the system displays a summary of your user profile when you log in. This display includes your file volume assignments.
Example Accessing File Volumes
If Duncan Fraser's system administrator specified two file volumes in his user profile, his system displays the file volume assignments when he logs in:
Drive E:=> Correspondence@Sal@WCTUS
Drive F:=> Reports@Mkt@WCTUS
When Duncan types E: at his workstation, he gains access to the files in the volume Correspondence@Sal@WCTUS. When he types F:, he gains access to the files in the volume Reports@Mkt@WCTUS.
Once your administrator specifies file volume settings in your profile, simply type the drive designator of the file volume you want to use.
The assignments in your user profile should give you the access you need to files and applications. Occasionally, however, you may need access to other file volumes. If authorized by your system administrator, use the VINES SETDRIVE program to access file volumes not specified in your user profile. SETDRIVE is described in Chapter 8.
When a file volume is first created, a single directory contains all files. This area is called the top-level directory and is designated by a single backslash (\). For example, the top-level directory for the file volume Sales Files@Sal@WCTUS is:
E:\
To organize the files in a file volume, you create one or more subdirectories under the top-level directory. Subdirectories contain files and other subdirectories. The number of files and directories you create is limited only by the space available on the file volume.
Example Accessing Subdirectories
The file volume Sales Files@Sal@WCTUS has a subdirectory Reports. To move to this directory, Duncan Fraser types:
cd reports
The system prompt displays the directory:
E:\REPORTS>
VINES uses the same directory structure as DOS and OS/2. You use DOS or OS/2 directory commands, such as CHDIR and MKDIR, to move around in a file volume and to create directories.
To identify directories and files in a VINES file volume, specify pathnames just as you do on the local fixed disk of your workstation. A pathname provides the file volume with a "map" to the file or directory you want to access.
Pathnames must follow certain formatting conventions, as discussed in Table 5-1.
The rest of this chapter describes how you manage your files in a mixed network environment of DOS, OS/2, and Macintosh workstations and share these files with other users on your network.
Even if your network consists of only DOS and OS/2 workstations, you may find this information useful.
Managing Files in a Mixed Environment
If your VINES network includes Macintosh workstations in addition to DOS and OS/2 workstations, you see immediate differences in the way files and directories are treated on each system.
This section describes the naming rules each file system requires:
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How DOS and OS/2 filenames look to Macintosh users ![]()
How Macintosh filenames look to DOS and OS/2 users ![]()
How UNIX filenames look to DOS and OS/2 users
If you create files that are shared with Macintosh users and access files created by Macintosh users, you need to know how the respective file systems keep track of filenames.
Each file system has a different set of rules for valid filenames, differing in:
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Length of name ![]()
Case sensitivity ![]()
Available character sets
What you need to know, therefore, are the naming rules for your own file system (DOS or OS/2) and the rules that Macintosh users follow.
OS/2
OS/2 can use two different file systems, the DOS File Allocation Table (FAT) file system or the High Performance File System (HPFS). The OS/2 HPFS is not supported at this time on VINES network drives.
DOS
The file system used in DOS is referred to as the File Allocation Table, or FAT file system. OS/2 can use this file system as well.
Macintosh
The file system used by the Macintosh operating system is called the Hierarchical File System, or HFS.
Table 5-2 compares the conventions used when naming files under DOS, OS/2 using the FAT file system, the Macintosh operating system, and UNIX.
AppleTalk Filing Protocol
Native VINES also supports the AppleTalk Filing Protocol (AFP) that provides support for Macintosh files shared across a network. VINES automatically creates a short name that follows DOS naming rules whenever a Macintosh user creates a file on a network file volume. On a VINES network that supports DOS, OS/2, and Macintosh users, DOS and OS/2 users see the short name at their workstations, while Macintosh users see the long name they used to create the file.
Example Creating a Short Name
If a Macintosh user on your network creates the file My Status Report, and stores the file in a directory you can access, you see the file's short name display when you enter the DIR command. If the number of characters are greater than DOS allows, VINES creates the short name by replacing spaces with an underscore (_), and inserting an exclamation point (!) followed by the first 10 characters. You see the filename !MY_STAT.US_.
If you create a file from a workstation running DOS or OS/2, name it STATUS.DOC, and store it in a directory a Macintosh user can access, the Macintosh user sees the same filename (STATUS.DOC). This is because the filename is legal under Macintosh naming rules.
If a Macintosh user on your network creates a file according to DOS naming rules, AFP creates a short name that matches the long name. For example, if the Macintosh user creates the file STATUS.DOC, you see STATUS.DOC when you list the directory.
The term all names in the rest of this chapter refers to the short DOS names and the associated long Macintosh names that may exist for a particular directory, its subdirectories, and its files.
Applications and files are stored in the VINES network. Your system administrator sets up the network so you easily access these files and share them with other users, directly from your workstation. The administrator also secures files within your group so that only designated users can access them.
VINES integrates the different file systems that DOS, OS/2, and Macintosh workstations use to let users store and share files on the same file volume. File systems are that part of the operating system software that keeps track of file:
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Names and locations ![]()
Attributes ![]()
Access rights
When sharing files with users of different workstation types and operating systems, take these differences into account.
For best results in sharing files, remember:
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Note that DOS limits pathnames to 128 characters. The DOS Shell limits pathnames to a total of 64 characters. To maintain consistent access from both systems, keep the pathnames as short as possible. ![]()
The ability to share files depends on the application. Applications that read files created by different file systems are ideal for use in this type of heterogeneous network. ![]()
Review the documentation accompanying your application before opening a file created by different file systems. ![]()
Early versions of some applications require that you use a file translation utility program to prepare a file for sharing. More recent versions of some applications let you save files in formats suitable for different file systems. ![]()
Sharing files with network applications requires compatible versions of the application on different computers. ![]()
Whether you use a file translation utility or a network version of an application, save the file in the proper format for sharing with other users. For example, if you create a file with a DOS application and want to share that file with a Macintosh user, translate or save the file in a Macintosh format before storing it on the VINES file volume. ![]()
VINES file services do not translate files. They store files and protect them from unauthorized access.
Your system administrator assigns access rights to all the file volumes on your network. Access rights are privileges that let you open, read, modify, and delete files and directories. Access rights protect your files and directories in a network environment.
Your system administrator determines which file volumes you can access on the network. Certain file volumes, directories, or files are off-limits; with others you may have limited access rights. For example, your system administrator might set up certain directories in a file volume that let you read, but not make changes to, the files within the directory.
With other directories, and with the directories you create, you have complete control in creating, modifying, and deleting directories and files.
Consult your system administrator if you have any questions regarding access rights for your files and directories. Complete information about native VINES access rights and other security issues is found in Managing VINES Security.