[OpenAFS] Openafs-Client and Windows

[Thomas Niedermeier]

Hello List,

we are using AFS as one of our central Filesystems for our
UNIX/Linux-people. Our Windows-people using the OPEN-AFS Client 1.2.6 to
get access to afs. Now we run in some problems with the windows-client.
Most of the problems are the result of a Design Failure of the client. I
noticed that most of the developers are Unix-guys and have less or no
idea how windows works in an multiuser-environment. So here are
something from an windows-admin:

Problems:

-Multiuser on a single machine don=B4t works correct
We use W2k and have some machines with differnt users. User A logs in
and maps some drives and works under afs. User A logs off. User B logs
in and gets the drivemappings of user A. He has no access to the files,
but why he must get the drives mapping. The Problem is the afsdsbmt.ini.
The clients stores in the second chapter [AFS Mappings] the mappings of
the last users. Why must this information kept there? This is a
user-specific information and have to be stored in the profile or in the
registry under Hkey_Current User. Some parts are already stored there
([HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network]), but only half of the truth.


-Roaming Profiles on w2k-prof:
For the guys who don=B4t know roaming profiles: In windows every user who=

logs in gets his own profile. It consists of two parts, the registry
(HKEY_CURRENT_USER) and files (c:\document and settings\userid). When
the user logs out the profile is coppied to a central servershare. When
the user moves to another machine he get=B4s his profile back from the
server and can work on with his personal settings.

Problem with AFS-Client:
The client stores some Inforamtion about the drivemapping k: in the
Registry:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network\K]
"RemotePath"=3D"\\\\W2KTSRV2-AFS\\auto1"
You find here the hostname. Very bad thing. As I travel between several
computers this will be never correct. Also auto1 will not be defined
correct on another machine as it is defined locally in afsdsbmt.ini. =



-Terminalserver
We also installed the Client on a Terminalserver, very crazy but we did
and survived, but ..
once a week the afs-service crashes. The client says the service is
running but it don=B4t work. OK, I restart the service and then we can go=

on. This would not be the big thing. But, it crashes also my
Citrix-Service and then nobody can logon. It=B4s not good.


-Terminalserver and Roaming Profiles
As I read before in the list from October 2002, there is problem with
unloading profiles. We also have this problem. Once a week a profile of
my user will not be written back and informations and even some file got
lost. We found a workaround to avoid loss of files, but user settings in
the ntuser.dat are lost.


Possible solutions to discuss:

-no program, except the OS has to write under c:\winnt!!
I don=B4t understand why the client must have .ini files there? Put
afsdcell.ini, afsd_init.log ... into c:\programs\openafs\.


-The inforamtions in the afsdsbmt.ini are user specific. Every user must
have his own version of this file. In afsdsbmt.ini are stored personal
drivemappings and AFSsubmounts. You can move this file into the Profile
of each user or into the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER.


Greetings
Thomas


e-mail: Thomas.Niedermeier@lrz.de