CIFS: How to activate, how to use?

[andreaspiening]

Hi,

I installed the linux-x86-installer of "Alfresco 2.0 Cummunity Edition" to check if it is usefull for me. I can access my Alfresco-installation from the web at port 8080.

One of the most interesting features for me is the ability to access the Alfresco-content via CIFS. But I don't know how to get it to work or how I can use it, so here are my questions:

I have a active SAMBA-Server running on the machine where Alfresco is installed, is this possible or is this a blocker to the CIFS-system of Alfresco?
What do I need to activate the CIFS support, or is it active by default?
I started Alfresco with /opt/Alfresco/alf_start.sh, is there anything else to start?
I use MacosX and Linux-Machines to access Alfresco, both are well known to support CIFS, so will it work?

Ah and I red the documentation hosted on http://hosted4.alfresco.com/alfresco/faces/jsp/browse/browse.jsp, but the part about CIFS is really short and the only hint I found is for Windoze-Clients only 😞

Thank you for your hints!

Andreas

[sdavis139]

I have a active SAMBA-Server running on the machine where Alfresco is installed, is this possible or is this a blocker to the CIFS-system of Alfresco?
What do I need to activate the CIFS support, or is it active by default?
I started Alfresco with /opt/Alfresco/alf_start.sh, is there anything else to start?
I use MacosX and Linux-Machines to access Alfresco, both are well known to support CIFS, so will it work?

Using Mac and Linux is fine to access Alfresco (use the same here)… alf_start.sh is perfect.  You will also want to checkout http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/File_Server_Configuration#SMB.2FCIFS_Server_Configuration to change port settings and avoid conflicts with your existing services.  I'm not 100% sure if you can still have another SAMBA server up-and-running at the same time, but if so you'll definitely have to alter these settings.

Finally, for Mac-specific tips be sure to review http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Installing_on_MacOS_X#Using_the_CIFS_Server

[andreaspiening]

Hi sdavis139,

thank you very much for your quick and professional answer! It works like a charm for me. I stopped my local samba server and can use the Alfresco-CIFS-share now, I will try if it works together with my samba-server.

I found two files called "__CheckInOut.exe" and "__ShowDetails.exe" in every folder of the CIFS share. I can't execute the .exe files from linux or even macosx (maybe with wine?) and I get file locking problems when I open a file directly from the share with OpenOffice. How can I check-in and -out from non-windoze-systems like MacOSX for instance?

Thank you in advance,

Andreas

[alexandra]

Hi sdavis139,

I found two files called "__CheckInOut.exe" and "__ShowDetails.exe" in every folder of the CIFS share. I can't execute the .exe files from linux or even macosx (maybe with wine?) and I get file locking problems when I open a file directly from the share with OpenOffice. How can I check-in and -out from non-windoze-systems like MacOSX for instance?

Andreas

I have discussed this issue with the Alfresco team and as I understood it these feature is unfortunately unavailable for non-windows CIFS-client as of now. They are aware of the problem and have done some thinking on how to implement similar feature in Mac OS X/Linux. However, it does not seem to be on the roadmap now. I would recommend voicing some interest about it so they know there are more people wanting it. I will try to look through the JIRA database to see if this has been registered as a feature request….otherwise that should be done as well.

I updated the instructions for installation on Mac OS X today. It is sometimes not straightforward if you want all features of Alfresco running but I think I am pretty close right now. Please add or comment in the wiki if you have any suggestions for improvement. We need to make sure people actually can install on Mac OS X within the hour at least. Hopefully we will have a packaged installer for Mac OS X as well during this year.

[sweetshadow]

I will try if it works together with my samba-server.

Hi,

do you have some news about it? I'm in the same situation & I'm really interested in knowing a way for samba & alfresco's cifs to work together

thanks

[jozef_sovcik]

I found two files called "__CheckInOut.exe" and "__ShowDetails.exe" in every folder of the CIFS share.

Cant't these file be marked as "system" and "hidden", so normal users will not see them at all?

:idea:  I assume these are just "fake" files, not real objects stored 100x in the repository, so I assume the process which is responsible for putting it there can also make them hidden