CIFS troubleshooting on CentOS 5.2

[benarrayx]

Hi there, I have Alfresco 3.2r2 setup on a server in the cloud, I'm trying to get CIFS running but without much success.

Let's say for example that my domain is alfresco.test.com. Please can anyone help with giving me the correct configuration for the server? I've been using this document for configuration: http://wiki.alfresco.com/w/images/6/62/Installing_and_Configuring_Alfresco_ECM_Community_Edition_3_2..., specifically the "Configuring SMB/CIFS server" section, but I'm unclear as to what values I should be using in which file.

If anybody could give me clear instructions as to how to configure Alfresco to get this working, or point me at such instructions, I'd really appreciate it. Eg.

1. Configure file x on server using these properties as relating to a CIFS server in the cloud hosted on alfresco.test.com.
2. Attempt to map a Network drive in Windows using this url.

I'm also unclear as to whether I need to do any port / routing configuration on the server, I've seen references in forum posts to these but not in any formal docs. The server is not behind any firewall.

AHA, Ben

[gronfelt]

I'm not really sure what you mean by "a server in the cloud" and what implications that may have on your setup, but the standard setup of CIFS is pretty simple:

1. Copy the file tomcat/webapps/alfresco/WEB-INF/classes/alfresco/subsystems/fileServers/default/file-servers-context.xml
to tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/subsystems/fileServers/default/default/custom-file-servers-context.xml.

2. Add your CIFS settings to tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco-global.properties, you could look in tomcat/webapps/alfresco/WEB-INF/classes/alfresco/subsystems/fileServers/default/file-servers.properties for the available options, but the only ones you really need for a basic setup is:

cifs.enabled=true
cifs.serverName=${localname}A
‍‍‍

(Of course, you could change serverName to something else if you like, with that setting the server name will be your hostname with an A at the end.)

Now, if you restart Alfresco you should be able to reach your server ont the adress \\your-hostname in Windows. Be aware though that CIFS uses some ports that are normally not open in firewalls, for good reason, since the protocol could not be used safely across the internet. But if your client machine is on the same network that shouldn't be any problem.

[benarrayx]

Hi gronfelt, sorry, what I meant by "in the cloud" is that the site is being hosted on the internet external to the network. The problem is that the business has disparate offices around the world, not connected by any network infrastructure apart from the internet and we're implementing Alfresco to help tie up the business information management together. Therefore the Alfresco server has to be on the internet, hence the problems I'm getting with setting up the CIFS server.

So, what I'm looking for is some help configuring CIFS in this context. However, I've seen that many of the NetBIOS ports are being used, so you may be correct that this wouldn't be the best setup in this environment.

However, we really need to get Windows Explorer integration working in some respect to gain the business benefits of installing Alfresco - what would be the best alternative if CIFS is not secure strategy?

Many thanks for the help, Ben

[gronfelt]

You could of course use another protocol, preferably WebDAV, which could use https. However, my experience is that there's mixed client support in Windows for WebDAV, on some machines/versions it works as intended, while not on others. There are some better clients than the included, such as Netdrive, which I've used with good results. However, that adds a cost per client, since the software is not free.

Another approach is to use CIFS, but encapsulate it in a secure protocol, either by setting up a VPN solution (such as OpenVPN) or by using a SSH tunnel.

[benarrayx]

Hi gronfelt, many thanks for your help, in the end we're going to go with WebDAV. I'll investigate NetDrive since Vista / Windows 7 seem to have problems with WebDAV and Basic Auth.

Cheers, Ben