Appendix C

Troubleshooting

Here are the answers to some frequently asked and particular questions.

FTP

Is there any way that the FTP can be configured to execute a script to automatically copy an entire directory from the host back to the PC?

It is impossible in the Point-and-Click mode (graphical interface). In the Command Line mode (text interface), you can:

• Create all necessary subdirectories (tree) at the local side;
• Run the mget DIR command where DIR is the name of the directory.

In this case, all files from DIR and its subdirectories on the remote host will be copied to the current directory and its corresponding subdirectories on the local host.

But the best way to copy a directory with its subdirectories from a remote host to your PC is turning on the Include Subdirectories check box in the Copying Directory dialog box.

Can your FTP client make use of ELPF?

Yes it can. nfsAxe's FTP client automatically recognizes 'anonftpd', a secure FTP server supported EPLF.

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) supports two commands that list files: NLST and LIST. The NLST response is easy to parse but provides very little information. The LIST response provides more information, but in a format that varies from system to system. The most common LIST formats are undocumented and impossible to parse reliably.

Easily Parsed LIST Format (EPLF) is a format for the LIST response that is usable by humans yet easy for programs to handle. This format is supported by 'anonftpd', a secure FTP server.

One visible advantage of EPLF is that a browser can easily display dates in the viewer's time zone and native language.

An EPLF server must respond to "LIST filename" with information about that file and no others, even if that file is a directory. A client that wants an EPLF list of the contents of a directory must first CWD to that directory. A client that merely wants a list of file names in a different directory may use NLST.

There are some problems with 'special' Unix file names.

FTP can choose the remote host's OS type (DOS, Unix, etc.). This gets FTP to 'understand' file names of the remote host's directory. To choose the OS type on the remote host, you may use the Server Types Option.

Problem: I need to be able to run an ftp command from a command-line that initiates a "PASSIVE" ftp connection. Is this possible with your product?

Yes, nfsAxe's FTP supports the PASSIVE ftp connection mode. You can check the Passive Transfers check box on the Settings tab of the main FTP window before clicking the Connect button. (See section Transfer Options in chapter FTP.)

You can add the following line to the [FTP] section of the xwp.ini file

Passive=1

to reflect the Passive Transfers option turned on or

Passive=0

to reflect the Passive Transfers option turned off.

You can create two ini-files for FTP: one with Passive=0 and another with Passive=1.

You can launch FTP with the command line parameter:

PATH\ftp.exe -xini <IniFilePath>

where <IniFilePath> specifies a full path to a specific ini-file and PATH indicates your nfsAxe home directory.

NFS-Server

It seemed like my FTP server conflicted with your NFS-Server. I am using WarFTP server. Is there a known conflict between these two products?

As we know, WarFTP usually runs the 'portmapper' service daemon. You may check this by using the 'netstat –a' command.

If you see the TCP and/or UDP 'LISTEN' socket with '111' port number, then portmapper is active.

If you see also the 'LISTEN' socket(s) with '2049' port number, then you have NFS-Server active (already!).

The third important thing is the presence of the mountd 'LISTEN' socket(s). This service does not have a constant port number (it may be 1058, but not always).

Please also run the 'rpcinfo -p YourPC' command (where YourPC is the hostname or IP address of your PC with WarFTP) on any machine with UNIX-like system (Solaris, LINUX, AIX, OS/2). This command will show you all services that are registered in your WarFTP's portmapper.

If you see the 'mountd' and do not see 'nfs' registered in the portmapper, then you can simultaneously use our NFS-Server with WarFTP. Simply run it as 'nfs_serv.exe -ExternalPortmapper'.

Before disabling WarFTP, please try to run our NFS-Server with the 'nfs_serv.exe -ExternalPortmapper' command. If you obtain problems, then you need to disable somehow the WarFTP's portmapper to use our NFS-Server.

In any case, you should worry if you see the TCP and/or UDP 'LISTEN' socket with '111' port number before you run our NFS-Server.

I installed NFS-Server and set "NFS User Access" to 'any-host, any-user, any-group can read/write'. After mounting the PC-local-disk (C:\temp) on the Linux-file-system (/usr1/temp), I (not root-user) can read the PC-files. But I cannot write (and create) any file on the NFS-mounted disk. Only the root-user can write files. We use "RedHat 6.0" Linux.

There are two ways to specify "User ID" and "Group ID":

1) One recommended for "RedHat 6.0" Linux:

• Mount a PC-local-disk (as root-user)
• Change directory to the mount point
• Run command 'chown -R <User ID>:<Group ID> <mount point>' (for example, 'chown -R root:wheel /usr1/temp')

2) One recommended for Solaris.

To set up the UID and GID that the (Solaris) nfs-client will see, you can edit the export.us file (in the nfsAxe home directory). For example, the following lines:

d:\mnt\ 2603 1003 W 0
=>192.168.136.* 65535 65535 0

indicate that any host from the sub-network 192.168.136.* will be able to mount to 'd:\mnt', and UID and GID will be 2603 and 1003 after mounting (only digits are allowed here, not names. You can determine this by using the command 'id' on the UNIX box). By default, UID=0 and GID=0 (i.e. root).

You should use UID and GID only known to a UNIX host.

How can I control the file mode? Can I set or reset the 'system', 'archive', or 'hidden' attribute of MS Windows file (and directory) by using UNIX commands?

Unfortunately, the FAT file system does not support permissions similar to UNIX permissions (i.e. 'Read/Write/Execute' for 'user/group/world'). While writing files from UNIX to MS Windows, NFS-Server applies the following rules:

You can set/reset attributes by using UNIX commands. And so you can set up attributes of MS Windows file (for example, the command 'chmod +x <file name>' will produce the 'hidden' <file> on the MS Windows box).

How to run your NFS Server as a MS Windows XP service?

• Running NFS Server as a Service in MS Windows 2000/XP
  

  Login to MS Windows XP as Administrator and install the nfsAxe package and license file as per instructions.

  Note: Before running NFS Server as a MS Windows XP Service, you should run the following command to configure your exports of the NFS Server.

  In the Open field of the Start/Run window, enter the following command

  "PATH\nfs_serv.exe" -RunAsSettings
  or
  "PATH\nfs_ss.exe" -RunAsSettings

  and click OK to configure your exports. PATH indicates your nfsAxe home directory.

  You should test that you have configured NFS Server to operate successfully in the Normal mode before attempting to run it as a MS Windows Service.

  
  
• Creating the NFS Server Service
  

  In the Open field of the Start/Run window, enter the following command

  "PATH\nfs_ss.exe" -install

  and click OK to install NFS Server as a Windows Service.

  
  
• Defining the NFS Server Service's Properties
  
  1. Open the Services window.
     

     To open Services, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Services.

  2. In the Services window, scroll down to XWP NFS Server, right-click on the service, and then click Properties.
     
     
  3. On the General tab in the XWP NFS Server Properties window, set Startup type to Automatic.
     
     
  4. On the Log On tab, set the account field to .\Administrator.
     

     We prefer to choose the default option, i.e. the Local System account radio button, which is a powerful account that has full access to the system. If a service logs on to the Local System account on a domain controller, that service has access to the entire domain.

  5. On the Recovery tab, click the actions you want to take place when a service fails in First attempt, Second attempt, and Subsequent attempts (e.g., set First failure and Second failure to Restart the Service).
     

     If you select Run a File, do not specify programs or scripts that require user input.
     If you select Reboot the Computer, you can specify how long to wait before restarting the computer by clicking Reboot Computer Information.
     You can also create a message to display to remote users before the computer restarts.

     We prefer to choose the default option, Take no Action, for all the failures (First, Second, and Subsequent).

  6. Leave the Dependencies tab unchanged.
     

     The top list on the Dependencies tab identifies the other services that must be running for the selected service to function.
     The bottom list on the Dependencies tab identifies the services that require the selected service to be running so they can function.

  7. Click OK to save your settings and close the XWP NFS Server Properties window.
  
  
  
• Making the MS Windows Firewall settings
  

  You must resolve access to NFS Server for MS Windows Firewall (this is particularly actual for MS Windows XP Service Pack 2).

  1. Run MS Windows Firewall by clicking
     Start/Control Panel/Network and Internet Connections/Windows Firewall
     
     
  2. Open the Exceptions tab
     
     
  3. Choose Add program...
     
     
  4. Enter a path name for the NFS Server executable file (PATH indicates your nfsAxe home directory):
     

     "PATH\nfs_ss.exe"

  5. Click OK.