Release Notes

NOTE:
– The feature must be enabled on both sides (server and client).
– The feature applies to files of sizes between 64 KB and 256 MB.
• SMBv2 sparse files – Adds support for SMBv2 sparse files. When sparse file functionality is enabled
and the application uses the functionality, the system does not allocate hard disk drive space to a file
except in regions where it contains nonzero data. When a write operation is attempted where a large
amount of the data in the buffer is zeros, the zeros are not written to the file. Instead, the file system
creates an internal list containing the locations of the zeros in the file, and this list is used during all
read operations. When a read operation is performed in areas of the file where zeros were located,
the file system returns the appropriate number of zeros in the buffer allocated for the read operation.
In this way, maintenance of the sparse file is transparent to all processes that access it, and is more
efficient than compression in this case.
NOTE:
– Sparse files are not supported when using SMBv1.
– NDMP does not support sparse files. NDMP backs up and restores files with zeros instead of
converting them to sparse files.
• SMBv2 symbolic links – Adds support for SMB symbolic links using the Windows command mklink. A
symbolic link is a special type of file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form
of an absolute or relative path and that affects path-name resolution. Symbolic links operate
transparently for most operations: Programs that read or write to files named by a symbolic link
behave as if they were operating directly on the target file. The link contains a text string that is
automatically interpreted and followed by the operating system as a path to another file or directory.
Local file-system symbolic links are available in NTFS starting with Windows Vista and Windows Server
2008, but the symbolic links over SMB are available only with SMBv2.
NOTE:
– NDMP backs up the link only. It does not back up the data to which the link is redirecting.
– Following wide links (the SMB implementation of redirection folders) is disabled by default on
Windows clients, and can be enabled with an AD GPO or locally with the fsutil command.
The command fsutil behavior query SymLinkEvaluation will show whether the wide links are
enabled.
Data Protection
• Third-party auditing software support (includes auditing for SMB and NFS) – When enabled, notifies
the administrator when both systemwide file-access auditing configuration is enabled and the file
operation matches any active (enabled) preconfigured file-access notification policy for the volume.
Auditing events are generated after permissions check for the file operation and before the actual
execution of the operation.
– Quest Change Auditor – Enables auditing of the SMB protocol only, starting with this release.
• Two-way NDMP backup (Direct NDMP) – Enables directly attaching FC tape to the FC switch used by
FluidFS, and not through a DMA server. The backup data is transferred directly across Fibre Channel to
the attached backup target without traveling across the LAN. Only the backup control data travels
across the LAN from the NDMP client with backup software.
NOTE:
– iSCSI solutions do not support this feature.
– Direct connection to a single controller is not supported.
• NDMP include/exclude path – Adds the ability to include or exclude certain paths for NDMP backup
and restore operations. When you define a backup using DMA, you can select specific directories
from the virtual NAS volume to include in, or exclude from, NDMP backup jobs.
Dell FluidFS Version 5.0 Release Notes
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