LSDF Online Storage: SMB / CIFS

SMB or CIFS is a network protocol providing remote shared access to files. It implements a network file system similar to NFS allowing users of the LSDF Online Storage to mount or browse their storage projects from remote clients.

Prerequisites

Please note the following requirements and restrictions when using the LSDF SMB service:

• To access the LSDF Online Storage via SMB it is required to set a service password. Please follow this link to initially set, change or delete your service password. The service password will be used to authenticate your SMB client to the LSDF Online Storage SMB service.
• SMB shares of the LSDF Online Storage are only accessible from within the KIT network or via KIT-VPN.
• Posix style file commands like chmod must not be applied on files or folders on a SMB/CIFS share. Doing so may revoke access control lists (ACLs) preventing you or your project partners from accessing the shared file system via SMB. LSDF administrators can, if requested, prevent the usage of chmod on a storage project level.

Using SMB/CIFS on Linux with the Samba Command Line Client

Linux operating system need dedicated SMB clients to access shares. SMB clients are part of the Samba implementation for Linux and other UNIX like operating systems. To access a SMB share with the Samba command line client, e.g. to list all available shaes, issue the following commands:

$ smbclient -L os.lsdf.kit.edu -U 'os.lsdf.kit.edu\xy1234' -m SMB2
Enter os.lsdf.kit.edu\xy1234's password: 
Domain=[LSDF] OS=[] Server=[]

        Sharename        Type      Comment
        ---------        ----      -------
        IPC$             IPC       IPC Service (LSDF Online Storage)
        kit              Disk      kit
        iai-projects     Disk      iai-projects
        iam-cms-projects Disk      iam-cms-projects
        scc-projects     Disk      scc-projects
        ikp-projects     Disk      ikp-projects
        ioc-projects     Disk      ioc-projects
        ifh-projects     Disk      ifh-projects
        itg-projects     Disk      itg-projects
        imk-tro-projects Disk      imk-tro-projects
        imk-asf-projects Disk      imk-asf-projects
        ifkm-projects    Disk      ifkm-projects
(...)

The smbclient program provides a FTP like set of commands to access files and directories in an interactive shell:

$ smbclient //os.lsdf.kit.edu/kit  -U 'LSDF\xy1234' -m SMB2
Enter os.lsdf.kit.edu\xy1234's password: 
Domain=[LSDF] OS=[] Server=[]
smb: \> pwd
Current directory is \\os.lsdf.kit.edu\kit\
smb: \> help

Details information on the usage of smbclient can be found in the manual.

Mounting a Remote File System on Linux (as root)

A remote SMB share can be mounted to a local directory. You do need root rights on the local system to perform the mount operation.

To mount a remote file system issue the following command:

$ mkdir /mnt/cifs
$ mount -t cifs -o vers=2.0,username='xy1234' //os.lsdf.kit.edu/inst-projects /mnt/cifs
Password for xy1234@//os.lsdf.kit.edu/inst-projects:  ********** 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ df | grep cifs
//os.lsdf.kit.edu/inst-projects          966367641600  138649829376  827717812224  15% /mnt/cifs

or

$ mount -t cifs -o vers=2.0,username='xy1234' //os.lsdf.kit.edu/kit /mnt/cifs
Password for xy1234@//os.lsdf.kit.edu/kit:  ********** 

Verify the success of the mount with the following command:

$ mount | grep cifs 
//os.lsdf.kit.edu/kit on /mnt/cifs type cifs (rw)

Using SMB/CIFS on Windows

You can use a CIFS share from a Microsoft operating system.

Adopting Universal Naming Convention (UNC) syntax

Use Windows Explorer entering the path to the share in UNC syntax:

Examples:

\\os.lsdf.kit.edu 
or
\\os.lsdf.kit.edu\kit\inst\xy1234
or
\\os.lsdf.kit.edu\inst-projects

Following the input of the UNC path, a window will pop up:
Loginname: os.lsdf.kit.edu\xy1234
Password: Service Password

Following authentication a new window pops up, showing the content of the share. You can now manipulate Your files as accustomed.

Creation of a network (pseudo) drive with Windows Explorer

To connect to a network share in Windows Explorer select the control field
Select a drive letter to be associated with the network share and enter the network path (e.g. \\os.lsdf.kit.edu\kit). Select ‘use a different identification‘, as these differ from Your credential used locally.

Instead of the domain name in KIT, which You are accustomed to, take for user xy1234 e.g.: os.lsdf.kit.edu\xy1234. Use the dedicated service password instead of Your KIT Domain password.

External Links

• Service password management
• Samba command line client (smbclient) manual page