4 Connectivity Model (continued) Advantage: NFS is distributed as an extension to most versions of the UNIX operating system. Advantage: CIFS is native operating system technology in Windows 98/95, NT and Windows for Workgroups. Loading a CIFS server on any UNIX host on the network makes all network resources available to users (provided they have permission to use them).
5 Connectivity Model (continued) Disadvantage: Requiring NFS to be loaded on each PC in the network is time consuming for the System Administrator (20-30 minutes per PC to load & configure), and adds system overhead to the PC as well as the network. Also, NFS requires an invasive, kernel level installation on each PC. Even more problematic, on-going maintenance and updates must continue to be installed on each PC.
NFS CIFS (SMB)
6 Performance Issues NFS is available in almost as many variations as UNIX itself. Each vendor who supplies NFS as an extension to their UNIX operating system or as an add-on to work with their TCP/IP stack, generally provides an NFS solution that is optimized based on their view of how their NFS product will be used by customers. Therefore, it is difficult to make sweeping statements about the performance of NFS as a technology without discussing individual implementations. To be sure, most are adequate for the purposes of file and printer sharing. However, NFS does have some limiting characteristics regardless of vendor implementation: CIFS was developed as part of the networking architecture of the Windows operating system by Microsoft. CIFS (or SMB) has been included in all versions of Windows and has become the new standard for cross-platform connectivity. When CIFS is added to a UNIX server, all of its resources become transparently available to each PC user on the network. Using a CIFS server as opposed to NFS clients does address some of the performance limiting factors of NFS:
7 Performance Issues (continued) PC Resources: All NFS solutions require that NFS be loaded on each PC in the network. This creates a resource issue for System Administrators because very few users can install and configure NFS for themselves. Since NFS is required to run on the PC, it also affects PC system resources by requiring additional CPU cycles, memory & disk resources. PC Resources: Since no additional software is required on the PC, the system administrator’s primary task is to load and configure the CIFS server on the UNIX system. In most implementations, this requires about 10-20 minutes, or roughly the time required to load NFS on a single PC. A significant difference to a system administrator with hundreds of networked PCs. While the TCP/IP network must still be configured on the PC, this is a relatively easy task done with native Windows software.
8 Performance Issues (continued) Synchronous: Most NFS implementations use a Synchronous data transfer method. This means that only one write operation can be accomplished at a time. Each write operation must be completed before another can begin. Asynchronous: CIFS allows for Asynchronous writes, meaning that multiple disk writes can be requested simultaneously.
9 Performance Issues (continued) Reliability: Customers of PC-based NFS networks have long complained of PC and network “lockups.” Reliability: The CIFS network is not plagued with these “lockup” problems.
NFS CIFS (SMB)
10 Network Management In an NFS-based approach, network management becomes more complex as each new PC is added. Additionally, most NFS-based connectivity solutions bundle additional applications (such as Email clients, ftp client, etc.) which add administrative complexity each time the product is upgraded. The CIFS server requires about 6MB of disk space on the server and takes about 10-20 minutes to install and configure. For file and print services, no software is required on any of the PCs. The CIFS-based approach is considerably more network management friendly in terms of the resources needed for installation and ongoing maintenance. CIFS also requires no change to the network drivers on either end (server or client) of the network.
Conclusion
? NFS fully satisfies enterprise requirements for global file sharing. It supports global workgroups by keeping file systems located worldwide continuously and transparently accessible to users. An industry leader in performance, NFS provides fast access to file information as well as the scalability to support small to large network environments. Because it relies on a flexible and extensible security architecture, it enables administrators to choose the security solution that fits their environment today and to have more options in the future. The ability to administer NFS centrally reduces the time and effort it takes to perform a variety of routine administration tasks. Finally, for mission critical environments, a highly available NFS implementation is provided. These features together with the vast array of multi-vendor NFS products to choose from and a rapidly growing licensee and installed base, reaffirm that NFS is the right choice for integrating the heterogeneous enterprise both now and in the future.
? Solstice Network Client’s NFS software was designed for complete integration with all Microsoft Windows platforms – Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Your users retain their familiar Microsoft Windows interface and continue to work with point and click ease.
? “The increased eight-way SMP support in Windows 2000 Advanced Server complements the reliability and scalability features of the new eight-way HP NetServer LXr 8500 system,” said Eileen O’Brien, marketing manager, Hewlett-Packard Network Server Division. “The powerful combination of Windows 2000 and the HP NetServer systems will enable our enterprise customers to optimize performance by providing best-in-class power, investment protection and intelligent management. By increasing the SMP support in each of the Windows 2000 Server products, Microsoft is supporting the shift to higher end servers that are powerful, versatile and fast enough to handle the demands of large enterprises,” said Sandy Carter, director, PartnerWorld for Developers, Netfinity Brand at IBM. “The eight-way SMP support in Windows 2000 Advanced Server and the Netfinity 8500R will provide customers with a solution that maximizes uptime and provides superior manageability for compute-intensive business intelligence, transaction processing and server consolidation projects while providing a great value in eight-way servers.”
- Nance,B. (1997) Introduction to Networking, Forth Edition, by
Que? Corporation. Pages 231,235
- Heath,S. (1993) Effective PC Networking, First Edition , by An imprint
of Butterworth ?Heinmann Ltd. Page 102.
- Santifaller,M. (1994) TCP / IP and ONC / NFS , Second Edition ,by Addison-Wesley. Pages from 134 to 137.
- Douba,S. (1998) Networking Unix the complete reference for Unix
networks, Forth Edition, by Sams Publishing . Pages 302,314,320.
Websites References
? http://www.netapp.com/tech_library/3014.html
? http://www.ietf.org/proceedings /99jul/l-d/draft-ietf-nfsv4-requirements-03.text.
? http://www.facetcorp.com/competition_nfs_cifs comparison.html
? http://www.sun.com/smi/press/sunfash/2000- 02/sunflash.20000202.2.html
? http://msdn.microsoft.com/worshop/networking/CIFS/default.asp
? http://www.sun.com/software/white-papers/wp-nfs/nfs_9.html
? http://nscp.upenn.edu/aix4.3html/aixbman/commadmn/nfs_intro
html
? http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/SMB-HOWTO.html
? http://windowsitlibrary.com/Content/172/01/26.html
? Portfolio of report :
Reference No : 1
Reference name : Nance,B. (1997) Introduction to Networking, Forth
Edition, by Que? Corporation.
Titles: general information about NFS page 231 ,NFS and protocols
(TCP/IP) page 235.
Reference No : 2
Reference name : Heath,S. (1993) Effective PC Networking, First
Edition , by An imprint of Butterworth ?Heinmann Ltd.
Titles: general information about NFS and how the NFS accesses in
Networks . page 102 .
Reference No : 3
Reference name : Santifaller,M. (1994) TCP / IP and ONC / NFS ,
Second Edition ,by Addison-Wesley.
Titles: The first types of protocols and how are developed and some
alternative to NFS Pages from 134 to137.
Reference No : 4
Reference name: Douba,S. (1998) Networking Unix the complete
reference for Unix
networks, Forth Edition, by Sams Publishing .
Titles: Network File system: Concept and Setup and the relation
between NFS server and C file system and also Architecture of
NFS and is NFS for Unix only! . Pages 302,314,320.
Reference No : 5
Website Address: http://www.netapp.com/tech_library/3014.html
Titles: General information about NFS and CIFS(SMP) and give us
some the common points between them, and NFS vs CIFS,
Multiprotocol file service .
Reference No : 6
Website Address: http://www.ietf.org/proceedings /99jul/l-d/draft-ietf-
nfsv4-requirements-03.text.
Titles: The deferent between NFS v4 NFS v3,v2 ,and what is the new in
NFS v4 .
Reference No : 7
Website Address: http://www.facetcorp.com/competition_nfs_cifs
comparison.html
Titles: Comparison NFS and CIFS (SMP ) .
Reference No : 8
Website Address: http://www.sun.com/smi/press/sunfash/2000-
02/sunflash.20000202.2.html
Titles : Sun Microsystems gives key Component of NFS to the open
source community, and provide NFS version 4 solutions .
Reference No : 9
Website Address: http://www.sun.com/software/white-papers/wp-
nfs/nfs_9.html
Titles : History of NFS from the past until now.
Reference No : 10
Website Address: http://msdn.microsoft.com/worshop/networking/CIFS
/default.asp
Titles : CIFS An internet File System Protocol ,Microsoft is making sure
that CIFS tech is open ,published, and widely available for all
computer users
Reference No : 11
Website Address : http://nscp.upenn.edu/aix4.3html/aixbman/commadmn
html
Titles : NFS overview ,AIX supports the latest NFS protocol update .
Reference No : 12
Website Address : http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/SMB-
HOWTO.html
Titles : The SMP protocol is used by Microsoft , What is the SAMA?.
there are four basic things that one can do with samba .
Reference No : 13
Website Address : http://windowsitlibrary.com/Content/172/01/26.html
Titles : NFS in action , NFS comes to Windows NT , inter the PC.