Basic questions before I try

[glnz]

Some basic questions from a noob - before I try:

1) If my FreeNAS has both CIFS and AFP, can both a Win 7 client and an Apple MacBook Pro (OS X) client work with the same folders and files?

2) If one client opens a Word .doc or an Excel .xls, and then a second client tries to open the same file, what happens? Does the second client get a "File is open elsewhere - your copy is Read-only" warning?

3) Suppose I want to back up the FreeNAS files and folders to the cloud so they are saved even if the FreeNAS computer blows up - how do I do that? Can I run SugarSync or Cubby on the FreeNAS? If not those particular apps, then which?

Thanks.

 

[cyberjock]

1. You can do that but you will corrupt files. The manual says not to share the same files with 2 different protocols and you should NOT defy that.

2. The same thing as if you had done it on another server. ;)

3. You can run whatever you want that either runs in a FreeNAS jail or a client machine on your network that supports backing up network shares.

 

[cyberjock]

1. You can do that but you will corrupt files. The manual says not to share the same files with 2 different protocols and you should NOT defy that.

2. The same thing as if you had done it on another server. ;)

3. You can run whatever you want that either runs in a FreeNAS jail or a client machine on your network that supports backing up network shares.

 

[rogerh]

Many people use CIFS for Windows and Apple clients. OSX seems to use CIFS shares OK, especially if you tell it where they are. Nothing to do with Freenas, btw.

 

[Whattteva]

Many people use CIFS for Windows and Apple clients. OSX seems to use CIFS shares OK, especially if you tell it where they are. Nothing to do with Freenas, btw.

CIFS is just much easier and most reliable to use because virtually every OS out there implements it. Also, AFS is Apple only and I found NFS gives a lot of headache if you roam around (ie. laptop). It doesn't handle roaming very well and will often lock up when it loses connection and attempts to reestablish it. Some switches can be used to prevent infinite timeout, but I had other issues still that I just decided it wasn't worth the trouble, especially since CIFS not only gives me zero issues across all platforms, but works perfectly fine with roaming without any extra monkey configurations.

 

[glnz]

1. You can do that but you will corrupt files. The manual says not to share the same files with 2 different protocols and you should NOT defy that.

2. The same thing as if you had done it on another server. ;)

3. You can run whatever you want that either runs in a FreeNAS jail or a client machine on your network that supports backing up network shares.

Cyberjock - Please confirm:
1) So I can use ONLY CIFS on all files, and both the Win 7 and Apple machines can work with them?
2) ?? This will be my first server so I don't know what happens elsewhere. If one user opens a file (like a .doc or an .xls) and another user tries to open the same file, what happens?
3) Ideally, the FreeNAS machine will have the "originals" of each file. I would like those kept backed up and (maybe) synced elsewhere. Will SugarSync or Cubby work on the FreeNAS machine even when it's not running a Windows OS? If not, how exactly do I manage this?
Thanks.

 

[cyberjock]

1. Not an apple user but I've heard the answer is "yes".
2. You tell me... what does your software do? Some programs like Microsoft Access work just fine with it!
3. Again, you tell me. Neither SugarSync or Cubby are supported on this forum, so please Google the answers for yourself.

 

[Whattteva]

Cyberjock - Please confirm:
1) So I can use ONLY CIFS on all files, and both the Win 7 and Apple machines can work with them?
2) ?? This will be my first server so I don't know what happens elsewhere. If one user opens a file (like a .doc or an .xls) and another user tries to open the same file, what happens?
3) Ideally, the FreeNAS machine will have the "originals" of each file. I would like those kept backed up and (maybe) synced elsewhere. Will SugarSync or Cubby work on the FreeNAS machine even when it's not running a Windows OS? If not, how exactly do I manage this?
Thanks.

1. Yes, support is built-in. Just hit Command-K while having a finder window selected and type in "smb://path/to/your/freenas/server" without the quotes.
2. Just as Cyberjock said, it depends on the program; Some programs like to lock their opened files, some don't.
3. Never even heard of those programs, so I wouldn't really know.