You can use Web-based System Manager, SMIT, or the net command to manage and administer the Fast Connect server. These tasks can fall in one of the three categories: controlling the server, changing server configuration, and getting information about the server.
| Administering AIX Fast Connect for Windows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Web-based System Manager: wsm pc fast path (PC Services application) -OR- | ||
| Task | SMIT Fast Path | Command or File |
| Starting the Server | smit smbadminstart | net start |
| Starting the Server | smit smbadminstop | net stop |
| Pausing the Server | --- | net pause |
| Resuming the Server | --- | net resume |
| Changing Parameters | smit smbcfg | net config |
| Adding File Share | smit srvfiladd | net shares |
| Deleting File Share | smit srvfilrm | net shares |
| Adding Printer Share | smit srvpradd | net shares |
| Deleting Printer Share | smit srvprrm | net shares |
| Showing Server Status | smit smbadminstatu | net status |
| Showing the Configuration | --- | net config |
| Showing Statistics | smit smbadminstats | net statistics |
| Showing Share | --- | net shares |
| Getting Help | smit then select Help | net help |
Older PC clients operating systems, such as Windows for Workgroups 3.11, do not support long file names. This restriction requires mapping long file names of AIX files to DOS file names. Simply truncating the name to the shorter name does not work for most situations because many file names will get mapped to the same names as long as the first 8 characters are same. Also, this feature is needed for many older (16-bit) applications running under Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT.
Fast Connect maps AIX file names (AFN) to DOS File Names (DFN) ensuring file name uniqueness. It maps AFNs to DFNs using Microsoft Windows NT method for mapping names (that is, name conflicts are handled by using a delimiting character in in the short name followed by a unique numeric to make the name unique).
Fast Connect generates a mapped name whenever the AFN needs to be passed back to a DOS client.
DFNs generated by Fast Connect are not remembered across server restarts. However, mappings will stay consistent for the lifetime of the Fast Connect server.
It supports efficient lookups given DFN as well as AFN.
Fast Connect has a configuration option to turn off the mapping. When the mapping is turned off, the long names are simply truncated to conform to DOS file naming.
The character used as the delimiting character is configurable as well.
Note: AFN-to-DFN mapping may not map correctly if the server restarts. For example, consider two files in the root directory of an exported SMB share: LongFileName1.txt and LongFileName2.txt. Assume a Windows 3.11 client mounts this share and searches the directory. The resulting filenames will be:LONGFI~1.TXT for LongFileName1.txt
LONGFI~2.TXT for LongFileName2.txt
The human user on this client notes this filename (LONGFI~1.TXT) and opens it for editing. The file is written, saving changes. Then the server shuts down. Someone then removes LongFileName1.txt from the server file system. Once the server is up and running, the user on the client again edits LONGFI~1.TXT. This time this 8.3 name maps to LongFileName2.txt, not the previously deleted file name! Thus, the client ends up editing the wrong file. Therefore, if the network drive is reconnected following server restart, new file lists must be obtained before accessing any mapped names.