Can we make Filr read the login script from e-dir like Netstorage did.
by: Harjinder B. | over a year ago | Administration
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32
Filr reading E-dir Login script
by: Harjinder B. | over a year ago | Administration
Comments
Hi I have a customer that consider this point as *fundamental* to mantain Filr or not.
Thanks,
Cristiano
Beside that this would be really hard to do and would be eDir specific (leaving Windows users in the dark), I also think this function is not needed as it can already be performed today in much easier way.
As Filr NetFolders may map to volumes which also could be mapped in login script you can by assigning the same user/group access rights to the NetFolder Access tab as you have set on the volume, allow transparent access for the users.
Example:
* have a volume "DATA" which maps to "G:" drive for the user
* Give a group "data-volume-users" trustee rights on the DATA volume
* In the eDir login script map the "G:" drive only if the user is member of the group "data-volume-users"
* Create in Filr a NetFolder and give the group "data-volume-users" access this NetFolder.
Result:
If user johndoe is member of "data-volume-users" he gets both access to the NetFolder, when using Filr, as wel a mapping to the drive "G:" when he logs in to a desktop with Novell client.
Hi Sebastian,
thanks for your comment.
I know the use of NetFolder could be an Idea and I have already show it to the customer but it must be done manually and this is not what the customer expects to do considering he always used NetStorage and he has leveraged about having the Login Script mapped drive available online.
Thanks,
Cristiano
We have also not moved forward with deploying Filr campus wide because of this limitation. We've been asking for this functionality since the product was in beta. We would love to move away from NetStorage and PureFTP but until something Better and Easier comes along I guess were stuck with them.
Can you create the NetFolder to cover the whole volume, then it will just give access to the folders the user has eDirectory rights to? I haven't tried this myself, but it would make sense. It has been a while since I've really dug into Filr.
Yes you can but then you must start at the top directory and drill down to the folder you want to access each time. Users are not going to accept that as a solution just as they don't want to use shortcuts they have to manually create.
Joseph, are you talking about creating shortcuts when leveraging WebDAV?
I created shortcuts for myself using the desktop client software. The issue is this method doesn't leverage the power of the login scripts so it's a manual process. So to use it for every user on campus either our help desk has to go from desk to desk setting it up for 1000+ users or we have to train the users on how to do it themselves. Either way it's a nightmare.
I'm kind of lost on what it is you want(ed) to achieve; the desktop client is for syncing NetFolder data TO your desktop. So, if you create a NetFolder in Filr that points to the root of a DATA volume this will Sync down ALL the data on that NetFolder to the desktop. This is NOT what you want in a Campus environment where different teachers or student share a device.
The desktop client is meant for 'private' use devices, like a laptop or my home pc. This way I can keep my files in sync with the files in my homedir.
Filr is just a different way of accessing you files on your shares. In Filr those are called 'NetFolders' so you have the flexibility to either create or allow access to those NetFolders leveraging the Filr Web Portal, WebDAV or leveraging the Mobile Apps on a phone or tablet. The Desktop Client for OSX and Windows is really only for laptops/macbooks.
To access files on a your shares from a desktop that is used by multiple users you should still just use your domain login script or a Novell Client with a login script; the desktop client is no replacement for this.
We want Filr to be everything that's good from both NetStorage and Filr.
I understand the desktop client is meant for private use but the average user isn't tech savvy enough to properly configure it which means lots of configuration and support time for our IT staff. If the client had the ablilty to read loginscripts and configure itself and an option to do so without the need to sync it would be perfect. It would also allow us to rid ourselves of AFP, SMB, FTP... and give us one client to rule them all.
I can access storage from my smartphone, Mac, and Linux desktop using NetStorage. It's not an elegant solution but it presents everything I have access to as defined by the loginscripts with no extra configuration time or effort spent by our technical department which we LOVE.
What we love about Filr is the ability to share confidential documents without exposing ourselves like we would using a service like Google Docs. The Filr end-user GUI on mobile devices is well done. From an admin standpoint setup Filr is a pain.
If NetStorage had Filr's end-user interface,the ability to share docs, and leveraged loginscripts to control access instead of it current clunky and time consuming setup it would be perfect.
Right now only a few members of our IT staff use Filr for the reasons I just mentioned and we've been involved since the initial beta. For us to deploy it as a campus wide solution we need change.
Let me start by saying that I understand every environment is different, so my needs won't meet your needs, but...
We have 1200 users here and only have 3 Net Folders, so I just didn't see the issue. We have their Home Folders and each building has a shared folder that they need access to. That's it. You say the "average" user, but I don't know many "average" users that utilize that many different mapped drives, and we don't have different drive mappings for every user. Also, our folder structure is pretty straight-forward.
Hi Joseph,
"I understand the desktop client is meant for private use but the average user isn't tech savvy enough to properly configure it which means lots of configuration and support time for our IT staff."
I really do not know what a "average" user would need to configure in the Filr Desktop Client, cause it just does sync everyting by default up till the current version. The upcoming Filr Desktop Client 2.0 will have the sync on demand function just like the Mobile Apps work today; still the file is synced locally to your desktop for editing. So, unless you use the 'Edit' function in the Filr Web Client (which leverages WebDAV) or make a WebDAV connection from your desktop to the Filr server files will always be synced locally.
"If the client had the abilty to read loginscripts and configure itself and an option to do so without the need to sync it would be perfect. It would also allow us to rid ourselves of AFP, SMB, FTP... and give us one client to rule them all."
I think I know what it is you want to achieve, but mind the Filr Desktop Client is -not- a replacement for the Novell Client. The thing is the Novell Client is a NCP client and ads the NCP protocol to your device to be able to talk to an OES server and run a login script. For that matter the Filr Desktop Client is also not a replacement for Windows SMB (and Grouppolicies with login scipts), AFP on OSX or a FTP client if you want or need to directly talk to a FTP server using the FTP protocol. The Filr Desktop Client -only- talks HTTP to a WebService (Filr server). It's the Filr server that does talk NCP and SMB (but not limited to that) to your backend data servers.
The Filr server has a plugin architecture, so in the future they could add FTP, AFP and other systems. For example File 2.0 add's SharePoint.
The thing that Filr as a solution does for you is that it gives you users a single front end (Web, Desktop and Mobile client) to all you backend storage silo's. That cannot be achieved with NetStorage s that was only made for NCP access on a OES server.
There are plans to add what you want (FTP) and also for systems like Vibe, Google Docs, Office 365 and other content silo's out there. There is not really a limit to what could be done, it's just a matter of -demand-. So, I think you should add idea's in the idea-portal for what it is you want/need and describe why your organization needs that. This way you could setup a NetFolder server in Filr that points to your FTP server. Then a NetFolder you setup in Filr could point to a path on this FTP server. While the FTP server itself only is accessible over the FTP protocol, users can not access that FTP server data over HTTP leveraging the Filr Web, Desktop and Mobile Client. The thing you now have solved is that there is no need anymore for your users to install a complex ftp client on the Windows/Mac/Mobile device to be able to access the FTP data. Just only a a single Filr Web/desktop/mobile client allows them to access all that terrabytes of data, alow them to search the files, allow them to cache it on their Desktop/Laptop/Mobile device and they will be able to share the files with internal or external users. Things you cannot achieve with a normal FTP client. Users won't even know the data they work with is actually on a FTP server.
Hope this makes sense.
-Sebas
In an enterprise with, perhaps hundreds of volumes, the number of net folders that would need to be managed and visible to users makes working without login scripts really messy for users.
not be a stick in the mud, but Kanaka has a "login script" parser that does this function with login scripts
Sebas,
I somehow missed your last message and I was unclear in my explanation.
If our setup were as simple as Shane's ^^^ Filr would be perfect for us. However because our setup is much more complex we need more features.
We want Filr to leverage the power of the loginscripts just like NetStorage and PureFTP which was the original idea/question of this thread.
We would like to get rid of NetStorage, PureFTP, SMB, and AFP. Filr has the POTENTIAL to replace them ALL.
Let's see if this is a clearer explanation of what we don't like/want.
Under NetFolders in Filr we want users to see the shares they would see if they were using the Novell client without any additional setup needed by an admin. This is already being done for the users home folder.
Something as simple as using an export of our loginscripts to create NetFolders would be a great improvement.
Here's why.
In Filr if I want to access my tech_docs folder which the Novell client maps as - Common (\\share1\facstaff\staff\itdept) K: - tech_docs is under Common.
I must...
A.
Using the web client smart app - click through each folder above tech_docs to navigate to it. This requires me to know the path before I start because I can see every folder I don't have rights to access. If I don't know the path I have to use trial and error - click each folder until one let's me in.
B.
Setup a NetFolder to point directly at Common. Multiply this by 100+ for all of the other shares we currently have. New shares would have to be setup 2x - once in iManager and again in Filr.
C.
Setup the Filr desktop client - which requires the aforementioned folder navigation (See A). Then I'm forced to sync files over to my machine which should be optional.
Forget reading Novell login scripts because then you're tied to Novell. How about creating a management section where an admin can re-recreate shares for each corresponding mapped drive they have in their login script, while also giving the them the ability to create shares that point to different types of servers/shares such as; OES, Windows, Linux, Apple/AFP, SMB or CIFS.
The key to this is, that each share should look the same to the end users no matter where it is located.
Another nice feature would be an option to have users create their own shares that have access to documents or folders they have on the locations listed above PLUS Vibe, and Google Docs. These shares should have access to ANY area they have rights to so they can customize their own shared folders.
In the end, you would have IT maintained shares and user maintained shares.
THIS would give our school district the momentum to move forward with a large deployment and gain better buy-in from our user community.
Yes. I'm happy with something that's functionally equivalent to login scripts.
What that would mean is:
1) The Admin can define visible locations for users and groups of users.
2) The Admin can delegate the power to sub-admins to define visible locations for their users.
3) The End-User can define visible locations.
I have used the term "visible locations" instead of "mapped drives" and "login scripts" to avoid confusion.
Something like a loginscript would be great! It´s hard to browse the hole structure for just one file.
Net Folders can be huge.
Filr forces a Search for more than 500 items. This is annoying. Need to be able to scroll through. Mapped area would be good.
Interesting idea - noted!