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HP StorageWorks 9100 Extreme Data Storage System administration guide V1.0.2 (AN540-96018, February 2010)

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Configuring and using Samba
You can configure Samba and the HP ExDS9100 system to provide failover support for virtual Samba
servers.
NOTE:
Use the configuration steps only if you need to create a failover Samba configuration. Otherwise,
you can use traditional methods to configure Samba, such as by using the /etc/samba/smb.conf
file.
Samba provides a set of UNIX applications that understand the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol,
which is the networking protocol used by Microsoft Windows products. An HP ExDS system running
Samba can act as a server on a Microsoft network and can provide services such as access to CIFS
shares.
A hierarchical view of Samba includes the client systems, a workgroup, Samba servers, and shares.
A workgroup is a logical grouping of clients that are configured to share data from WINS servers.
Samba servers are virtual servers that can be moved from server to server in the cluster while keeping
the same name. Shares, or directories, contain the data to be broadcast. Figure 13 shows the Samba
hierarchy.
Figure 12 Samba hierarchy
.
When using Samba with HP ExDS9100, use an active/passive configuration, with one server hosting
the share and other servers serving as backups. The data, or shares, to be exported are stored on
PSFS filesystems.
Clients access a share via a virtual Samba server. The virtual server is controlled by a virtual host
(vhost), which is configured with one server as the primary and one or more additional servers as
backups. If the primary server fails, the virtual host fails over to a backup server. The client connections
can then reattach to the filesystem via the virtual server on the backup server. Due to the
connection-based nature of the CIFS protocol and the reconnect logic in the clients and Samba server,
failover is a disruptive event for the client only if there is data in-flight at the time of failover.
9100 Extreme Data Storage System administration guide 69