HOW TO: Share UNIX File Systems Using Gateway for NFS

When you migrate files from an existing UNIX server to a Windows-based server, you may find it easier to use Network File System (NFS) instead of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to move the files. If you install Gateway for NFS on a Windows-based server, you can provide access to your NFS resources without having to load any additional software on other Windows-based client computers or on the UNIX or Linux server. Gateway for NFS is only supported on Windows-based servers; you cannot install Gateway for NFS on Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows XP.

Make NFS Resource Available to Windows Clients

Gateway for NFS maps an NFS resource to a drive letter on the Gateway for NFS server, and then shares that resource back to Windows clients. Individual clients can access the resource by using the standard universal naming convention (UNC) format \\server\share, where server and share refer to the Gateway for NFS server, and not the UNIX computer.

To make an NFS resource available to Windows clients by using the command line:

1. Log on to the Windows-based server by using an administrative level account.
2. Click Start, click Run, type: cmd, and then click OK.
3. From the command prompt, type the following command to map an NFS resource to a drive letter on the Gateway for NFS server and to share that resource to Windows clients.
   
       gwshare add -d drive_letter -n \\nfsserver\export -s share_name
4. Type gwshare /?, and then press ENTER to display all the parameters that are available for the gwshare command.
   
   NOTE: Unless you explicitly grant permissions, Windows users who are not mapped to UNIX accounts with User Name Mapping service do not have access to mapped UNIX resources. To explicitly grant permissions, use the -m yes parameter with the gwshare command.

Share Folder Using Gateway for NFS Configuration Functionality

1. Log on to the Windows-based server by using an administrative level account.
2. Click Start, point to Windows Services for UNIX, and then click Gateway for NFS Configuration.
3. Type the share name that Windows clients see in the Share Name box.
4. Select a drive letter that is not being used to map the share to.
5. Select the network resource (for example, the exported NFS file system).
   
   You can either click Browse to locate the available network resources or click a network resource in the Network Resource box (if this resources has been shared before).
6. Configure the encoding settings, and then type any comments.
7. Configure the appropriate settings, and then click Connect.
8. Click Exit.
   
   NOTE: Microsoft recommends that you install at least one User Name Mapping service on your network to map UNIX and Windows user names to each other. Please view our KB article about User Name Mapping service in our REFERENCES section.

For additional information about performing maintenance tasks after migrating from UNIX to Windows, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
For additional information about how to install and configure User Name Mapping service, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: