eBookFrenzy.com From Techotopia PreviousTable of ContentsNext Repairing and Defragmenting Windows Server 2008 DisksUsing NET SHARE to Configure Windows Server 2008 File Sharing
Given that Windows Server 2008 may be a server running product it can be not shocking that a main operate of this operating model would be to serve files to users on other programs on the network. The main target of this chapter, therefore, would be the sharing of files and folders on Windows Server 2008.
one Conventional and Public File Sharing
2 Enabling Windows Server 2008 File Sharing
3 Constructing Shared Folders with Windows Explorer
4 Generating Shared Folders on Remote Servers with Laptop computer Management
5 Developing Concealed Shares
6 Understanding and Configuring Share Permissions
[edit] Regular and Public File Sharing Windows Server 2008 supports two sorts of file sharing, called public file sharing and conventional file sharing.
In the situation of public file sharing any files to become shared should be copied for the server's Public folder positioned at %SystemDrive%UsersPublic. After placed on this folder the files are accessible to any users logged locally onto the device and, if enabled, to any network customers. Public sharing gives some command around access to the files. Such as, when the server belongs to a workgroup the public folder could be password safeguarded. Moreover, network entry to files within the public folder is usually restricted to perusing and executing only or presented permission to browse, write, formulate and delete files.
Standard file sharing, and that is only permitted on NTFS volumes, allows for person folders files and volumes to be shared to specific customers. This delivers far greater levels of security over network access by means of a mixture of NTFS file and folder permissions and share permissions, and avoids the necessity to maneuver files from their current place in an effort to share them.
[edit] Enabling Windows Server 2008 File Sharing File sharing in Windows Server 2008 is managed through the Network and Sharing Middle, accessed by picking Start out -> Network and clicking on the Network and Sharing Center button inside toolbar. When invoked, the Network and Sharing Middle will list the current file sharing configuration and options as illustrated while in the following figure:
To enable public file sharing, click on the down arrow next towards the Public folder sharing during the section entitled Sharing and discovery. This will provide the following list of public folder sharing options:
Turn on sharing so anyone with network entry can open files - Will allow for network users to open, but not delete, modify or formulate files inside server's public folder. Turn on sharing so anyone with network entry can open, change and build files - Allows for network end users to open, modify, delete and make files within the public folder. Turn off sharing (people logged on to this desktop computer can still access this folder) - Allow public folder entry only to those customers locally logged on to your server. Network users are denied access. Similarly, traditional file sharing is configured by click the down arrow next to File sharing. When unfolded,
Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010, this panel will provide the option to either enable or disable standard file sharing on this server. When enabled, a dialog will appear providing the option to make the shared folders available only on the private network on which the product resides, or to make sharing available to public networks. The choice here depends on the requirements of the organization but for protection purposes it will be typically best to limit sharing to your private network unless external accessibility is required.
The Network and Sharing Center also allows password access to shared folders for being configured. Once the arrow next to Password protected sharing is selected the options to enable or disable password protection sharing are provided. When enabled on workgroup servers, only consumers with user accounts and passwords on the server will be able to accessibility shared files and folders.
[edit] Constructing Shared Folders with Windows Explorer Shared folders will be configured using Windows Explorer, simply by navigating to your folder to be shared, right clicking on the folder and picking Properties from the menu. In the properties dialog, click on the Sharing tab to display and modify the current shared folder settings as illustrated with the following figure:
Within the sharing property panel, click on the Share... button to accessibility the File Sharing dialog. Within just this dialog, the customers who may access this shared folder are specified. If file sharing has been restricted to users with local accounts and passwords, a list of customers could very well be obtained by clicking on the down arrow. In this particular situation,
Windows 7 Activation Key, select and add consumers, or select Everyone if accessibility is usually to be made available to all users with local accounts:
When these settings are complete, click on the Share button to initiate the file sharing process. The moment this initial phase of the share setup is complete a dialog will appear announcing this fact, listing the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path towards the shared folder and providing the option to email customers to notify them of this fact:
Having specified which users will have entry for the folder the next step is always to enable the sharing of the folder, specify share permissions and configure a Share Name by which the folder will be referenced and accessed. Moreover caching of shared files is usually configured. Caching allows end users to maintain local copies of shared files so that they can be accessed off-line (as an example once the server hosting the files just isn't available for the user's local program). With caching configured, local copies of shared files are stored on the user's local technique so that they is often accessed without a connection on the server. When a connection is re-established, any changes made on the local copy of the file are synchronized with the original copy on the server.
To configure these settings, click on the Advanced Sharing button to display the following dialog:
Within this dialog, set the Share this folder option to enable the sharing of the folder. When this has been selected the Share name field and associated button will activate enabling a share name for being entered. By default the name of the folder being shared will be displayed, although this may be changed to another name if desired. If the number of concurrent users accessing a shared folder is of concern, modify the number of simultaneous end users accordingly. Enter optional comments about the share before clicking on Caching to configure the off-line file settings. This will invoke the Offline Settings dialog where a number of options are available including allowing each user to specify which files they would like for being able to access off-line, only having files that end users actually entry available off-line and disabling off-line sharing all together:
The final step inside the folder sharing setup could be to click on Permissions to configure the share permissions, details of which are covered in a later section of this chapter.
[edit] Setting up Shared Folders on Remote Servers with Computer Management Windows Explorer will provide an excellent mechanism for configuring shares on the local procedure. This approach falls a little short in terms of convenience, however, when it's necessary to configure shares on the remote server. Fortunately Windows Server 2008 addresses this need by allowing shares to become configured from your Desktop computer Management tool. One point to note is that while this section will emphasis on the remote configuration of file shares, the steps outlined here may equally be used to share files on the local server. In fact, the Produce a Shared Folder Wizard can be invoked on the local machine either from Laptop or computer Management or by entering shrpubw at the command prompt or in a Run dialog.
After starting Laptop Management on the local system, right click on Personal computer Management in the left panel tree and select Connect to another laptop... During the resulting dialog box either enter the name of the remote home computer or click on Browse and then Advanced... to search the network or domain for the remote program. The moment a connection has been established to your remote server the Personal pc Management interface will refresh and the Personal pc Management link in the tree will also display the name of the selected remote server.
Once Home pc Management is configured to administer a remote server, the next step could be to begin the folder sharing process. Begin by unfolding the System Tools, then Shared Folders branches of the tree during the left panel. Select Shares to obtain a list of current shares configured on the remote strategy. The following figure illustrates Personal pc Management with a list of shares configured on a remote product named WINSERVER-2:
The creation of a new shared folder on the remote server (although as previously mentioned this can also be used on local computers) involves the use of something called the Formulate A Shared Folder Wizard, which, as the name suggests will provide a user friendly way of configuring shared folders. To invoke this wizard, simply right click on New Share..., then click on Next on the wizard's welcome screen. During the resulting Folder Path screen, either type while in the path of the folder for being shared, or browse the file systems to locate it. With the required folder path selected click on Next to configure the name and description settings. On this screen, specify the share name by which the folder will be accessed from remote computers together with an optional description of the shared folder. Next, configure the off-line file settings for the folder contents by clicking on Change.
Once these settings are configured, click on Next once again to configure the share permissions for the selected folder. Either select one of the pre-configured options or select Customize permissions and click on Custom to configure share permissions on a per user basis.
Finally, click on finish to complete the sharing process. If the configuration is successful a summary screen similar to your one illustration while in the following figure will be displayed:
[edit] Establishing Hidden Shares By default, shared folders are listed when end users browse for shared resources. From time to time, however,
Office Professional Plus 2010, it may be necessary to share a folder but have it hidden such that only customers who know of its existence can access it by referencing the share name. This concept is known as hidden share access. The most important point to note about hidden shares is that it does nothing to prevent entry other than hiding the fact that the share exists. If, such as, a user learns of the existence of a concealed share (perhaps because another user tells them about it), and the share permissions are such that they have accessibility to the folder, the fact that its concealed will do nothing to keep the user out of that folder.
Shares are made concealed by placing a $ at the end of the share name. As an example, to hide a share positioned at C:accounts simply give it a share name with a trailing $, such as accounts$.
[edit] Comprehending and Configuring Share Permissions As outlined at the beginning of this chapter, Windows Server 2008 gives two levels of permissions for shared files and folders, namely share permissions and file and folder permissions. Share permissions are applied when entry is made via the network. When shared files and folders are accessed locally from your server on which they reside these permissions serve no purpose. File and folder permissions, on the other hand, take effect both when accessing files and folders both locally and above the network. Inside circumstance of network entry to shared files and folders, the shared permissions are applied first, followed by any file and folder permissions. The key issue to note is that file and folder permissions provide a far better level of control in excess of accessibility than the more general permissions options provided by share permissions. During this section, share permissions will be covered. For details on file and folder permissions refer on the chapter entitled Understanding Windows Server 2008 File and Folder Ownership and Permissions.
Share permissions are granted on a per user and per group basis. Also to allowing a cap on the number of concurrent users accessing a share to get defined, share permissions also provide three permission options,
Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2007, each of which is often set to Allow or Deny:
Full Handle - Grants the specified consumers permission to change file and folder permissions, execute, browse, modify, generate and delete files and sub-folders. Change - Grants users permission to change file and folder attributes, read,
Windows 7 Key, modify, execute, design and delete files and sub folders. Examine - Grants consumers permission to go through and execute files and view and accessibility file lists and sub-folders. Permissions are cumulative in that a user will inherit the permissions of all the groups of which he or she can be described as member. If a permission is Denied, however, it overrides any cases where that permission may have been granted. Such as, if a user can be a member of a group where full control is provided in excess of a folder, and also a member of a second group where full management is specifically denied, the user will be denied full management regardless of the fact that it was granted inside the first group.
To configure share permissions, launch Laptop or computer Management, connect to a remote server if not working on local shares, unfold Model Tools and select Shares to list all currently shared folders. To configure share permissions for a folder, select it through the list, right click and select Properties. Inside properties dialog select the Share Permissions tab as illustrated while in the following figure:
This screen displays the current share permissions and can provide the ability to configure additional permission controls. To change the settings for a currently configured group or user select the user from your list, modify the permissions accordingly and click on Apply to commit the changes.
To add permissions for a exact user or group click the Add button and enter one or more end users or groups into the text box (separating multiple entries with a semi-colon) and click on Check Names to verify the names are correct. Click on OK to return towards the properties dialog where the added users and groups will appear inside list. As soon as again, select each name in turn and configure the desired share permissions. Finally, click Apply to commit the new permissions.
Purchase and download the complete, updated Windows Server 2008 R2 edition of this eBook in PDF and ePub formats for only $9.99