and represents one of the main
directions for FileZerver future development (2000 and beyond). They will allow users and
workgroup to organize their department's activities beyond storing them centrally. AFMs
turn workgroup servers into productivity-boosting hubs.
AFMs under development or being considered will address such needs as:
- Workgroup time management (calendaring, timecard),
- Workgroup collaboration (chat room, news),
- Web access management (web caching, Metasearch - offline exploitation of search engine
results),
- Document management (version control, index and search, PDF publishing),
- Multimedia management (JPG and thumbnails, CD/DVD publishing, MP3 server),
- Availability and recovery (workstation backup, system archival)
- Application launching and metering.
How will AFMs be made available?
AFMs will be offered as separately priced downloadable software extensions from the web
site of MDL Corporation and/or its partners.
AFMs will be able to run on all FileZervers, thanks to their oversize flash memory and
high performance CPU. Several AFMs may be loaded concurrently on the same FileZerver,
although there will be a limit to the how many.
The first AFMs will be available starting mid-2000.
Is the EIDE interface a Ultra ATA/66 interface?
The IDE-only model will support four drives at Ultra ATA/66, and four at Ultra ATA/33.
Can LVD SCSI drives be attached to the SCSI version?
Yes.
Will there be NFS version 3 support?
The initial release offers only NFS version 2 support.
Will there be file locking between Windows and Unix?
Database-style file locking will not be supported. However, if a Windows client is
writing a file, a UNIX client will be locked out until writing is completed and vice versa
What File System is used?
Linux file system (EXT2)
Will tape drives be supported?
Yes. Backups will be performed with BRU using the following tape drives: AIT, AIT2, SDLT
and DAT.
Is there a caching system (like write-back) to improve the RAID performance?
No, but most newer SCSI drives have this feature included in the drive electronics.
If so, what happens to data in cache in the event of a power outage?
N/A. As with almost all RAID systems, power outage can cause full resync of the RAID
array, and a rebuild of the file system. Data may be corrupted in some files that were
actively being written during the power failure. Use of a UPS is strongly recommended.
Why would FileZerver resync the RAID 1/5 sets every time the unit is turned on?
Like almost all operating systems on the market today, an orderly shutdown is required
to close all open files and write configuration information. It only does this if not
powered down via the admin interface.
How do you set Unix Security?
FileZerver has user and group security at a "share" level. This means that
the same file can be accessed via different shares and would have different security
depending on which share the user accessed the file from. This method was chosen to allow
consistency throughout the product.
How do you set Web Security?
For the administrator, by setting user administration rights. For end users accessing
shares, by making shares non-public or by manually adding users to the server and then
assigning rights to shares.
Is there an alarm system in the event of a failed drive?
Yes, via SMTP (event notification).
What type of events does email notification notify?
Drive failures, drive and filesystem rebuilds, drives reaching % of capacity, unit reboot,
unit overheating, backup related messages, and others being developed.
How does FileZerver handle the repair of the filesystem in the event of a crash?
There is an automatic rebuild of any questionable file system. In addition, there is a
manual on demand rebuild of file systems.
