BY JOHN E. JOHNSTON NewNew FeaturesFeatures etWare 5's brand new Ndata storage system, Novell Storage Services, already offers several advantages over ofof NetWareNetWare 5:5: its predecessor, the 32-bit NetWare File System (NWFS), while also laying the ground- NovellNovell StorageStorage work for a dramatic conceptual leap in the way network data ServicesServices is stored. G While NWFS could support 64 simultaneously mounted volumes with a maximum volume size of 1TB, NSS can support up to 253 visible volumes with a maximum volume size of 8TB for a 32-bit system. If you are using a 64-bit system, however, NSS will permit a gigantic volume of up to a whopping 8 exabytes. G Less RAM is required to support volumes. G Faster volume mounting. G DOS partitions can be accessed on the file server. G Capability of defining new name spaces (in addition Storage Services (NSS) is a new 64-bit data to DOS, Mac and Long). NOVELL storage system that comes bundled with G CD-ROMs can be mounted as NSS volumes, making the NetWare 5 product. Because it features 64-bit operation, the CDs easier and faster to mount. NSS provides the ability to store larger files (up to 8 terabytes), and can mount larger volumes and a greater number of volumes While all of these advantages are certainly practical, what than its predecessor, the 32-bit NetWare File System (NWFS). really makes NSS so revolutionary is its new conceptual design. The NSS architecture also provides significant enhancements By introducing the idea of logical storage to NetWare data over NWFS in both conceptual design and system performance. storage structures, NSS continues to lead network technology This article will explore the benefits you can expect from away from limitations based on physical location and the an NSS implementation, the limitations of NSS in its current characteristics of individual devices. For example, up until now configuration, and what new doors NSS may open for network the size of a NetWare partition was limited by how large a design down the road. single hard drive on that server was. If a server had more than one hard drive, the size of its partition could still be no greater NSS BENEFITS than the size of its largest hard drive; multiple partitions had to be created in order to exploit the storage space provided by the The range of immediate benefits provided by NSS will additional hard drives. This sometimes led to a design that was likely prove useful to both large and small NetWare shops. cumbersome to work with and even more difficult to manage. Some of these benefits are a direct result of the 64-bit design, NSS eliminates this inefficiency by creating logical partitions, while others stem from alterations made to individual com- partitions not restricted by the physical limitations of a single ponents in the NetWare data storage structure. The advantages device. The logical NSS partitions are created from storage of NSS deployment are as follows: pools, which are comprised of all the unallocated free space available on all of the devices attached to a particular server. This G NSS can store large (up to 8TB) files and can also store way, it is possible to have a single NSS partition that utilizes a large number of files on a single NSS volume (up to space from more than one hard drive on a server, maximizing 8 trillion files). all available storage space while also maintaining ease of use G A single server can have up to a million files open and the highest level of manageability by centralizing the at the same time. administration of storage devices. TECHNICAL SUPPORT • AUGUST 1999 ©1999 Technical Enterprises, Inc. Reproduction of this document without permission is prohibited. Unfortunately, the current release of NSS is only capable of locating NSS Partitions available space on server hard drives. However, the full potential of Just as with the standard NetWare file system, NSS uses disk logical storage promises to be realized with future releases of NSS, partitions to hold volumes. The difference is that, as a logical partition for which support of other storage devices is planned. rather than a disk partition, the NSS partition can span multiple hard drives and, in future releases of NSS, several other types of NSS LIMITATIONS storage devices as well. For example, when you set up a standard NetWare file server, you first create a small DOS partition on the file NSS brings with it some liabilities and incompatibilities which server's hard drive with the remaining space on the server's hard drive are common with any new technology. Novell is working on often being allocated as a NetWare partition. One or more NetWare addressing some of these deficiencies, but for the moment NSS volumes are placed in this NetWare partition. NSS works in a similar does not support any of the following functions: manner, though the terminology and mechanisms are different. The process of establishing an NSS partition begins with programs SYS: volume - The SYS: volume cannot reside on an NSS volume. called providers, which search your server's devices to find free This means that you must still have a standard NWFS partition on storage space. There are currently two providers to choose from in your server in order to hold the SYS: volume. NSS, the NSS Media Manager for IBM partitions (MMPRV) and the NSS File Provider for NetWare (NWPRV). The MMPRV FTP - Currently, you cannot place the File Transfer Protocol on an provider will search the storage devices attached to a server looking NSS volume. Novell has stated, however, that future versions of NSS for all of the unallocated free space available in standard IBM- should be modified to support the Novell File Transfer Protocol service. compatible partitions; the NWPRV provider is used for finding free space available in existing NetWare volumes. When ini- File compression - This space-saving feature of tiating the NSS partition creation process, you will standard NetWare volumes is not currently sup- have to select which of the providers you will ported on NSS volumes. While all of use for locating your free space. All of the free space a provider finds is Block sub-allocation - The block size for these advantages are collected into a single storage pool. The NSS volumes is fixed at 4K, making block certainly practical, administrator must then indicate how sub-allocation impossible. much of this storage pool is to be utilized what really makes NSS as an NSS partition. Once this is done, Transaction Tracking System (TSS) - NSS components called consumers take TSS is not supported on NSS volumes. so revolutionary control of the indicated storage space, preparing it for use by NSS. In NSS termi- Disk mirroring and duplexing - You cannot is its new conceptual nology, this process is known as claiming mirror or duplex NSS volumes, which can be design. ownership of the storage space. Once NSS a real problem when trying to build a fail-safe, claims ownership of a chunk of unallocated fault tolerant environment for your organization. disk space, an NSS Managed Object is created to represent that chunk of space. Disk striping - NSS does not support disk striping as of yet, As indicated, the NWPRV provider will create your NSS although Novell has announced that future NSS versions might be partition from unused disk space within an existing NetWare modified to provide disk striping support. volume. For example, if the VOL1: NetWare volume on your server contains 4GB of unused space, you can allocate this space Auditing - You cannot use the NetWare auditing facility on NSS to an NSS partition. If you choose this option, a file named volumes, although Novell has also indicated that the auditing function $$NSS$$.PRV will be created on the NetWare volume by NSS may be supported in upcoming versions of NSS. to reserve the space. NetWare will then recognize that the remaining space in the volume is being taken up by an NSS Obviously, with its inability to host a SYS: volume, NSS is currently partition. You must take a couple of precautions if you elect to designed to exist alongside a functioning NWFS partition. This utilize this facility: means that your server will require at least three partitions if you wish to utilize NSS: the DOS disk partition, the NWFS disk partition G Although technically feasible, you should try to avoid for the SYS: volume, and the NSS logical partition. One can only creating an NSS partition using free space from both a hope that future versions of NSS and NetWare will work toward NetWare volume and a disk partition. This will create consolidation. But for now, this somewhat clumsy structure must be unpredictable results and can even result in lost data. tolerated in order to enjoy the advantages of NSS. Perhaps this instability when mixing the two sources will be corrected in future versions of NSS. But for now, you NSS COMPONENTS should try to restrict the source of your storage space to either one or the other whenever possible. NSS utilizes three components — NSS partitions, storage groups and NSS volumes — to define and manage NSS functionality. Let’s G Should the NetWare volume on which an NSS partition is created take a closer look at the functions of each component. be deleted, the NSS partition will be deleted also. ©1999 Technical Enterprises, Inc. Reproduction of this document without permission is prohibited. TECHNICAL SUPPORT • AUGUST 1999 Storage Groups FIGURE 1: THE NETWARE CONFIGURATION MAIN MENU Once one or more NSS Managed Objects have been created, these Managed Objects are used in the construction of NSS storage groups.