Novell Open Enterprise Server Administrators Handbook SUSE Linux Edition [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Novell iFolder

Novell iFolder gives you automatic, secure, and transparent synchronization of files between your hard drive and the iFolder server, which results in easy access to personal files anywhere, anytime. Being able to access your files from any computer, in any location, eliminates mistakes and the updating that is frequently necessary when your local files are not accessible over the network.

Novell iFolder has three components: iFolder server software
After you have installed the iFolder server software on your server, users can install the iFolder client in order to access their iFolder files. Administrators use the iFolder Management console and the iFolder website to manage iFolder user accounts.

NOTE

The iFolder Management console enables you to perform administrative tasks for all iFolder user accounts. From the iFolder website, iFolder users download the iFolder client. It is also where you can access the Java applet and view your iFolder files from a browser. The iFolder website can, and should, be customized to fit the look and feel of your organization.

iFolder client software
Novell iFolder client is compatible with Windows 95/98, Windows XP/2000/NT, and Linux workstations. The iFolder client must be installed on every workstation that you will use to access your iFolder files. When the iFolder client is installed, it does three things:

It creates a shortcut to your iFolder directory on your desktop. The iFolder directory, which by default on a Windows client is located in My Documents\iFolder\userid\Home, is where you will keep the files you want to synchronize with the iFolder server. When a file is placed in the iFolder directory, it is synchronized out to the iFolder server, from which it can be accessed by all workstations that are logged in to your iFolder account.

On Windows workstations, an iFolder icon is placed in the workstation system tray. Right-clicking the system tray icon gives users access to their user-configurable preferences and the iFolder status screen, which displays a history of the transactions that have occurred between the iFolder server and the client.

A user account is created on the iFolder server. iFolder user accounts are created automatically when a user downloads and installs the iFolder client. When you log in, iFolder asks you for a username and a password. Next, iFolder prompts you for a passphrase. This passphrase is used to encrypt files that are uploaded to the server.

NOTE

Uninstalling the iFolder client does not delete the associated user account on the iFolder server. This can be done only from the iFolder Management console.

iFolder Java applet
Use the iFolder Java applet to access iFolder files from a workstation on which the iFolder client is not installed.

iFolder Prerequisites

Remember the following prerequisites when you are installing iFolder: iFolder requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher to be installed on every Windows workstation where you are installing the iFolder client.

You need 10MB of free space on the root volume where you plan to install iFolder.

Novell provides an iFolder client for both Windows and Linux desktops. For more information on configuring iFolder on a Linux desktop, see the OES online documentation.

NOTE

If you are installing the iFolder client on a Windows 95 workstation, make sure you have installed the Winsock 2 update from Microsoft. It is available on Microsoft's website.

Installing iFolder

Novell iFolder can be installed on a dedicated server using the Novell iFolder Server installation pattern or as an optional component during the OES Linux server installation. iFolder can also be installed after the fact through YaST. To install iFolder with YaST, complete the following steps:

1.	Access YaST from a terminal using `yast`, or from a graphical environment using `yast2` or the YaST launcher from the application menu.
2.	Select the Network Services category in YaST. From within this category, locate and select the iFolder 2.x module. This module will detect that the RPMs for iFolder are missing and ask if you want to install them. Select Continue to install the necessary packages.
3.	At the conclusion of the software installation, `SuSEconfig` is executed to update the system configuration. When this completes, the configuration of the OES component will begin automatically.
4.	At the iFolder 2.x LDAP Configuration screen, enter the following information and click Next: Local or Remote Directory Server Select the radio button that indicates whether eDirectory is running on the local server, or a remote server. Directory Server Address If a remote eDirectory server is in use, enter the IP address for this server. Admin Name with Context Enter the eDirectory administrator's credentials using fully qualified dot notation, for example, `cn=admin.o=novell`. Admin Password Enter the password for the administrator user. Port Details If necessary, select this button to change the configured ports for the eDirectory server you specified earlier. The default LDAP port for unencrypted communications is `389` and port `636` is used for SSL-encrypted communications.
5.	At the iFolder 2.x Web Configuration screen, as shown in Figure 12.5, provide the required information and click Next. iFolder 2.x will be the only web application on this server or iFolder 2.x and other web applications will run on this server If no other OES services are currently installed on this server, you have the option to decide whether iFolder will be the only web application running locally. If it is the only web application, iFolder will bind to all available addresses and service all incoming requests on ports 80 and 443. On the other hand, if iFolder will be running alongside other web applications, the Apache configuration must be modified to bind iFolder to a unique IP address. This IP address must be manually configured, and should be reserved only for use with iFolder. iFolder 2.x server IP address Specify the IP address of the server on which iFolder services will be running. iFolder 2.x server netmask Specify the netmask used on the iFolder server. iFolder 2.x server DNS hostname Specify the DNS hostname of the server on which iFolder services will be running. iFolder 2.x user database path Enter the path to the directory where you want the iFolder user data to be stored on the iFolder server. This defaults to `/var/ifolder2/data`. Figure 12.5. iFolder 2.x Web Configuration options. [View full size image]
6.	At the iFolder 2.x configuration, admin user's screen, enter any users you would like to designate as iFolder admin users and click Next.
7.	At the end of the installation, click Yes to restart Apache.

iFolder is now installed and ready for further configuration through the administration interface.

Configuring iFolder

The first time the iFolder client is installed, a user account is automatically created on your iFolder server. In addition to the default iFolder website, another website is available for performing server management. After iFolder is installed, you can access the iFolder Management console through the following URL: https://<iFolder server DNS or IP address > iFolderServer/Admin. For example:

https://prv-serv1.quills.com/iFolderServer/Admin The initial view of iFolder Management console shows you the types of tasks you can perform, but you won't be able to actually do anything until you log in via LDAP. Use an administrative user account you specified during the iFolder installation. After you have authenticated using an administrative account, you will get a new authenticated view of iFolder Management console that allows you to actually perform the various iFolder administrative tasks (see Figure 12.6). There are four types of iFolder management activities:

Global settings User management System monitoring Reporting

Figure 12.6. iFolder Management console.

[View full size image]

GLOBAL SETTINGS

Global Settings is the default page when you first log in to the iFolder Management console. You will see five links in the Navigation frame (see Figure 12.6): General Info
The General Info link provides basic information about the iFolder server, including DNS name or IP address, port being used, and so on.

Global Policies
With the Global Policies page, you can set both server and client policies by clicking the appropriate button. These settings define the default configuration for the iFolder environment.

Admin Names
This page allows you to modify the list of Admin objects defined for iFolder. These objects must be located in the Admin context defined during the installation of iFolder.

User LDAPs
The User LDAPs page allows you to define the LDAP server that iFolder will use to authenticate users. By default, iFolder will not search subcontexts for potential iFolder users. You can configure the contexts that iFolder should search for users on this page.

iFolder Servers
This page allows you to add new iFolder servers to the iFolder environment as they are installed.

Use the global settings links to configure the primary characteristics of your iFolder environment.

USER MANAGEMENT

Before your users can start using iFolder, you have to enable their User objects from the User Management button in the iFolder Server Management console. You can select users individually or in groups. To enable user objects to work with iFolder, complete the following steps:

1.	Launch iFolder Server Management and click the User Management button in the Header frame.
2.	Click Advanced Search in the Navigation frame.
3.	Specify how you want iFolder to search for users and then click Search. You can search by a name, a portion of a name, the context, or even the entire server. After you perform the search, all user objects located within your defined criteria will be listed (see Figure 12.7). Figure 12.7. Configuring iFolder users with the iFolder Management console. [View full size image]
4.	Click Enable All Found Users as iFolder Users to allow the User objects that have been found to use iFolder. Alternatively, you can check the boxes next to only those user objects for which you want to provide iFolder access and click Enable Checked Users as iFolder Users.

NOTE

As new User objects are configured on your network, you will have to add those users in order for them to have access to iFolder. iFolder access is not granted by default.

SYSTEM MONITORING

The System Monitoring button provides a real-time view of the status of your iFolder environment. From this page, you can see a list of all iFolder and LDAP servers in your environment, along with important characteristics of each.

REPORTING

The Reporting button allows you to take the information you can see from System Monitoring and capture it in report format. You can create reports in four categories: General Information
This report gives you information about the status of your entire iFolder environment.

iFolder Servers
This report provides configuration information for each iFolder server in your environment.

User LDAPs
This report provides configuration information for each LDAP server being used by your iFolder environment for user authentication.

User Accounts
This report provides information about each user object that is using your iFolder environment and how it is making use of iFolder resources.
You can configure the iFolder reporting environment to fit the needs of your network environment.

Using iFolder

After iFolder is installed and configured on the server and user access has been defined, your users can begin to take advantage of iFolder's file synchronization capabilities. The first thing iFolder users need to do is install the iFolder client. The iFolder client is available on the iFolder web page, which is http://<iFolder server DNS or IP address >iFolder. For example: http://prv-serv1.quills.com/iFolder To install the iFolder client, complete the following steps:

1.	From the iFolder web page, select Download Windows Client in the Navigation frame. You can download the Linux client for use with Linux desktops as well. For more information on using iFolder with Linux, see the OES online documentation.
2.	At the File Download screen, choose to either save the client file to disk or run it directly from the server, and then click OK. If you are accessing the server from a remote location, it will probably be faster to download the file prior to installing the iFolder client. If you do this, specify a location for the file. After the download is complete, execute the file you downloaded.
3.	At the Welcome screen, click Next.
4.	At the License Agreement Language screen, select the language in which to view the license agreement and click Next. This will open a browser window with the iFolder license agreement. To continue the installation, close the browser window.
5.	At the License Agreement screen, click Yes to accept the agreement.
6.	At the Destination Location screen, specify the location where you want the iFolder client files to be installed and click Next.
7.	At the Installation Complete screen, select Yes, I Want to Restart My Computer Now, and click Finish.
8.	After your workstation reboots, you will see a Setup Complete message, with instructions on using iFolder. Click Continue to finish the installation.
9.	The Login screen will be displayed, as shown in Figure 12.8. Specify the required information and click Login. You will provide a username (typically your NetWare username) and password. Typically, the iFolder server information will be provided for you. Figure 12.8. The iFolder Login screen.
10.	At the iFolder Location screen, specify the location on your local drive to which your iFolder files will be synchronized and click OK.
11.	At the iFolder configuration screen, make your desired selections and click OK. Enable Automatic Login at Startup Select this option if you want iFolder to start automatically when you boot up your computer. Encrypt Files Select this option if you want to encrypt files that are stored on the iFolder server.
12.	(Conditional) If you elected to encrypt files, specify a passphrase. The passphrase is used as a cryptographic key to encrypt your files on the iFolder server. You can also specify a hint to help remember the passphrase if you forget it.
13.	Select Enable Pass Phrase Recovery if you want your admin to be able to recover your passphrase for you. Click OK.

When you log in, you will see new iFolder icons on your desktop and in the Windows system tray (lower-right corner of the desktop). The desktop icon is a shortcut to your iFolder files. The system tray icon gives you access to iFolder user account information and configuration parameters. To access them, right-click the iFolder icon that appears on the system tray of your workstation. The following major menu options are available: Logout/login
If you are currently logged in, the Logout option is displayed, which will log you off the iFolder server and stop all iFolder synchronization. If you are currently logged out, the Login option is displayed, which allows you to log in to the iFolder and initiate synchronization activities.

Sync Now
Forces synchronization between the workstation and the iFolder server to begin immediately.

Account Information
This option allows you to view account settings and synchronization activity, as well as allowing you to set account synchronization preferences. The Account Information screen is shown in Figure 12.9. From the Account Information screen, you can work with the following options:

Account Information tab
Displays basic account information, including username, iFolder directory location, iFolder servername, account space statistics, and to-be-synchronized statistics.

View Activity tab
Lets you view, save, and clear your iFolder account activity log. The log is automatically cleared each time you log in to iFolder.

Preferences tab
Lets you enable/disable automatic synchronization and define how often files will be synchronized to/from the iFolder server. You can also choose to have the iFolder client remember your iFolder password and passphrase so that you don't have to type them each time you log in.

Figure 12.9. The iFolder Account Information screen.

Open iFolder
Opens the iFolder directory associated with your iFolder client account. This is equivalent to double-clicking the iFolder icon that is created, by default, on the Windows desktop. View Conflict Bin
The conflict bin exists to save files that were deleted or changed during an iFolder synchronization. You can manually review the files in the conflict bin to make sure that the correct version of the file has been synchronized.

About iFolder
Provides version information for the iFolder client.

iFolder website
Selecting this option opens the iFolder website associated with your iFolder server. From this page, you can download the iFolder client, view iFolder product information and instructions, and access your iFolder account via a web browser.

Help
Opens the iFolder client help file.

Exit
This option closes the iFolder client interface and effectively logs you out of the iFolder server. The icon will disappear from the system tray, so in order to restart the iFolder client, you have to click Start, Programs, Novell iFolder, iFolder Client.

As you can see, nearly every feature needed by a user is available through the iFolder icon in the Windows system tray.

ACCESSING IFOLDER THROUGH A BROWSER

iFolder has a browser-based option that eliminates the need for the iFolder client in order to access files in your account on the iFolder server. With iFolder web access, you can download only the files that you need, as opposed to synchronizing the entire directory. With the iFolder web access, all you need is Internet access to get to your iFolder account. To access your iFolder account through a web browser, complete the following steps:

Open the iFolder applet, which is found at the following URL:

http://<i Folder server DNS or IP address >/iFolder/applet/java

At the Login screen, provide your iFolder username, password, and passphrase, and click Connect.

When you're logged in, you will see your iFolder files listed in a directory structure in the browser window (see Figure 12.10). Expand folders by double-clicking them.

Figure 12.10. iFolder Java WebAccess interface.

[View full size image]

From the browser interface, you can download, upload, delete, create, and rename files. However, after you download a file, changes will not be synchronized automatically. Make sure you upload files after making changes, so they can be synchronized to all other workstations where you have installed the iFolder client.

ACCESSING IFOLDER FROM NETSTORAGE OR NETDRIVE

Accessing an iFolder server from either NetStorage or NetDrive was described earlier in this chapter in the sections for each of those products. However, the important thing to remember is that you are accessing files on the server only. You don't get the effects of synchronization between client and server as you do with the iFolder client. The advantage of this scenario is that you can access files from any workstation without fear of accidentally leaving data on a foreign machine. This might lead some to consider using iFolder without installing the iFolder client. This is a possible solution, but remember that files are not replicated to multiple locations. If the server experienced a problem, files on the iFolder server could become lost or unrecoverable. TIP The best solution is one that uses each technology where it makes sense, without relying too heavily on only one type of file-access solution.

Novell Open Enterprise Server Administrators Handbook SUSE Linux Edition [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Novell iFolder

NOTE

NOTE

iFolder Prerequisites

NOTE

Installing iFolder

Figure 12.5. iFolder 2.x Web Configuration options.

Configuring iFolder

Figure 12.6. iFolder Management console.

GLOBAL SETTINGS

USER MANAGEMENT

Figure 12.7. Configuring iFolder users with the iFolder Management console.

NOTE

SYSTEM MONITORING

REPORTING

Using iFolder

Figure 12.8. The iFolder Login screen.

Figure 12.9. The iFolder Account Information screen.

ACCESSING IFOLDER THROUGH A BROWSER

Figure 12.10. iFolder Java WebAccess interface.

ACCESSING IFOLDER FROM NETSTORAGE OR NETDRIVE