Tom Schmidt writes: >The reason to use NFS instead of SMB is that NFS is an actual standard >while SMB is not. Granted, SMB seems to be what Windows uses but MS didn't >publish the interface and a new release (or patch level) could break it at >any time... then the Windows weenies would REALLY growl, right?
That's a good instinct, and I agree with the instinct, but.... Ed R. writes: >One of the problems at my shop, is that Windows (up to 2003) Server has no >native NFS Client support. ....therein lies the problem. Here's the key run-on sentence I wrote: >If it's too hard to get the data they need (Web services, ODBC, or SMB >share -- those are your only convenient options in the Windows world, >probably in that order, and mainframes do all three very, very well) then >they'll find a way to generate the data some other way. There's something called "Windows Services for UNIX" which is available as an optionally installed feature for various Windows server versions and which provides NFS. Chances are excellent, though, as in Ed's shop, that it's not already installed and configured on the servers in question. And when you go to http://www.microsoft.com to find out about Windows Services for UNIX you get treated to a heavy dose of "migrate from UNIX/Linux/anything else to Windows" marketing junk before you get even basic advice on how to set it up. The "probably in that order" remark is also key -- SMB is third on the list of three. I'm not a big fan of either SMB or NFS for integration purposes. One big reason is the reason Tom alludes to: "brittleness." I am a huge fan of smooth and easy on-ramps, though. If your mainframe cannot provide those smooth and easy on-ramps -- if it's difficult to work with -- then that's a huge problem. But what's also key is this: "mainframes do all three very, very well." There really are only three "convenient" choices because Windows, out of the box, is pretty limited. Make it as easy as possible and your services will be in demand. - - - - - Timothy F. Sipples Consulting Enterprise Software Architect, z9/zSeries IBM Japan, Ltd. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
