OpenAFS for Windows

Contents:

• How to Decide Which Version to Install
• Digital Signatures
• Status Reports
• OpenAFS for Windows 1.5.35
• MIT Kerberos for Windows

How to Decide Which Version to Install

The following guidelines should be used for choosing an installer type. If you are upgrading from a previous installation, select the same type of installer, EXE or MSI, as was previously installed on the system. If you are installing for the first time, choose the EXE if you are installing manually and the MSI if you either need to customize the installation package (via a transform) or wish to deploy via Active Directory Group Policy.

Each installer is provided in debug and non-debug versions. The debug versions should be installed only when you are experiencing a problem and you need to assist the OpenAFS developers in debugging the problem. The non-debug version is optimized for performance, does not generate logging information by default, and does not install symbol files.

Digital Signatures

All of the installers are produced and signed by Secure Endpoints Inc.. If the signature is missing do not complete the installation process and send e-mail to openafs-security@openafs.org

Status Reports

Secure Endpoints Inc. periodically publishes a report on the current status of OpenAFS for Windows development. The most recent report was published in February 2008. Read it today!

OpenAFS for Windows 1.5.35 (1.5.3500.0)

Features:

• Compatible with all OpenAFS and IBM/Transarc AFS Servers
• Support for all editions of Windows Vista
• 2007 Daylight Savings Time corrected C Runtime Library DLLs
• AFS credentials module for MIT Kerberos for Windows Network Identity Manager
• Support for 64-bit File Sizes on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows
• Support for 64-bit Windows XP/2003/R2/Vista
• Implements Windows Byte Range Locking backed by AFS File Server Locks
• Implements Inline Bulk Status RPCs which speeds up directory listings
• Uses GetCapabilities RPCs to probe the server status
• Logs fs crypt state to the Windows Event Log
• Supports OutputDebugString debugging of the RX Library
• New command: fs uuid [-generate]
• Improved CIFS protocol compatibility
• Hard Dead and Connection Timeout values restricted to the CIFS Session Timeout value.
• Improved handling of Windows Standby/Hibernate modes when network access is not available
• Significant performance improvements when searching directories containing hundreds or thousands of files and sub-directories
• Reduced time required for file open operations
• Fixes a write data corruption error that exists in all versions of OpenAFS prior to 1.5.15
• Increased cache hit ratio for data written to AFS by the local client
• Eliminates "out of volumes" and "out of buffers" panic conditions
• Improved behavior when used from behind Network Address Translation (NAT) devices
• As of 1.5.18, OpenAFS for Windows no longer attempts to push Kerberos v5 tickets into the logon session. This functionality is available in MIT Kerberos for Windows 3.1 and above.
• Fixes a bug that could result in a failure of Microsoft Windows to boot successfully.  See Security Advisory OPENAFS-SA-2007-002
• Improved Explorer Shell behavior when viewing directories without "read" permission.
• Lower CPU utilization and overall performance improvements than 1.5.20 and earlier
• The AFS Server Manager no longer terminates unexpectedly
• Infinite recursions in chains of directory objects up to 512 levels deep are detected and prevented.
• Data that is known to be valid will continue to be served by the cache manager when all servers are down.
• Improved directory search performance when compared to 1.5.21 and earlier.  Especially after directory updates and when searching for files that do not exist.
• Partial chunks are written to the file server whenever possible improving write performance.
• Default chunk size increased to 1MB from 128KB as of 1.5.23 improving read and write performance.
• The 1.5.31 release fixes a bug that would prevent failover when a volume cannot be attached by a single file server instance.
• The 1.5.32 more than doubles the throughput of both reads and writes when compared to previous releases.  One 1Gbit/second networks peak transfer rates of up to 32MB/second have been recorded between the cache manager and the file server.

Documentation:

• 1.5.35 Release Notes
  
• 1.5.35 ChangeLog

Supported Platforms::

• Windows Server 2008 (X86 and AMD64)
• Windows Vista (X86 and AMD64) including SP1
• Windows 2003 64 (AMD64)
• Windows XP 64 (AMD64)
• Windows 2003 R2
• Windows 2003 including SP1
• Windows XP including SP2
• Windows 2000 Workstation and Server

Known Issues:

• If a *beta* AFS plug-in for Network Identity Manager is installed, it must be uninstalled before OpenAFS 1.5.35 is installed. Otherwise, an error indicating that the plug-in cannot be installed because the appropriate version of OpenAFS is not installed will be generated.
• The AFS plug-in for Network Identity Manager provided as part of OpenAFS 1.5.35 requires MIT Kerberos for Windows 3.1 or above.
• Directory and File Change Notifications are ignored when accessing AFS via UNC paths
• Windows Vista Specific Issues
  • The help files provided with OpenAFS are in .HLP format.  WinHlp32.exe must be downloaded separately from Microsoft.  Secure Endpoints Inc. is funding the development of compatible HtmlHelp (.CHM) files.
  • The AFS Systray Tool (afscreds.exe) and AFS Control Panel (afs_config.exe) are not User Account Control (UAC) compatible.  In order to start/stop the AFS service or to modify the configuration of the AFS client service they must be "Run as Administrator".

Downloads for 32-bit Windows operating systems: Vista/R2/2003/XP/2000:

• 32-bit EXE installer for individual installations
• 32-bit MSI installer for managed installations
  

Downloads for 64-bit Windows operating systems: Vista/R2/2003/XP:

• 64-bit MSI installer
  

Support for 32-bit Windows Applications on 64-bit Windows operating systems

This installer is required for any 32-bit applications that require use of AFS libraries.  This includes 32-bit versions of MIT Kerberos for Windows.

• 32-bit tools MSI installer
  

Note: In 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows there are 64-bit and 32-bit versions of the command prompt and the Explorer Shell.  It is very important that when installing applications that the installers be started from a 64-bit process.  It is strongly recommended that the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel be used to initiate installations on 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems.

MIT Kerberos for Windows