Guide to FileCloud Network folders with NTFS Permissions

FileCloud Network Folders 

Windows based Network Folders that are shared with the team are managed effectively by setting permissions on them.   Network Folders are further managed using NTFS rights set up for various AD users and groups.  

To set up Network Folders, see Setting Up Network Folders.

FileCloud can inherit the NTFS permissions on Network Folders for user authorization and access to these resources.

Pre-Requisites for NTFS setup

When Network Folders are added to FileCloud, permission needs to be set as NTFS.  This uses all the NTFS permissions already set on the Network Share. 

To set up Network Folders, see Setting Up Network Folders.

If your Web Server is running as a service, please make sure to it is running with a user account that has all permissions over the Network Share in NTFS.

Prerequisite 1: NTFS is applicable on Network Folders only if NTFS is selected for Permissions is during Network Folder creation.

Prerequisite 2: FileCloud Helper service  (optional) 

The FileCloud Helper service performs: 

• • • NTFS Permission checks for Network Folders configured with NTFS permissions on a Linux Server

    • Indexed search of Network Folders  in Windows and Linux Server

    • Content search of documents in Network Folders in Windows and Linux Server
      

    • For more information on FileCloud Helper service refer to: FileCloud Helper Service

Prerequisite 3: Assign users (AD Users)

The permissions on these Network Folders are managed using NTFS rights setup for various users and groups (usually from Active Directory).  

To set up AD users, see Active Directory Authentication

To give permissions:  

1. On the Manage Network Folders screen, click the  icon of the network folder with NTFS permission.
    
2. In the Network Folder Details dialog box, click Manage Users or Manage Groups.  
   
3. Select users or groups that require permission for this network folder. 
    Only the AD users in the group have access to contents. 

Helpful information

1. Does the Server where FileCloud runs have to be part of the domain?
    If you run the FileCloud Web Server as a service, yes, the server has to be part of the machine, and the Web Server service has to be running as an AD user with all permissions on the Network Share. 
   
   
   
   
2. Are there any restrictions or limitations on Network Folders?
   Yes, the path and file names together cannot be longer than 255 characters. This is a Windows restriction that the Server cannot override.  Please refer to Limits in File System Functionality Comparison
   

   Note:

   Full path includes the name of the file to, for example: "C:\Users\Default\Downloads\sample.docx"

   If you want to find out if you have files with a path greater than 255 you can use a 3rd party path length checker, which will read all the files from a specific location and show you which files do not comply with this restriction.

   
   
   
3. Can a regular user be given access to NTFS Network folder?
   Yes, regular users can be given access, but they will not be able to see the subfolders of the network share. 
   ONLY, AD users will be able to use the network folder information.
   
   
   
4. When using Network Folders with NTFS permissions, is it  possible to automatically hide folders that users don't have access to?
   Yes, by enabling Access Based Enumeration (ABE) settings on the Network folders.
   For more information see Network Folders with NTFS permissions.
   
   
   
5. What happens when a user permission is changed in AD?
   When user membership in an AD group is modified, that change is not propagated immediately and is cached by Windows. For more information, see Microsoft help
   As a result, if you change a user group membership, it might take some time ranging (10 minutes to several hours) before the change is picked up by NTFS. If the changes must be picked up immediately, restart the Helper service.
   
   
   
6. Is FileCloud Helper service compulsory?
   If you are running FileCloud on a Windows server, you do not need the Helper service for NTFS permission checks as the Web Server itself can perform access checks.
   If you are running FileCloud on a Linux server, you do need the Helper service to perform NTFS permission checks.