Server Profiles Tab CIFS_NG

Use the Server Profiles tab to configure information for a CIFS_NG server. The Common Internet File System (CIFS) is a file sharing protocol. Clients use this protocol to request file access services from servers over a network. Avalanche emulates multiple clients accessing files on a CIFS server. An emulated CIFS server can respond to CIFS requests generated by Avalanche, allowing you to stress test network devices that are aware of CIFS traffic.

Field

Description

Selection and General Fields:

See the Server Profile tab for information about these fields.

Connection Properties Fields:

See the Server Profile tab for information. The default port is 445.

Data Source Fields:

On the fly

Select to generate file data using the on-the-fly feature, as an alternative to real files. The CIFS server responds to read commands by creating data on the fly. These generated files are filled with the "*" character.

From Dir/File

Select to use real files from the named file hierarchy that you select from the Serve Files from Directory field below.

Serve Files from Directory

This field is enabled when you select the From Dir/File field above. Select the named file hierarchy that you want to use from the drop-down menu, or use the following buttons to upload, copy, edit, or delete a file hierarchy:

Upload a directory and name the new file hierarchy. The hierarchy name must contain only alpha-numeric characters and underscores. Spaces, other special characters, and URL encoding are not allowed.

IMPORTANT:

The size and number of files that you upload can adversely affect performance, especially during the test preparation phase. In general, you can upload up to 1 GB of files per project, depending on the memory and storage resources of your hardware platform. The following are general guidelines:

The 10 GbE test port configuration is recommended, as 1 GbE will result in lower performance.
You can upload a set of files and/or directories to your hardware platform on a per-port-group basis.

NOTES:

You can also upload the file directory using the Directories tab on the Client Actions tab, and then simply select the named file hierarchy from the drop-down menu.
When you upload a directory, Commander makes a copy of the directory. If you later add, delete, or edit files in the original directory, the changes are not automatically uploaded into Commander. You must upload the directory again.

Copy the file hierarchy selected in the drop-down menu.

Edit the file hierarchy selected in the drop-down menu. You choose a directory to upload, which replaces all files in the selected file hierarchy.

Delete the file hierarchy selected in the drop-down menu.

File size

This field is enabled when you select On the fly. You can enter the size of the generated files in bytes.

Timestamp

Select one of the following timestamp options:

Generate on the fly - Assign a new timestamp each time a file is accessed.
Constant - Assign a timestamp when a file is first accessed, and then retain that timestamp on subsequent requests.

Authentication and Data Randomization Fields:

Select authentication profile

Select the authentication profile for the CIFS server to use from the drop-down menu. You create these profiles in the Server Authentications tab.

Domain name

The authentication domain (any string).

Randomize data

Select to randomize the data blocks that the client reads from the server. This is useful for testing the performance and caching capabilities of WAN accelerators, for example, in sending only the data that has changed from the previously accessed version of a file.

NOTE: Data randomization is available for read operations only.

Start Location

Select the starting location within the file to begin the randomization:

Beginning
Middle
End

Randomization percentage

The percentage of the file that you want to randomize. This determines the scope of the data within the file that gets randomized. For example, 100% does not mean that every data block will change. It means that data can change within the entire scope of the file. Enter a smaller percentage to change only a portion of the file.

This field works in conjunction with the Start location field. For example, if you select Middle for the start location, and 10% for the randomization percentage, the scope of data that gets randomized is from the middle of the file, plus or minus 5%.

Randomization seed

A seed value to use in the algorithm to determine the first data block to modify for read operations. If you want to maintain the same data randomization results for each test run, you should keep the seed value the same. Otherwise, you should vary the seed value between test runs.

Related Information:

Configuring a Server Profile

Testing CIFSNG/SMB