1.1 Installation, Upgrade, and Administration Issues

The following installation and administration issues for Novell iFolder 2.1 server software apply to all server operating systems:

1.1.1 Enabling Administrator User Objects for LDAP Servers

If an administrator's User object resides on multiple LDAP servers, do not enable the object as an iFolder server Admin user. If you have only one LDAP server and one corresponding Admin user, you can enable the object; however, enabling an administrator User object as an iFolder server Admin user is not recommended.

1.1.2 Failure to Update the User Disk Quota

In the iFolder Management Console, when you attempt to update a User Disk Quota, the User Admin page reports the new User Disk Quota as if the update succeeded, but the Update command is not actually executed by the server. The user’s client continues to report the old User Disk Quota. You must repeat the task to force the User Disk Quota to update.

To avoid this problem, modify the User’s Disk Quota, then click Update two times, allowing time for the Web page to refresh between clicks.

1.1.3 Limiting the Number of Characters for User IDs

The Username field is limited for iFolder user IDs.

  • eDirectory: An iFolder user ID cannot exceed 64 characters in length if you use Novell eDirectory™. If the user ID has more than 64 characters, neither the administrator nor the user can access the user's iFolder account.

  • Active Directory: An iFolder user ID cannot exceed 20 characters in length if you use Microsoft* Active Directory*. If the user ID has more than 20 characters, the operation fails with an error.

    The reason for this is that the sAMAccountName attribute, which acts as the user's logon name, is limited to only 20 characters. The iFolderServer administrator applications sets both the user's CN attribute and the sAMAccountName attribute to the same value.

You can manage user accounts from the User Management page in the iFolder Management Console.

1.1.4 Limiting Characters Used in Installation Data Fields

The Apache 2 Server registry and the iFolder server software do not support extended ASCII characters (characters above code point 127) in the following fields during the installation:

  • Admin names
  • LDAP context (Novell eDirectory or Microsoft Active Directory)
  • iFolder database location
  • SSL certificate location

Additionally, use English when entering the SSL certificate location.

1.1.5 Using Web Browsers to Manage iFolder or to Access the iFolder Web Sites

You can access the iFolder Management Console using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0 or later. Netscape* 7 or later is the recommended Netscape browser version.

For iFolder servers running on a NetWare® or Windows* 2000 server operating system, you must use IE to access your files via a Web browser.

For iFolder servers running on an IIS Web server, you must use an IE browser to access the iFolder Management Console or the default iFolder Web site from that server. You cannot access the iFolder Management Console and default iFolder Web site using a Netscape browser on an IIS server. If the iFolder server uses IIS and you want to use a Netscape browser, access the server remotely from a workstation.

The iFolder Java* applet can be accessed from the iFolder Web site using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later. Netscape 7 or later is the recommended Netscape browser version.

We require Sun* Microsystems JVM* 1.3.1 to 1.4.1_02 for the iFolder Java applet to function properly. If you upgrade your browser (such as to IE 6 Service Pack 1), the upgrade will change the default JVM to Microsoft's version. Make sure to manually reset Sun's JVM as the default JVM after you upgrade.

1.1.6 iFolder Java Applet Requires Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.3.1 to 1.4.1_02

Logging in to the Java applet fails with Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_01 and later. When you attempt to log in, the applet sometimes fails to initialize and returns an error message "Applet NIDapplet not inited." If it does initialize, the applet login fails and returns an error message "Authentication failed."

To avoid this problem, use Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.3.1 to 1.4.1_02. Sun no longer supports these versions of JRE under Sun's standard support contracts. To download an archived version of Java 1.4.1, visit the Sun Java Technology Downloads Archive.

1.1.7 iFolder Java Applet Provided As Is

The iFolder Java applet is provided as is. It is no longer supported.

If you purchased iFolder 2.1.x as bundled with Novell NetWare 6.5 or Novell Nterprise™ Linux Services, Novell NetStorage is available to provide Web-based access for users to their data on the iFolder server. You must configure NetStorage to support iFolder services. For information, see the OES NetStorage Administration Guide for NetWare.

To achieve the best results when using the iFolder Java applet, inform your users of the following tips:

  • Install Sun JRE 1.3.1 to 1.4.1_02 on your workstation. To download an archived version of Java 1.4.1, visit the Sun Java Technology Downloads Archive.
  • Whenever you want to use the iFolder Java applet, open a separate Web browser window to use only for the Java applet session. If you want to visit other URLs while your iFolder session is open, open a different browser window.
  • Mozilla and Netscape Web browsers offer navigation tabs as a alternative to opening separate windows. If you plan to visit other Web sites while your iFolder Java applet session is active, turn off the tabs feature so that separate browser windows are open on your desktop.
  • Use the navigation buttons and links provided by the iFolder Java applet window to navigate and access your iFolder files while using the applet. Do not use the browser's navigation buttons, such as Forward and Back, to navigate between views. Do not use the browser's Location field or links on the iFolder Web site to navigate to a different URL.
  • If you want to concurrently explore multiple iFolder accounts using the iFolder Java applet interface, you must open the iFolder Web site URL using a separate Web browser window for each account and log in separately to each account's session.
  • To gracefully end your session in the iFolder Java applet, log out of the session, then close the Web browser.

1.1.8 iFolder Java Applet Login Error Message Returns Incomplete URL

In the iFolder client tray application, the iFolder Web site link opens a Web browser to the iFolder Web site on the default iFolder server in the iFolder system. This server is typically the server where the user's iFolder data resides. However, in an iFolder system with multiple iFolder servers, you might relocate a user's iFolder data to a new server in the system or assign a different server to act as the default iFolder server. If the user's data does not reside on the selected server, the log in to the iFolder Java applet fails.

On login failure, the iFolder Java applet returns the User Resides on a Different Server error message. For example, the message reads:

User resides on a different server. Open the following server URL and select ’login’: http://nif4.yourdomain.com

where nif4.yourdomain.com represents the DNS name of the server where the user's iFolder data actually resides.

This URL provides the correct server address, but the URL is incomplete. The address should include the iFolder directory. For example:

http://nif4.yourdomain.com/iFolder

To log in successfully, the user must replace nif4.yourdomain.com with the actual DNS name returned in the error message and add the iFolder directory to the end of the URL.

1.1.9 Enabling Pop-Up Windows

For the iFolder management and help tools to work properly, you must enable pop-up windows in your Web browser while configuring and administering iFolder. If you use an application that blocks pop-up windows, temporarily disable the blocking feature.

1.1.10 Failing to Log In to the iFolder Management Console

The login to Global Settings from the iFolder Management Console might fail intermittently, displaying a message “Previous Login Failed.” To resolve this, repeat the login process until you are successful.

1.1.11 Failing to Log Out of the iFolder Management Console

If your Web browser caches its pages, the next time you return to the iFolder Management console, after having logged out of the console and closed your browser, you might not need to log in again.

To avoid this security risk, configure your Web browser to delete the temporary files when you close the browser. For example, in Internet Explorer 6, click Tools > Internet Options > Advanced, under Security, check the Empty Temporary Internet Files When Browser Is Closed check box, then click OK.

1.1.12 Using the Reporting/System Monitoring Features

The numbers displayed in the Totals field in the Reporting section of the iFolder Management Console reflect only the totals of the iFolder server that the iFolder administrator is logged in to, not the totals of all iFolder servers.

Rapidly toggling back and forth between the Reporting and System Monitoring screens in a Web browser might cause the iFolder server to hang. If iFolder hangs, stop and restart the iFolder server software.

If two administrators are simultaneously making system monitoring requests from two different browsers to two different iFolder servers, either of the iFolder servers in the iFolder system might hang. If iFolder hangs, stop and restart the iFolder software.