Configuring NFS Gateway for the First Time

After you have installed the NFS Gateway, you need to configure it before using it. This section describes how to configure certain system settings for the NFS Gateway for the first time.

1. Change the bind order for the NetWare Server for NFS Gateway functionality.

   Refer to TID10070570 at the Novell Support Web site.

2. Set the value for the Largest UDP Packet size parameter of NetWare based on the following guidelines:

   • For the NFS Gateway, the following values are expected for Largest UDP Packet size:
     • 4096 + 512 = 4608 (minimum value expected for the NFS Gateway)
     • 8192 + 512 = 8704
     • 16384 + 512 = 16896
     • 32768 + 512 = 33280

     If you enter a value other than the valid values, but greater than 4609, then the nearest lower valid value is used.

     For example, if you enter 7000, then 4608 is used.

   • For calculating read/write transfer size, the NFS Gateway subtracts 512 bytes for the header from the Largest UDP Packet size and uses the nearest 2^x value lesser than the result thus obtained.

     IMPORTANT:  Because the NFS Gateway uses the nearest 2^x value lesser than the value obtained after subtracting 512 from the Largest UDP Packet size parameter, this can significantly reduce the read/write transfer size, if 512 is not added to the required parameter value.

     For example, if Largest UDP Packet size = 16384, then the actual read/write transfer value used is 8192. This value (8192) is the 2^x value, nearest to 16384- 512.

     Set the logLevel to 4 (Info, Warning and Errors) and verify the readSize and writeSize values used for a volume in the log file located at sys:\gateway\system.log.

   • To modify the Largest UDP Packet size parameter, load monitor.nlm > Select Server Parameters > Communication, and then modify the parameter.

     or

     Enter the following command in the system console:

     set largest UDP packet size = <existing_value_+_512>

3. Modify the Btrieve* settings for the NFS Gateway by editing the sys:\system\bti.cfg configuration file.

   1. Set the parameter BalancedTrees = No.

   2. Increase the value of the BackgroundThread parameter. This is to support large number of operations on a volume simultaneously.

      For best performance, set this value based on the average number of mounted gateway volumes. A good standard to follow is to have 4 volumes for every I/O thread.

      For example, if average number of mounted gateway volumes is 100, use 100/4 = 25 I/O threads.

      Specifying a value higher than 64 might negatively impact performance, but that depends on the system capabilities.

   3. Set the cacheSize parameter value in KB based on your requirements. This setting represents kilobytes (KB).

      To determine your requirements:

      • Estimate the maximum shadow file size of the shadow files for every volume.

        Maximum Shadow File Size: The estimated size that the shadow file increases to, because of the directory operations.

        For example, a volume with 50,000 entries will have a shadow file size of 94 MB. Use this benchmark to estimate the shadow file size.

      • Calculate the working data set size for NFS Gateway.

        Working Data Set Size: The sum of the maximum shadow file size of all gateway volumes active at any given time.

      Refer to the following table for guidelines to set the cache size parameter based on your performance requirements.

      Performance	CacheSize Value
      Best	100% of the working data set size or 32768 KB (32 MB), whichever is greater.
      Optimum	20% to 30% of the working data set size or 32768 KB (32 MB), whichever is greater.
      Minimum Requirement	10% of the working data set size or 32768 KB (32 MB), whichever is greater.

4. Make sure that system times of the NetWare server and the corresponding UNIX server are synchronized.

5. Restart the NetWare server for the configuration changes to take effect.