NSS helps improve the scalability, flexibility, and availability of your storage devices. This section identifies specific NSS features that help you do the following:
NSS requires only about 1 MB of server memory to activate a volume, independent of the number of files it contains. With NSS, you can activate up to 256 NSS volumes (the system volume plus 255 other NSS volumes) concurrently per server, up to the available server memory.
Whenever you activate an NSS volume, it takes only seconds to mount a volume instead of minutes. NSS uses a journaling file system and does not need to scan the entire file system to create a directory entry table (DET) to load the volume. NSS loads a file’s metadata into the memory only when you access the file.
NSS reads the file system journal only if a server goes down abnormally. Instead of slowly searching the volume for errors, NSS reads the journal to identify any incomplete transactions. It either completes the transaction or backs it out. This results in less server down time and is beneficial for applications such as mail services.
NSS provides the following features to improve I/O performance and provide fault-tolerant access to your data:
Multipath I/O support (NetWare only)
Uses multiple channels to connect the server to local media or a storage area network. For information, see Managing Multipath I/O to Devices (NetWare).
Software RAID support for RAIDs 0, 1, 5, 10, and 15
Uses software RAID devices to improve performance and availability. For information, see Section 13.0, Managing NSS Software RAID Devices.
Shared-disk storage
Makes devices shareable for use in a cluster. For information, see Section 10.8, Sharing Devices for NSS Pools.
Multiple name space support
NSS provides full support for filenames in the Long, UNIX, DOS, and Macintosh* name spaces. Long name space is the default. For information, see Lookup Namespace.
Rich file metadata support
NSS provides full support for all file attributes and multiple simultaneous data streams for DOS, Windows*, UNIX, and Macintosh. For information, see Section 22.1, Configuring File System Trustees, Trustee Rights, Inherited Rights Filters, and Attributes.
NSS includes the following features to help prevent access to data that circumvents normal access control:
Encrypted Volume Support
Encrypts data volumes, meeting U.S. Government security standards. For information, see Managing Encrypted NSS Volumes.
Data shredding (up to 7 times) for deleted files
Erases files completely, meeting U.S. Government security standards. For information, see Section 22.3, Using Data Shredding to Prevent Access to Purged Files.
Multiple Server Access Prevention for pools
Ensures data integrity by preventing unauthorized access to shared media in a storage area network. For information, see Section 16.12, Preventing Pools from Activating on Multiple Servers.
Trustee model for access control on NSS volumes
NSS uses the Novell Trustee model to greatly simplify access control management in the file system. It restricts visibility of data structures so that users only see subdirectories they have rights to see, not the whole tree like all other file systems.
For information about the Novell Trustee model and NSS file system rights, see the NW 6.5 SP8: File Systems Management Guide.
Some additional steps are necessary to configure access control for NSS on Linux. For information, see Section 5.5, Access Control for NSS on Linux.
NSS includes the following features to ensure that the most current copy of your data is recoverable:
Pool snapshots to provide point-in-time views of data
Backs up files from snapshots of data so that all files, including open ones, are backed up. For information, see Managing NSS Pool Snapshots.
Immediate data saves
On file closure, immediately writes data from memory to the file instead of waiting for the next scheduled write to disk. For information, see Section 23.1, Enabling Flush Files Immediately to Write Data to the Disk on Close.
Transaction tracking support for user applications (NetWare only)
Monitors application transactions and rolls back uncompleted application transactions after a system failure. For information, see Section 23.2, Using the Transaction Tracking System for Application-Based Transaction Rollback (NetWare).
File-level snapshots allow a backup of files that are not open exclusively
For some file types, you can back up files from snapshots of data so that all files, including open ones, can be backed up. For information, see Section 23.3, Using the File-Level Snapshot Attribute to Enable the Backup of Open Files.
Salvage file subsystem
Recovers files, directories, and volumes that were deleted by applications or from the terminal/console commands. For information, see Salvaging and Purging Deleted Volumes, Directories, and Files.
NSS includes the following features to help you maximize your available space:
File compression
Compresses inactive files, according to preset parameters, to conserve space in a volume. For information, see Managing Compression on NSS Volumes.
Volume space restrictions
Limits the amount of space a volume can consume in its pool. For information, see Section 25.2, Managing NSS Volume Quotas.
Directory space restrictions
Limits the amount of space a subdirectory can consume, regardless of broader volume and user constraints. For information, see Section 25.3, Managing Directory Quotas.
User space restrictions
Limits the amount of space a user’s data can consume, regardless of broader directory or volume constraints. For information, see Section 25.4, Managing User Space Quotas.