Just now tried to mount NetApp FAS (IBM N Series) storage resources to the Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Server, using only NFS license on the filer.
Mounting NFS resource using Microsoft NFS client without user mapping services I got network disk mounted with nobody privileges and could do nothing with it. Of course mapping needs to be set and this process is described in the following post.
First of all I thought about filer’s /etc/usermap.cfg where is possible to map Windows users to the correct UNIX accounts to provide UNIX security style for NFS resources. But as far as I understand now, to use this mapping method filer must be integrated into Active Directory and it is possible only when CIFS license is activated.
OK, let’s try to use mapping service for Windows. Oops! When we go to the File Server role we can see that in Windows Server 2008 R2:
User Name Mapping has changed—server functionality no longer exists, but client functionality is present. Services for NFS can still retrieve mappings from existing legacy User Name Mapping servers.
And moreover, User Name Mapping server can’t be installed on Windows 2008 R2 Server – you need to use existing legacy server.
There’s another capability to connect Windows 2008 R2 Server by NFS to NetApp storage resources – try to use the Direct NFS from Oracle, but it can be used only for Oracle needs and I’m not 100% sure about its compatibility with Windows 2008 R2Server.
What I can say, in spite of the fact that NFS works perfectly for UNIX and VMware environment, don’t think, that purchasing only NFS license you can also cover your Windows 2008 R2 Server’s storage requirements, CIFS is also needed.
