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Mapping HPC drives with Samba

Warning

  1. Samba now uses campus AD for user authentication, if you are unable to login and have not updated your NetID password recently please try updating your NetID password before opening a ticket

  2. This will only work if your computer has a university IP address. If you are off campus, you can use the MSU VPN to obtain an MSU IP, which is available to all graduate students, staff and faculty. 

  3. If file transfer speed is a concern please use our Globus endpoint.

The following tutorial will show you how to map your HPC home or research directory using SMB or CIFS File Sharing.

Determining your Network Path

We have the powertools command show-samba-paths to show all paths of your home and research space. Run these commands in your SSH client after logging on to the HPCC:

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$ ml powertools                    # if powertools is not loaded
$ show-samba-paths

  HOME      |        Samba Path
===================================================================
  username  |  \\ufs.hpcc.msu.edu\home-021\username      (Windows)
            |  smb://ufs.hpcc.msu.edu/home-021/username      (Mac)


  RESEARCH        |        Samba Path
===============================================================================
  helpdesk        |  \\ufs.hpcc.msu.edu\rs-011\helpdesk              (Windows)
                  |  smb://ufs.hpcc.msu.edu/rs-011/helpdesk              (Mac)
------------------+------------------------------------------------------------
  common-data     |  \\ufs-12-b.hpcc.msu.edu\common-data             (Windows)
                  |  smb://ufs-12-b.hpcc.msu.edu/common-data             (Mac)
------------------+------------------------------------------------------------
  BiCEP           |  \\ufs.hpcc.msu.edu\rs-001\BiCEP                 (Windows)
                  |  smb://ufs.hpcc.msu.edu/rs-001/BiCEP                 (Mac)
------------------+------------------------------------------------------------
  education-data  |  \\ufs-12-b.hpcc.msu.edu\education-data          (Windows)
                  |  smb://ufs-12-b.hpcc.msu.edu/education-data          (Mac)

where the paths are the same for Mac and Window computers but with different formats.

Windows 10

Step 1. Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on Windows:

  • Click on the Network icon on the taskbar at the right hand side and click on "Network & Internet settings"
    Network and Internet settings options on the taskbar
  • Click on Change adapter options Status section in settings with "Change adapter options" squared in red
  • Right click on your Network interface that is used to connect to the internet (here, Ethernet 2) and click on Properties Network connections menu with "Ethernet 2" squared in red
  • Select the Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Ethernet 2 properties tab with "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" highlighted in blue
  • Click the Advanced button under the General tab. "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties" menu with Advanced button squared in red
  • Click the WINS tab.
  • Click the Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP button. "Wins" tab showing "Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP" button squared in red
  • Click Ok

Step 2. Disable SMB1

Disable Samba V1 protocol with PowerShell

This step must be completed or your client will not be able to map the drive. If you have other mounts on the HPC cluster and they are using samba V1 they will stop working.

  1. Press the Windows start button

  2. In the search box type "power shell"
    search box with Windows PowerShell highlighted in blue

  3. Right click on the "Windows PowerShell" icon and select "Run as Administrator"
    Search box with potential actions that can be done to Windows PowerShell

  4. Select Ok when security warning appears
    User Account Control pop up with "No" button outlined in black

  5. Disable Samba V1 by entering the following command into the windows power shell. 

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    Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" SMB1 -Type DWORD -Value 0 -Force

  6. Ensure SMB V2 and SMB V3 are enabled by entering the following command.  In the past, on some versions of windows and for some file systems we recommended the opposite of this setting.  Running this ensures it's enabled again. 

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    Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" SMB2 -Type DWORD -Value 1 -Force

  7. Navigate to "This PC" and click on the text labeled "Map Network Drive" at the top of the screen, located under the "Computer" tab.

    File tab with "Map network drive" highlighted in grey

    From this menu you need to type your Network Path. Please see Determining your Network Path for help

  8. Once you have typed in your Network Path you need to click on the box "Connect using different credentials." This will open a window where you type in your MSU NetID and password: Map Network Drive window with "Connect using different credentials" box checked

Warning

If you aren't able to sign in, You will need to add "CAMPUSAD\" to the beginning of your username. An indicator of this issue is if Windows displays the error "The specified network password is not correct" in the username dialog window.

For example: substitute "CAMPUSAD\sparty" for username "sparty" in the username field. The slash character is a backslash. A forward slash character will not work.

  1. Finally, select "Finish" and you will see your system trying to connect

    "Windows security" window with username and password entered. The username starts with "CAMPUSAD\".

Command-line Windows NetBIOS Commands

If you're working in Windows, you can use command line tools to manage your drive mapping.  These commands also work in .bat files, if you're so inclined to connect/disconnect drives in that manner.  Note you may also have to Disable SMBV1 and Enable SMB2 per instructions above. 

  1. From the Start Menu -> Run -> type 'cmd' in the box and hit enter, the command shell should open.  You can then use the following commands to diagnose, disconnect and connect drives.
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# to show all mapped connections/drives
# use 'net use'

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>net use
New connections will not be remembered.


Status       Local     Remote                    Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unavailable  J:        \\MachineA\consult$    Microsoft Windows Network
Unavailable  P:        \\MachineB\everyone$    Microsoft Windows Network
             Z:        \\vmware-host\Shared Folders
                                                 VMware Shared Folders
The command completed successfully.

# to map a drive use:
# net use <drive_letter>: \\<hostname>\<mount> /user:hpcc\<net_id>
# where <hostname> and <mount> were determined from above 'Determining Your Network Path' and <net_id> is your MSU Net ID

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>net use m: \\ufs-10-a.hpcc.msu.edu\jal /user:hpcc\jal
The command completed successfully.

# You can use 'net use' again to show the drive mapping status.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>net use
New connections will not be remembered.


Status       Local     Remote                    Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unavailable  J:        \\MachineA\consult$    Microsoft Windows Network
OK           M:        \\ufs-10-a.hpcc.msu.edu\jal
                                                 Microsoft Windows Network
Unavailable  P:        \\MachineB\everyone$    Microsoft Windows Network
             Z:        \\vmware-host\Shared Folders
                                                 VMware Shared Folders
The command completed successfully.

# To disconnect a drive use:
# net use <drive_letter>: /delete
## NOTE: this will only drop the connection, not delete the share or any data on the share ##

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>net use m: /delete
m: was deleted successfully.

# you can now use 'net use' again to show your mapping status after the delete to ensure it's gone.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>net use
New connections will not be remembered.


Status       Local     Remote                    Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unavailable  J:        \\MachineA\consult$    Microsoft Windows Network
Unavailable  P:        \\MachineB\everyone$    Microsoft Windows Network
             Z:        \\vmware-host\Shared Folders
                                                 VMware Shared Folders
The command completed successfully.


C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>

MacOS Example

  1. Open the Finder.
    Finder button on the dock
  2. Under "GO" click on "Connect to Server"
    Go tab with "Connect to Server..." button highlighted
  3. From this menu you need to type your Network Path. Please see Determining your Network Path for help.
    Menu displaying network path highlighted in grey
  4. Enter your MSU NetID and password for authentication and click "Connect".
    Login menu with "Registered User" button selected and username and password entered

Linux

  1. Install smb-client

    Ubuntu / Debian

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    apt install smbclient

    Red Hat / Fedora

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    yum install samba-client

  2. Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf

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    sudo vi  /etc/samba/smb.conf

  3. Add the following lines to disable samba V1

    This step must be completed or your client will not be able to map the drive. If you have other mounts on on the HPC cluster and they are using samba V1 they will stop working. In this case please use SSHFS.

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    client min protocol = SMB2
client max protocol = SMB3

Ubuntu Mount Example

  1. Open a File Browser window. In the left pane select "Other Locations"
    File Browser window

  2. Type your network path in the server address box. Remember to get your network path using show-samba-paths on the HPCC (Format is the same as the Mac format)

    Network Path entered in "Connect to Server" section at the bottom of the File Browser window 3. An authentication window will open. Select "Registered User". Enter your user ID and password (Domain can remain WORKGROUP) and click connect.

    Note

    Your username must include @msu.edu.

    Authentication window with "Registered User" selected and username, domain and password entered. The username ends in "@msu.edu" and the domain is "WORKGROUP". 4. If connected properly the drive should appear in the file manager screen.

    File manager screen with the mounted drive showing

  3. After successfully mounting, you can unmount using the eject button in the file manager, and reconnect later using the dropdown list next to the Connect to Server box.

More Information