I would like to create a ‘portal’ between my file server and my Domino server, but I don’t want to put all my .msi’s and .exe’s into a database, just ‘link’ to it.
Basically, I want to be able to type in a Notes address (ie: https://domain-name.com/files/software.exe) and have the file download. What is the best way to go about doing this?
Subject: directory link
create a network file share on your file server, which is accessible from Domino server.Within Domino server create a directory link pointing to network folder.
Domino Administrato → Click the Files tab, and then choose Tools - Folder - New Link
Next to “Link to a,” choose Folder for a directory link
In the “Path and filename to that folder or database” box, enter the complete path to the directory. Eg: \file_server_name\dump
Regards,
Byju Joy
Subject: RE: directory link
I don’t think, that this is going to work. Directory links are for nsf files only, but cannot link a “foreign directory” to the domino html directory.
Subject: RE: directory link
Let Mike give it a shot! :-)It had worked for me when I ran out of hard disk on my Domino server, put another hard disk, and mapped a directory in the new hard disk to within domino data directory, which is in old disk.
Regards
Byju Joy
Subject: RE: directory link
It does not seem to be working. If I try to browse the linked directory through Administrator, it does not see any files in it (even on the custom setting with exe and zip files specified), and I get a page not found error if I just try to create a url to the folder and file.
Subject: RE: directory link
Subject: RE: directory link
I tried putting files into the directory indicated in that thread and it doesn’t work either…I’m also noticing that I can’t create a folder link to a network path (\fileserv\software) isn’t valid, and if I map the drive on the Domino server and try to use that as the path (Z:) then the folder will create, but I can’t view anything in it or create files into it.
Subject: RE: directory link
Hmm, that’s exactly what was mentioned in the thread Willy linked to. Indeed, you cannot use Network paths or mapped drive letters. NTFS also provides a kind of “symbolic link” or junction, as MS calls it. Don’t be worried by the fact, that Windows doesn’t come with a tool to create them: 1) There are free tools to do that 2) It doesn’t work with mapped drives or network paths either.
If you had a local hard drive for storing your files, you could configure that as a dynamic volume, which can be “mounted” as a folder anywhere in the file system.
Since you don’t have that, you’ll have to look into Distributed File System junctions (which SHOULD work, based on the Microsoft KB articles I’ve read, but never tried it) or would have to invest into a real SAN, as suggested by Willy in that other thread.
For files to be accessible via HTTP in the way you described, they have to reside (or appear to reside) in Domino’s html directory, which - by default - is in domino\html inside your data directory.
Subject: RE: directory link
Aha! I was trying the domino/html directory in the program directory, not the data directory! (It’s been a long day…). I dropped a couple test files into the data’s domino/html directory and it worked, now I just need to figure out DFS and how to secure the connection…At the moment it seems that it would let anyone download, which is bad!
Edit: Correction, the downloads only work within my network…no one outside the firewall can access the files using the url…
Subject: RE: directory link
OK, and once I have the folder link created, how do I link to files in that folder?
Subject: RE: directory link
Say, \file_server_name\dump is the network file share.Create directory link named “dump” within \domino\html
And you access your files from Web by
http://domino_server_name/dump/my_file.exe
Regards
Byju Joy