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QNAP

QuTS hero 5.0.x

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Creating a Shared Folder

Note:

For shared folders created in QuTS hero h5.0.1 and later, read acceleration is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.

For details, see "Enable Read Acceleration" in Shared Folder Actions.

  1. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Storage/Snapshots.
  2. Click Create, and then select New Shared Folder.

    The Create Shared Folder Wizard window opens.

  3. Specify a shared folder name.
    • The name can be in any Unicode language.

    • The maximum length is 64 bytes. In English, this equals 64 characters.

    • The following special characters are not allowed: @ " + = / \ : | * ? < > ; [ ] % , ` ' non-breaking space

    • The last character cannot be a period (.) or space.

    • The name cannot begin with a space or "_sn_".

  4. Optional: Specify a description.

    The information is for your reference and is not used by QuTS hero.

  5. Select a storage pool.

    The shared folder is created using storage space from this pool.

  6. Select a method of space allocation.

    Allocation

    Description

    Thick provisioning

    QuTS hero allocates storage pool space when the shared folder is created, ensuring the space is available.

    Thin provisioning

    QuTS hero allocates storage pool space on demand, as data is written to the shared folder.

    Note:

    This option is selected by default.

  7. Optional: Click Enable snapshot schedule and snapshot retention.
    Note:

    By default, a snapshot is scheduled daily at 1:00 AM, and the snapshot retention policy is set to Smart Versioning. You can change these settings at any time. For details, see the following topics:

  8. Specify the capacity of the shared folder.

    The method of space allocation determines the maximum shared folder capacity.

    Method

    Maximum Size

    Thick provisioning

    Amount of free space in the parent storage pool.

    Thin provisioning

    5 PB (5000 TB)

    Tip:

    Setting the maximum size of a shared folder to a value that is greater than the amount of free space in its parent storage pool is called over-allocation.

    Note:

    If the parent storage pool does not contain any existing shared folders, setting the allocated quota to maximum may cause the storage pool size to exceed the pool space alert threshold. If this happens, the pool space alert will be disabled.

    To reset the pool space alert, see Configuring a Storage Pool Space Alert.

  9. Optional: Configure shared folder guaranteed snapshot space.

    Shared folder guaranteed snapshot space is storage pool space that is reserved for storing snapshots of a folder. Enabling this feature ensures that QuTS hero always has sufficient space to store new snapshots for this folder.

  10. Optional: Configure shared folder encryption.
    Note:
    • To encrypt data on the shared folder, the system generates a unique encryption key based on the user-defined encryption password. To access data on the shared folder, the shared folder must be unlocked with the encryption password or the encryption key file. You can download the encryption key file later.

    • You cannot enable or disable encryption after a shared folder is created.

    • Encryption decreases read and write speeds.

    1. Select Enable shared folder encryption.
    2. Specify an encryption password.

      The password must contain 8 to 16 characters, and can be any combination of letters, numbers and special characters. Spaces are not allowed.

      Warning:

      If you forget the encryption password and do not have the encryption key file, the shared folder will become inaccessible and all data in the shared folder will be lost.

      To download the encryption key file, see Managing Shared Folder Encryption.

    3. Verify the password.
    4. Optional: Select Auto unlock on startup.
      Note:

      This setting allows the system to save the encryption key so it can automatically unlock the shared folder every time the NAS starts, without requiring the user to provide the encryption password or encryption key file.

      You can change this setting at any time. For details, see Managing Shared Folder Encryption.

  11. Click Next.
  12. Optional: Configure any of the following storage settings.

    Setting

    Description

    Compression

    QuTS hero compresses the data in the shared folder to reduce the size of stored data. Enabling compression also reduces the total number of blocks that QuTS hero needs to read and write, increasing read and write speeds.

    Tip:

    Compression does not impact read/write and processor performance on ZFS filesystems. Only disable this setting when necessary.

    Deduplication

    QuTS hero reduces the amount of storage needed by eliminating duplicate copies of repeated data.

    Important:

    To enable deduplication your NAS must have at least 16 GB of memory.

    SSD cache

    QuTS hero adds data from this folder to the SSD cache to improve read performance.

    Important:

    Shared folders and LUNs created in an all-SSD storage pool cannot use the SSD cache.

    Fast clone

    Fast Clone enables QuTS hero to create copies of files faster. It also saves storage space by modifying file metadata, allowing original and copied files to share the same data blocks.

    Important:
    • To enable this setting, Thin provision must be selected.

    • Fast Clone only works when the copied file is created in the shared folder containing the original file.

    • Fast Clone does not improve the speed of snapshot restoration operations such as restoring files from a snapshot, snapshot revert, and snapshot clone.

    Synchronous I/O

    Select the ZFS Intent Log I/O mode to improve data consistency or performance. There are three modes:

    • Standard:

      QuTS hero uses synchronous I/O or asynchronous I/O based on the application and the type of I/O request.

    • Always:

      All I/O transactions are treated as synchronous and are always written and flushed to a non-volatile storage (such as a SSD or HDD). This option gives the best data consistency, but might have a small impact on performance.

    • None:

      All I/O transactions are treated as asynchronous. This option gives the highest performance, but has a higher risk of data loss in the event of a power outage. Ensure that a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) is installed when using this option.

    Performance profile

    Specify how to use the shared folder. Each option results in a different record size, optimizing performance for the specified application.

    Tip:

    The default is 64K.

  13. Optional: Configure WORM (Write Once Read Many).

    WORM prevents anyone from modifying or deleting files or folders in the shared folder.

    Important:

    This setting cannot be modified after shared folder creation.

    1. Select WORM.
    2. Configure any of the following settings.

      Setting

      Description

      WORM type

      Select a WORM type.

      • Enterprise

        Users can delete the shared folder.

      • Compliance

        Users cannot delete the shared folder. An administrator must remove the storage pool to delete the WORM shared folder.

      Lock setting

      Configure whether files in the shared folder are to be locked automatically or manually.

      If you choose to lock files automatically, specify the amount of time to delay locking the file after the file is added to the folder. After this time has passed, the file becomes unmodifiable.

      If you choose to lock files manually, after a file is added to the folder, you can manually configure the file permissions to read-only at any time.

      Note:
      • You cannot modify the lock setting after folder creation.

      • The time a file becomes locked might vary from the specified time by +/- 1 minute.

      • The maximum lock delay time is 168 hours and 59 minutes.

      Retention

      Limit how long WORM applies to each file and folder. Files and folders can be deleted after the specified time period.

  14. Click Next.
  15. Optional: Configure user access permissions.
    1. Under Configure access privileges for users, click Edit.
    2. Specify the access permissions for users.

      For details, see Shared Folder Permissions.

  16. Click Next.
  17. Optional: Configure advanced settings.

    Option

    Description

    Guest Access Right

    Select the permission level assigned to users without a NAS account.

    Hide network drive

    Selecting this option hides the folder in Windows networks. Users who know the specific path can still access the folder.

    Lock File (Oplocks)

    Opportunistic lock (Oplocks) is a Windows file locking mechanism that facilitates caching and access control to improve performance. This feature is enabled by default and should only be disabled in networks where multiple users simultaneously access the same files.

    SMB Encryption

    This option is available only when SMB3 is enabled and the kernel-mode SMB daemon is disabled. Selecting this option encrypts all Microsoft network communication using the SMB3 protocol.

    Enable Windows Previous Versions

    When enabled, the Previous Versions feature in Windows can be used with the shared folder.

    Enable Network Recycle Bin

    Selecting this option creates a Recycle Bin for this shared folder.

    Restrict the access of Recycle Bin to administrators only for now

    Selecting this option prevents non-administrator users from recovering or deleting files in the Recycle Bin.

    Note:

    This option is available only when Enable Network Recycle Bin is selected.

    Enable sync on this shared folder

    Selecting this option allows this shared folder to be used with Qsync. This option is only available if Qsync Central is installed on the NAS.

    Enable access-based share enumeration (ABSE)

    When enabled, users can only see the shared folders that they have permission to mount and access. Guest account users must enter a username and password to view shared folders.

    Enable access-based enumeration (ABE)

    When enabled, users can only see the files and folders that they have permission to access.

    Set this folder as the Time Machine backup folder (macOS)

    When enabled, the shared folder becomes the destination folder for Time Machine in macOS.

  18. Click Next.
  19. Review the summary information, and then click Finish.

QuTS hero creates the shared folder.