Creating NetBIOS aliases for the filer

About NetBIOS aliases

You can create a list of NetBIOS aliases as alternative names for the filer. You can connect to the filer using any of the names in the list.

Ways to create NetBIOS aliases

You can create NetBIOS aliases in either of the following ways:

Using the command options cifs.netbios_aliases
Using the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file

The options cifs.netbios_aliases command allows you to create NetBIOS aliases as a comma-separated list. The list has a limit of 255 characters, including the commas. Alternatively, you can create up to 200 entries in the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file.

Creating NetBIOS aliases from the command line

To create a list of NetBIOS aliases from the command line, complete the following step.

Step	Action
1	Enter the following command: *options cifs.netbios_aliases name,...* Example `options cifs.netbios_aliases alias1,alias2,alias3` Note You can enter a list of aliases up to a limit of 255 characters, including the commas. If the aliases you want to create exceed 255 characters, you can create the aliases in a file named cifs_nbalias.cfg in the /etc directory.
2	Enter the following command to process the entries: cifs nbalias load

Step

Action

Enter the following command:

options cifs.netbios_aliases name,...

Example

options cifs.netbios_aliases alias1,alias2,alias3

Note
You can enter a list of aliases up to a limit of 255 characters, including the commas. If the aliases you want to create exceed 255 characters, you can create the aliases in a file named cifs_nbalias.cfg in the /etc directory.

Enter the following command to process the entries:

cifs nbalias load

About the default cifs_nbalias.cfg file

Data ONTAP creates a default cifs_nbalias.cfg file in the /etc directory when CIFS starts, if the file does not already exist. Changes to this file are processed automatically whenever CIFS starts. You can also process changes to this file using the command cifs nbalias load.

Creating NetBIOS aliases in the cifs_nbalias.cfg file

To create NetBIOS aliases in the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file, complete the following steps.

Step	Action
1	Open the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file for editing.
2	Enter NetBIOS aliases in the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file, one entry per line. Note You can enter up to 200 NetBIOS aliases in the file using either ASCII or Unicode characters.
3	Enter the following command to process the entries: cifs nbalias load

Step

Action

Open the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file for editing.

Enter NetBIOS aliases in the /etc/cifs_nbalias.cfg file, one entry per line.

Note
You can enter up to 200 NetBIOS aliases in the file using either ASCII or Unicode characters.

Enter the following command to process the entries:

cifs nbalias load

Displaying the list of NetBIOS aliases

To display the current list of NetBIOS aliases, complete the following step.

Step	Action
1	Enter the following command: cifs nbalias