How Data ONTAP enables dynamic CIFS home directories

Data ONTAP CIFS home directories enable you to configure a share that maps to different directories based on the user that connects to it and a set of variables. Instead of having to create separate shares for each user, you can configure a single share with a few home directory parameters to define a user's relationship between an entry point (the share) and their home directory (a directory on the Storage Virtual Machine (SVM)).

There are four variables that determine how a user is mapped to a directory:

Share name

This is the name of the share that you create that the user connects to. It can be static (for example, home), dynamic (for example, %w), or a combination of the two. You must set the home directory property for this share.

The share name can use the following dynamic names:

•	%w (the user's Windows user name)

•	%d (the user's Windows domain name)

•	%u (the user's mapped UNIX user name)

Share path

This is the relative path, defined by the share and therefore associated with one of the share names, that is appended to each search path to generate the user's entire home directory path from the root of the SVM. It can be static (for example, home), dynamic (for example, %w), or a combination of the two (for example, eng/%w).

Search paths

This is the set of absolute paths from the root of the SVM that you specify that directs the Data ONTAP search for home directories. You specify one or more search paths by using the vserver cifs home-directory search-path add command. If you specify multiple search paths, Data ONTAP tries them in the order specified until it finds a valid path.

Directory

This is the user's home directory that you create for the user. It is usually the user's name. You must create it in one of the directories defined by the search paths.

As an example, consider the following setup:

•	User: John Smith

•	User domain: acme

•	User name: jsmith

•	SVM name: vs1

•	Home directory share name #1: home - share path: %w

•	Home directory share name #2: %w - share path: %d/%w

•	Search path #1: /aggr0home/home

•	Search path #2: /aggr1home/home

•	Search path #3: /aggr2home/home

•	Home directory: /aggr1home/home/jsmith

Scenario 1: The user connects to \\vs1\home. This matches the first home directory share name and generates the relative path jsmith. Data ONTAP now searches for a directory named jsmith by checking each search path in order:

•	/aggr0home/home/jsmith does not exist; moving on to search path #2.

•	/aggr1home/home/jsmith does exist, therefore search path #3 is not checked; the user is now connected to his home directory.

Scenario 2: The user connects to \\vs1\jsmith. This matches the second home directory share name and generates the relative path acme/jsmith. Data ONTAP now searches for a directory named acme/jsmith by checking each search path in order:

•	/aggr0home/home/acme/jsmith does not exist; moving on to search path #2.

•	/aggr1home/home/acme/jsmith does not exist; moving on to search path #3.

•	/aggr2home/home/acme/jsmith does not exist; the home directory does not exist, therefore the connection fails.