Hello folks,
I'm on Server 2012 R2. I'm using a DFS Namespace that is configured as standalone server (i.e. not a domain-based namespace). The Namespace is the IP address of the server. I have also tried this with the hostname of the server and I get the same results. Here's my problem:
I've created a folder target within DFS that points to a samba share on a linux-based NAS. The samba share is a 'cloud storage' share hosted by my server host, so I'm not entirely sure what specific technology it is. It does not have a public ACL - it requires authentication and I cannot change that. I can connect to the Namespace fine from other servers. However, when I try to open the folder target, it tells me "Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password". Then, if I right-click the folder, select Properties then the DFS tab, I see that the path is Active. If I click Check Status, I get Okay, and when I exit, the folder is now navigable and I have no problems browsing the folders. Sometimes when I close Explorer, the share will still be accessible when I reopen Explorer and browse to it, but most of the time when I close and reopen, the same error is displayed and I have to Check Status again to regain access. If I logout of the session, log back in and try again, it always gives me the error until I Check Status again.
The idea is to access this share from multiple instances of IIS, so obviously requiring user intervention is not going to be suitable. I have added a local user to the DFS server that matches the valid credentials on the samba share, and I've also added them to all the servers trying to use this share. I've confirmed that all servers can browse directly to the share. I do notice that when I browse directly to the samba share after having not used it for some time (30 minutes or one hour), it takes longer than expected to open - maybe 10 seconds. Could this lag be causing the issue? There are no errors or warnings in the logs on the DFS server. Any ideas what this could be? Have I missed something? Massive thanks for any guidance!