IBM Support

Mapping a Drive to i5/OS NetServer

Troubleshooting


Problem

This document explains some of the options available for mapping a drive to IBM i5/OS NetServer.

Resolving The Problem

The Microsoft Windows operating systems provides several methods for mapping a network drive. It is also possible to map the drive from System i Navigator. Before attempting to map a drive to the i5/OS NetServer, do the following:

1.

Verify the NetServer name.
2.Create a share for the Integrated File System directory to be mapped.
To verify the i5/OS NetServer name, from System i Navigator do the following:
1.Expand your system name.
2.Expand Network. If you do not have the Network option, first install the System i Navigator Network and File Systems functions. Both are required to administer i5/OS NetServer. However, it is only necessary to install these functions on a single PC that can then be used to administer NetServer for everyone. It is not necessary to install these functions on every PC.

Note: Alternatively, if System i Navigator is not available, the GO NETS Command line menu can be used to administer NetServer. Information on setting up the GO NETS menu is available in IBM Technote N1021773 'How to manage IBM i NetServer without Navigator'. To view N1021773, click HERE.
3.Expand Servers, and select TCP/IP.
4.On the right, select i5/OS NetServer, right-click, and select Properties.
5.On the General tab locate Server Name. By default, it is the system name with Q in front of it. The example below does not show the default name. The default name for the system in the example would be QLPDAC710.

NetServer Properties Screen

For information on how to create a NetServer share, refer to IBM Technote N1017477 Creating an IBM i NetServer File Share - to go to N1017477 click HERE.

To map the drive to i5/OS NetServer, do one of the following:
oUsing Windows Explorer, select the Tools option and Map Network Drive, select the drive letter, and type the path to map to as follows (substituting the actual i5/OS NetServer name and share name): \\netserver\share or \\IBM_i_IPAddress\share (substituting the actual i5/OS NetServer IP address and share name).

The Map Network Drive option can alternatively be accessed by right clicking on either My Computer or My Network Places and choosing the option to Map Network Drive.
oFrom the DOS command prompt, use the net command available with Windows to map the network drive. For example, net use w: \\netserver\share maps drive w. Substitute the actual NetServer and share names in the path. Type net use /? at the DOS Command prompt for a list of parameters that can be used with the Windows net use command.
oIn Network Neighborhood or My Network Places, locate the NetServer by name and double-click to open it. Select the share, and right-click to display the Map Network Drive option. Select the drive to map to.

Note: As you traverse the directory tree (from Network Neighborhood), the Map Network Drive option is not always a choice on the menu. It is only a choice on folders displayed when you double-click on an i5/OS NetServer name (see the Note below).

Note: This option (locating the NetServer in Network Places, then opening it and right clicking on the share name) can not be used to access a QDLS share (share with a path of /QDLS/Some_folder_name) if the QZLSFILET prestart job is active on the IBM i. An 'Access Denied' error will be received. See IBM Technote N1015061 iSeries NetServer Threaded Request Support Introduced in V5R4M0. To go to Technote N1015061 click HERE.
oWindows WNet Windows 32-bit APIs can be used to write an application to map a drive. See Microsoft documentation for information on how to program to these APIs.
oFrom Windows, do a Find Computer on the NetServer name. When the iSeries NetServer is found, double-click on it to open and view the shares. Select the share to map to, right-click, and take the Map Network Drive option.
oFrom System i Navigator, do the following:

a Expand your system name.
b Expand File Systems.
c Click on File Shares.
d Select the share to map to, right-click, and select Map Network Drive.

Notes:
1.Windows may offer other options for accessing resources on other computers, such as the i5/OS NetServer. For example, in the Windows run line, in Internet Explorer (or other browser) window, and so on.
2.Windows Networking specifies that a network drive can be mapped only to a direct share point of a system. Windows 2000 (and above) allows a mapping to a directory below the file share. For example, if you share out ROOT and then you have a directory of Test under the ROOT, you could map to \\Netserver_Name\root\test and this works with no problems in Windows 2000. Other operating systems result in the message that the share is not found or invalid path.

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Historical Number

25692921

Document Information

Modified date:
18 December 2019

UID

nas8N1019414