Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 and NetApp Filers

Windows Server 2012 has been available for a few months now, and many organisations have begun to roll out the new technology.

A colleague of mine and myself have had some negative experiences with NetApp filters. It is important to note that there are some significant changes relating to authentication and file access with third party network storage devices. The organisation where I work uses NetApp filers, and the two biggest issues we have encountered are: –

• Resource SID Compression
• SMB Secure Negotiate

These two items both result in the inability to access resources on our NetApp filers, until registry keys are applied to the operating system to disable this additional functionality.

In order to disable Resource SID Compression, you must apply the following registry key to all Windows Server 2012 domain controllers: –

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kdc\Parameters\DisableResourceGroupsFields (DWORD) = 1

In order to disable SMB Secure Negotiate, you must apply the following registry key to all Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 clients: –

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\RequireSecureNegotiate (DWORD) = 0

More information is available in the following articles: –

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2774190
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2686098