The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test ShareFile StorageZone Controller 2.2 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
STORAGEZONE CONTROLLER – szc
CERTIFICATE SIGNING REQUEST – csr
SHAREFILE – sf
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME – fqdn
SECURE LIGHTWEIGHT DIRECTORY ACCESS PROTOCOL – (s)ldap
CERTIFICATE – cert
COMMON INTERNET FILE SYSTEM – cifs
XENMOBILE APPCONTROLLER – xac
What’s New
1:This release coupled with prior versions now integrates both the Storage Center and Controller server software packages into one unified software package now called the “ShareFile StorageZone Controller 2.2”.
2: Access your organisations trusted existing or new network CIFS shares and SharePoint sites via a ShareFile On-Prem SZC which always users to securely connect via a FQDN over 443 (HTTPS) this ensuring secure and encrypted communication between the users device and the On-Prem SZC. It is worth mentioning that your organisations datasets do not traverse the ShareFile Control Plane in any way ref – http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/ShareFile/all_files/SF090015.
3: ShareFile also introduced an EMEA Control Plane for organisations to meet local, regional and geo requirements and or restrictions one basic example could be Safe Harbor – http://export.gov/safeharbor/ as well as preferring to have localised data centre’s within the EU to manage and handle user requests and more. Note this feature was already widely available prior to this WordPress post/blog entry.
4: For information regarding what else is new please check out – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-storagezones-about-22.html.
ShareFile Security Whitepaper PDF
http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/sharefile-enterprise-security-whitepaper.pdf
Synergy SYN310: Deep Dive into ShareFile Enterprise Functionality
Deploying an On-Prem SZC (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: Initially would suggest that your read/review the following CTX Article – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX138041 and http://blogs.citrix.com/2012/03/19/saml-authentication-with-sharefile-using-ad-fs-2-0/ which covers numerous technical FAQ and may answer a number of your questions.
2: Setup a ShareFile Enterprise Account and request that On-Prem SZC be enabled against your account when setting up your account or if you already have one request that SZC be enabled by sending a email to ShareFile support – http://www.sharefile.com/company/contact-us.aspx and online help & support including videos is available at – http://support.citrixonline.com/sharefile. Verify that StorageZones are available under the Admin tab when you sign into your ShareFile sub-domain e.g xendc.sharefile.eu or axendatacentre.sharefile.com prior to continuing with the installation and configuration.
3: Prepare a Windows Server 2008 R2 and install IIS (include dependencies ASP, Basic Authentication if you want to connect to existing network shares for a PoC).
4: Setup and configure your external DNS A record e.g sharefile.axendacentre.com or sf.thedurbannatal-sharks.co.za and ensure that you can successful connect to the default IIS page on TCP Port 80.
5: Generate a CSR on the intended ShareFile On-Prem SZC for your FQDN and sign it with an external CA e.g http://www.verisign.co.uk or http://www.thawte.com e.t.c. Your are required to use an external CA as IIS self-signed or Enterprise CA certificates are not permitted and will not work with the ShareFile Control Plane. Download and install the cert response from your chosen external CA and Complete The Certificate Response in IIS.
6: Once the cert is successfully imported bind it to HTTPS (443) and the restart IIS and navigate to the FQDN via HTTPS externally to ensure that you can connect to it without any SSL cert mismatches, errors e.t.c
7: * Create a ShareFile service account within and assign full r/w access it to the intended On-Prem SZ folder located either on the local disk or secondary disk of the VM or remotely. Please do the same for your PoC Shared Area that you intend to access as an existing network share.
8: *Install the ShareFile Storage Zone Controller 2.2 software package and leave the checkbox to launch the Configuration Web Page. Once the page launches sign in with your Super Admin ShareFile Admin access details.
9: Follow the onscreen instructions which are fairly self explanatory however should you require any further help & support re the exact requirements please navigate to – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-install-storagezones.html and http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-manage-connectors.html.
10: Please stop and ensure that you safely backup the SCKeys.txt file within the root of On-Prem SZ CIFS share to a alternative and secure location that is also backed up.
11: Provision a test user that resides within your domain and has also been created within the ShareFile Control Plane. For help with setting up users please take a look at – .
12: Ensure that your test user has permission to your intended CIFS Shared Area e.g your SZC that you setup and configured within the ShareFile Control Plane.
13: Now that you have successfully setup and configured your On-Prem SZ and SZC proceed to download a ShareFile mobile app from e.g iTunes – iPad https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sharefile-for-ipad-by-citrix/id440596621?mt=8, iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sharefile-mobile-by-citrix/id434391375?mt=8 or Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=ShareFile+by+Citrix&hl=en_GB. Once downloaded enter in your test users account details and test uploading and downloading a picture taken from within the ShareFile iOS app as an example.
14: Once you test that your On-Prem SZ
SZ Controller Management
This eDocs node will help you to proactively manage your On-Prem SZ Controller environment covering on to add/remove controllers for H/A as well as how-to promote, demote and disable SZ Controller – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-manage-storagezone-controller.html. These eDoc articles are essential for the ongoing management and routine scheduled maintenance task(s).
Two-Step Verification = Stronger Security
http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/sharefile/help_files/SF060010?title=Two-Step+Verification
