Security styles

Storage systems running Data ONTAP operating system supports different types of security styles for a storage object. By default, the security style of a qtree is the same as that for the root directory of the volume.

UNIX

The user's UID and GID, and the UNIX-style permission bits of the file or directory determine user access. The storage system uses the same method for determining access for both NFS and CIFS requests.

If you change the security style of a qtree or a volume from NTFS to UNIX, the storage system disregards the Windows NT permissions that were established when the qtree or volume used the NTFS security style.

NTFS

For CIFS requests, Windows NT permissions determine user access. For NFS requests, the storage system generates and stores a set of UNIX-style permission bits that are at least as restrictive as the Windows NT permissions.

The storage system grants NFS access only if the UNIX-style permission bits allow the user access.

If you change the security style of a qtree or a volume from UNIX to NTFS, files created before the change do not have Windows NT permissions. For these files, the storage system uses only the UNIX-style permission bits to determine access.

Mixed

Some files in the qtree or volume have the UNIX security style and some have the NTFS security style. A file's security style depends on whether the permission was last set from CIFS or NFS.

For example, if a file currently uses the UNIX security style and a CIFS user sends a set-ACL request to the file, the file's security style is changed to NTFS. If a file currently uses the NTFS security style and an NFS user sends a set-permission request to the file, the file's security style is changed to UNIX.