NFS: Operating system case sensitivity should be disabled for file servers that support the NFS and SMB protocols

Updated: February 2, 2011

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

This topic is intended to address a specific issue identified by a Best Practices Analyzer scan. You should apply the information in this topic only to computers that have had the File Services Best Practices Analyzer run against them and are experiencing the issue addressed by this topic. For more information about best practices and scans, see Best Practices Analyzer.

Issue

Case sensitivity is enabled in the operating system for a file server that supports the Network File System (NFS) and Server Message Block (SMB) protocols.

Impact

File names may appear and be accessed differently depending on whether the user is using the NFS or SMB protocol to access the files. Object names may also appear differently for some applications, potentially leading to compatibility problems.

Resolution

Use Registry Editor to disable case sensitivity in the operating system, or dedicate the server to hosting NFS resources.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, on the server that you plan to configure, is the minimum required to complete these procedures.

To disable case sensitivity by using the Services for Network File System interface

1. To use Services for Network File System (NFS) to disable case sensitivity, see Configure Case Sensitivity for File and Folder Names (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725747.aspx).

To configure a case-insensitive operation by using the Registry Editor

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and click OK.

2. Locate and then click to select the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\kernel.

3. Right-click the setting obcaseinsensitive, and click Modify.

4. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.