Identity management on Windows / RFC 2307 attributes

GPFS allows file sharing among AIX®, Linux®, and Windows nodes. AIX and Linux rely on 32-bit user and group IDs for file ownership and access control purposes, while Windows uses variable-length security identifiers (SIDs). The difference in the user identity description models presents a challenge to any subsystem that allows for heterogeneous file sharing.

GPFS uses 32-bit ID namespace as the canonical namespace, and Windows SIDs are mapped into this namespace as needed. Two different mapping algorithms are used (depending on system configuration):

GPFS built-in auto-generated mapping
User-defined mappings are stored in the Microsoft Windows Active Directory by using the RFC 2307 attributes.