[MS-DLTW]:
Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol
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Table of Contents
1Introduction
1.1Glossary
1.2References
1.2.1Normative References
1.2.2Informative References
1.3Overview
1.4Relationship to Other Protocols
1.5Prerequisites/Preconditions
1.6Applicability Statement
1.7Versioning and Capability Negotiation
1.8Vendor-Extensible Fields
1.9Standards Assignments
2Messages
2.1Transport
2.2Common Data Types
2.2.1HRESULT
2.2.2CMachineId
2.2.3CDomainRelativeObjId
2.2.4CVolumeId
2.2.5CObjId
3Protocol Details
3.1DLT Workstation Server Details
3.1.1Abstract Data Model
3.1.2Timers
3.1.3Initialization
3.1.4Message Processing Events and Sequencing Rules
3.1.4.1Receiving a LnkSearchMachine Call (Opnum 12)
3.1.4.2Receiving a FSCTL_LMR_SET_LINK_TRACKING_INFORMATION Request
3.1.5Timer Events
3.1.6Other Local Events
3.1.6.1File Is Moved Between Volumes on Local Machine
3.1.6.2File Is Moved from Local Machine to Remote Machine
3.1.6.3File Is Moved from Remote Machine to Local Machine
3.1.6.4File Is Moved by the Local Machine from Remote Machine to Remote Machine
3.2DLT Workstation Client Details
3.2.1Abstract Data Model
3.2.2Timers
3.2.3Initialization
3.2.4Message Processing Events and Sequencing Rules
3.2.4.1Completing a LnkSearchMachine Call
3.2.5Timer Events
3.2.6Other Local Events
4Protocol Examples
4.1LnkSearchMachine
4.2FSCTLs
5Security
5.1Security Considerations for Implementers
5.2Index of Security Parameters
6Appendix A: Full IDL
7Appendix B: Product Behavior
8Change Tracking
9Index
1Introduction
This document specifies the Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol.
Distributed Link Tracking (DLT) consists of two protocols that work together to discover the new location of a file that has moved. DLT can determine if the file has moved on a mass-storage device, within a computer, or between computers in a network. The Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol helps a computer locate files that have been moved within a computer or between computers in a computer network.
In addition to the Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol, DLT includes the Distributed Link Tracking: Central Manager Protocol that keeps track of file and volume moves as well as other relevant information from participating computers so it can provide this information in response to workstation queries. Both DLT protocols are remote procedure call (RPC) interfaces.
Sections 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 2, and 3 of this specification are normative. All other sections and examples in this specification are informative.
1.1Glossary
This document uses the following terms:
CrossVolumeMoveFlag: A value of either zero or one, stored as an attribute on a file, which is used to indicate whether the file has been moved across volumes at any time in the past.
Distributed Link Tracking (DLT): A protocol that enables client applications to track sources that have been sent to remote locations using remote procedure call (RPC) interfaces, and to maintain links to files. It exposes methods that belong to two interfaces, one of which exists on the server (trksvr) and the other on a workstation (trkwks).
DLT: See Distributed Link Tracking (DLT).
endpoint: A network-specific address of a remote procedure call (RPC) server process for remote procedure calls. The actual name and type of the endpoint depends on the RPC protocol sequence that is being used. For example, for RPC over TCP (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_ip_tcp), an endpoint might be TCP port 1025. For RPC over Server Message Block (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_np), an endpoint might be the name of a named pipe. For more information, see [C706].
Fid: A 16-bit value that the Server Message Block (SMB) server uses to represent an opened file, named pipe, printer, or device. A Fid is returned by an SMB server in response to a client request to open or create a file, named pipe, printer, or device. The SMB server guarantees that the Fid value returned is unique for a given SMB connection until the SMB connection is closed, at which time the Fid value can be reused. The Fid is used by the SMB client in subsequentSMB commands to identify the opened file, named pipe, printer, or device.
FileId: The FileLocation of a file at the time it was originally created. A file's FileId never changes.
FileLinkInformation: Information about a file that is necessary to identify and locate that file, including the file's last known Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name, the MachineID of the computer on which the file was last known to be located, the last known FileLocation of the file, and the file's permanent FileID.
FileLocation: A VolumeID with an appended ObjectID, which together represent the location of a file at some point in time, though the file might no longer be there. FileLocation values are stored in droid (CDomainRelativeObjId) data structures.
globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).
Interface Definition Language (IDL): The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard language for specifying the interface for remote procedure calls. For more information, see [C706] section 4.
MachineID: A unique identifier that represents the identity of a computer.
named pipe: A named, one-way, or duplex pipe for communication between a pipe server and one or more pipe clients.
NetBIOS name: A 16-byte address that is used to identify a NetBIOS resource on the network. For more information, see [RFC1001] and [RFC1002].
ObjectID: A unique identifier that represents the identity of a file within a file system volume. For more information, see [MS-DLTM].
opnum: An operation number or numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific remote procedure call (RPC) method or a method in an interface. For more information, see [C706] section 12.5.2.12 or [MS-RPCE].
remote procedure call (RPC): A context-dependent term commonly overloaded with three meanings. Note that much of the industry literature concerning RPC technologies uses this term interchangeably for any of the three meanings. Following are the three definitions: (*) The runtime environment providing remote procedure call facilities. The preferred usage for this meaning is "RPC runtime". (*) The pattern of request and response message exchange between two parties (typically, a client and a server). The preferred usage for this meaning is "RPC exchange". (*) A single message from an exchange as defined in the previous definition. The preferred usage for this term is "RPC message". For more information about RPC, see [C706].
RPC protocol sequence: A character string that represents a valid combination of a remote procedure call (RPC) protocol, a network layer protocol, and a transport layer protocol, as described in [C706] and [MS-RPCE].
Server Message Block (SMB): A protocol that is used to request file and print services from server systems over a network. The SMB protocol extends the CIFS protocol with additional security, file, and disk management support. For more information, see [CIFS] and [MS-SMB].
Universal Naming Convention (UNC): A string format that specifies the location of a resource. For more information, see [MS-DTYP] section 2.2.57.
universally unique identifier (UUID): A 128-bit value. UUIDs can be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects in cross-process communication such as client and server interfaces, manager entry-point vectors, and RPC objects. UUIDs are highly likely to be unique. UUIDs are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) and these terms are used interchangeably in the Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the UUID. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the UUID.
volume: A group of one or more partitions that forms a logical region of storage and the basis for a file system. A volume is an area on a storage device that is managed by the file system as a discrete logical storage unit. A partition contains at least one volume, and a volume can exist on one or more partitions.
VolumeID: A unique identifier that represents the identity of a file system volume.
well-known endpoint: A preassigned, network-specific, stable address for a particular client/server instance. For more information, see [C706].
workstation: A terminal or desktop computer in a network that is used to run applications and is connected to a server from which it obtains data shared with other computers.
MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.
1.2References
Links to a document in the Microsoft Open Specifications library point to the correct section in the most recently published version of the referenced document. However, because individual documents in the library are not updated at the same time, the section numbers in the documents may not match. You can confirm the correct section numbering by checking the Errata.
1.2.1Normative References
We conduct frequent surveys of the normative references to assure their continued availability. If you have any issue with finding a normative reference, please contact . We will assist you in finding the relevant information.
[C706] The Open Group, "DCE 1.1: Remote Procedure Call", C706, August 1997,
[MS-DTYP] Microsoft Corporation, "Windows Data Types".
[MS-ERREF] Microsoft Corporation, "Windows Error Codes".
[MS-FSCC] Microsoft Corporation, "File System Control Codes".
[MS-RPCE] Microsoft Corporation, "Remote Procedure Call Protocol Extensions".
[MS-SMB2] Microsoft Corporation, "Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol Versions 2 and 3".
[MS-SMB] Microsoft Corporation, "Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol".
[RFC1088] McLaughlin III, L., "A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams over NetBIOS Networks", RFC 1088, February 1989,
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997,
1.2.2Informative References
[MS-DLTM] Microsoft Corporation, "Distributed Link Tracking: Central Manager Protocol".
1.3Overview
The Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol is based on the RPC runtime, as specified in [C706] and [MS-RPCE], and on the server message block (SMB) protocol and extensions, as specified in [MS-SMB] and [MS-SMB2].
This protocol is used by a client to get a file's identity and location on the server computer as a MachineID, FileID, FileLocation, and Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name. If a client contacts a server that previously stored the file, but the file has been moved to a new computer, the server might be able to return the MachineID of the computer to which the file was moved, so that the client can contact the DLT Workstation server on the new computer to get the file's current UNC and FileLocation, or another referral. This process of following referrals continues until a server returns the file's UNC name and FileLocation, or an error.
Rather than following referrals in this manner, a client can use the Distributed Link Tracking: Central Manager Protocol to determine a file's current MachineID and FileLocation, and then use that information to initiate a call to the DLT Workstation server on the computer indicated by that MachineID. For more information on using the Distributed Link Tracking: Central Manager Protocol in combination with the Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol, see [MS-DLTM].
The following is a scenario that describes the DLT protocols working together:
- A file is created on computer M1. M1 assigns identifiers, specifically FileID and FileLocation, to the file.
- Computer M0 takes note of the file, locally storing its identifiers.
- The file is moved from computer M1 to M2 and from there to M3. In concert with these moves, the file maintains its FileID but gets a new FileLocation assigned.
- If the Distributed Link Tracking: Central Manager Protocol is used, clients on computers M1 and M2 notify the server that the file has been moved, indicating the file's FileID and its old and new FileLocation values.
- Computer M0 finds the file in its new location in one of two ways:
- Using only the Distributed Link Tracking: Workstation Protocol:
M0 contacts M1, using the identifiers stored previously, and learns that the file was moved to M2.