Can not change folder name on shared volume

After some investigations, I found a possible cause of the problem.

APFS bring some new advantages as a file system but is too strict regardless of ownerships. "Ignore ownership" on the apfs volume behave not as with HFS+. And there is not only the ownership we see in info window but also extended ownership...

I choose apfs because it is an SSD drive and some suggest to use this file system for SSD. But I cold not imagine to loose so much time finding a solution. Tomorrow I will try to reformat the drive again as HFS+ and copy back the data from backup. I will report the result.

Here some extra informations:

when I create a new folder on the server smb connected I can't rename it, but if I create a new folder trough sftp I can rename it. Strange (for me) because the ownership are the same as in the image.

My collegue with sequoia os can create and rename the folder, but can not delete it (I can on Ventura).

Any suggestion?

Thanks

Before trying this I wil try to give access to the server to every user with his own credentials and not all the users with the same user account. I think this could give problems.

(Note: I asked professionals to help me but the answer was to buy a NAS. But I don't give up!)

Stay tuned.

Or maybe instead of revert back to HFS+ I have to try this first:

https://www.mattgodden.com/2023/10/14/hfs-and-apfs-permissions-for-smb-filesharing/

Results will be posted.

Finally I found the solution and I'm happy to share it.

Short aswer: reformat back to HFS+ filesystem.

I tried first to access with another user then to recursively change the permissions to the disk with the usergroup set to read/write. Uncheck "Ignore ownership on this volume" simply lead to the impossibility to access the drive with sftp. The problem need another approach.

I did a backup, disable file sharing and remote access and reformatted the disk back with HFS+ (OSX extended) format. I checked "Ignore ownership on this volume" and then copied the data from the backup. To do this I used Carbon Copy Cloner and checked "Don't preserve permissions" and "Don't preserve extended attributes", just to be sure no corrupted permission were restored.

The result is now a 2012 mac mini with Catalina acting as a server for local file sharing and for sftp access for smart (?) working. The mac mini have now 16 GB of RAM and 2 SSD, one for the OS and a second for the data (the problematic one). I access it trough screen sharing. Backup is done with external raid drive: one time machine and one clone plus a monthly clone on a second drive. The server is now very fast and responsive and we use it for a small office with 7 people. Next days will be crucial to check if all work properly but all seems good.

Just a last tip: if you use cyberduck for sfpt upgrade to the latest version. I think there was a problema with some old wersions lead to loosing files when changing connection (i.e. from home to office). If you keep Activity monitor open, display all the process and type ftp in the search field you can monitor which user is currently connected.

Hope this can help people to reuse old macs as a server instead of buying new hardware: filesharing is a light task that does not need powerful cpu.