Chapter 22. Advanced Network Management

Chapter 22. Advanced Network Management
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John H. Terpstra

Samba Team

<jht@samba.org>

April 3 2003

Table of Contents

Features and Benefits

Remote Server Administration

Remote Desktop Management

Remote Management from NoMachine.Com

Network Logon Script Magic

Adding Printers without User Intervention

-This section documents peripheral issues that are of great importance to network -administrators who want to improve network resource access control, to automate the user -environment and to make their lives a little easier. -

Features and Benefits

-Often the difference between a working network environment and a well appreciated one can -best be measured by the little things that make everything work more -harmoniously. A key part of every network environment solution is the -ability to remotely -manage MS Windows workstations, remotely access the Samba server, provide customized -logon scripts, as well as other housekeeping activities that help to sustain more reliable -network operations. -

-This chapter presents information on each of these areas. They are placed here, and not in -other chapters, for ease of reference. -

Remote Server Administration

“How do I get `User Manager' and `Server Manager'?”

- - - -Since I do not need to buy an NT4 Server, how do I get the `User Manager for Domains' -and the `Server Manager'? -

- -Microsoft distributes a version of these tools called Nexus.exe for installation -on Windows 9x/Me systems. The tools set includes: -

Server Manager
User Manager for Domains
Event Viewer

-Download the archived file at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/NEXUS.EXE. -

- -The Windows NT 4.0 version of the `User Manager for -Domains' and `Server Manager' are available from Microsoft via ftp. -

Remote Desktop Management

-There are a number of possible remote desktop management solutions that range from free -through costly. Do not let that put you off. Sometimes the most costly solution is the -most cost effective. In any case, you will need to draw your own conclusions as to which -is the best tool in your network environment. -

Remote Management from NoMachine.Com

- - The following information was posted to the Samba mailing list at Apr 3 23:33:50 GMT 2003. - It is presented in slightly edited form (with author details omitted for privacy reasons). - The entire answer is reproduced below with some comments removed. -

“ - I have a wonderful Linux/Samba server running as pdc for a network. Now I would like to add remote - desktop capabilities so users outside could login to the system and get their desktop up from home or - another country. - ”

“ - Is there a way to accomplish this? Do I need a Windows Terminal Server? Do I need to configure it so - it is a member of the domain or a BDC,PDC? Are there any hacks for MS Windows XP to enable remote login - even if the computer is in a domain? - ”

- Answer provided: Check out the new offer from NoMachine, “NX” software: - http://www.nomachine.com/. -

- It implements an easy-to-use interface to the Remote X protocol as - well as incorporating VNC/RFB and rdesktop/RDP into it, but at a speed - performance much better than anything you may have ever seen. -

- Remote X is not new at all, but what they did achieve successfully is - a new way of compression and caching technologies that makes the thing - fast enough to run even over slow modem/ISDN connections. -

- I could test drive their (public) Red Hat machine in Italy, over a loaded - Internet connection, with enabled thumbnail previews in KDE konqueror - which popped up immediately on “mouse-over”. From inside that (remote X) - session I started a rdesktop session on another, a Windows XP machine. - To test the performance, I played Pinball. I am proud to announce - that my score was 631750 points at first try. -

- NX performs better on my local LAN than any of the other “pure” - connection methods I am using from time to time: TightVNC, rdesktop or - Remote X. It is even faster than a direct crosslink connection between - two nodes. -

- I even got sound playing from the Remote X app to my local boxes, and - had a working “copy'n'paste” from an NX window (running a KDE session - in Italy) to my Mozilla mailing agent. These guys are certainly doing - something right! -

- I recommend to test drive NX to anybody with a only a passing interest in remote computing - http://www.nomachine.com/testdrive.php. -

- Just download the free of charge client software (available for Red Hat, - SuSE, Debian and Windows) and be up and running within five minutes (they - need to send you your account data, though, because you are assigned - a real UNIX account on their testdrive.nomachine.com box. -

- They plan to get to the point were you can have NX application servers - running as a cluster of nodes, and users simply start an NX session locally, - and can select applications to run transparently (apps may even run on - another NX node, but pretend to be on the same as used for initial login, - because it displays in the same window. You also can run it - fullscreen, and after a short time you forget that it is a remote session - at all). -

- Now the best thing for last: All the core compression and caching - technologies are released under the GPL and available as source code - to anybody who wants to build on it! These technologies are working, - albeit started from the command line only (and very inconvenient to - use in order to get a fully running remote X session up and running.) -

- To answer your questions: -

- You do not need to install a terminal server; XP has RDP support built in. -
- NX is much cheaper than Citrix and comparable in performance, probably faster. -
- You do not need to hack XP it just works. -
- You log into the XP box from remote transparently (and I think there is no - need to change anything to get a connection, even if authentication is against a domain). -
- The NX core technologies are all Open Source and released under the GPL - you can now use a (very inconvenient) commandline at no cost, - but you can buy a comfortable (proprietary) NX GUI frontend for money. -
- NoMachine are encouraging and offering help to OSS/Free Software implementations - for such a frontend too, even if it means competition to them (they have written - to this effect even to the LTSP, KDE and GNOME developer mailing lists). -

Network Logon Script Magic

-There are several opportunities for creating a custom network startup configuration environment. -

No Logon Script.
Simple universal Logon Script that applies to all users.
Use of a conditional Logon Script that applies per user or per group attributes.
Use of Samba's preexec and postexec functions on access to the NETLOGON share to create - a custom logon script and then execute it.
User of a tool such as KixStart.

-The Samba source code tree includes two logon script generation/execution tools. -See examples directory genlogon and -ntlogon subdirectories. -

-The following listings are from the genlogon directory. -

- -This is the genlogon.pl file: - -

-	#!/usr/bin/perl
-	#
-	# genlogon.pl
-	#
-	# Perl script to generate user logon scripts on the fly, when users
-	# connect from a Windows client. This script should be called from 
-	# smb.conf with the %U, %G and %L parameters. I.e:
-	#
-	#       root preexec = genlogon.pl %U %G %L
-	#
-	# The script generated will perform
-	# the following:
-	#
-	# 1. Log the user connection to /var/log/samba/netlogon.log
-	# 2. Set the PC's time to the Linux server time (which is maintained
-	#    daily to the National Institute of Standard's Atomic clock on the
-	#    internet.
-	# 3. Connect the user's home drive to H: (H for Home).
-	# 4. Connect common drives that everyone uses.
-	# 5. Connect group-specific drives for certain user groups.
-	# 6. Connect user-specific drives for certain users.
-	# 7. Connect network printers.
-
-	# Log client connection
-	#($sec,$min,$hour,$mday,$mon,$year,$wday,$yday,$isdst) = localtime(time);
-	($sec,$min,$hour,$mday,$mon,$year,$wday,$yday,$isdst) = localtime(time);
-	open LOG, ">>/var/log/samba/netlogon.log";
-	print LOG "$mon/$mday/$year $hour:$min:$sec";
-	print LOG " - User $ARGV[0] logged into $ARGV[1]\n";
-	close LOG;
-
-	# Start generating logon script
-	open LOGON, ">/shared/netlogon/$ARGV[0].bat";
-	print LOGON "\@ECHO OFF\r\n";
-
-	# Connect shares just use by Software Development group
-	if ($ARGV[1] eq "SOFTDEV" || $ARGV[0] eq "softdev")
-	{
-		print LOGON "NET USE M: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\SOURCE\r\n";
-	}
-
-	# Connect shares just use by Technical Support staff
-	if ($ARGV[1] eq "SUPPORT" || $ARGV[0] eq "support")
-	{
-		print LOGON "NET USE S: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\SUPPORT\r\n";
-	}
-
-	# Connect shares just used by Administration staff
-	If ($ARGV[1] eq "ADMIN" || $ARGV[0] eq "admin")
-	{
-		print LOGON "NET USE L: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\ADMIN\r\n";
-		print LOGON "NET USE K: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\MKTING\r\n";
-	}
-
-	# Now connect Printers. We handle just two or three users a little
-	# differently, because they are the exceptions that have desktop
-	# printers on LPT1: - all other user's go to the LaserJet on the
-	# server.
-	if ($ARGV[0] eq 'jim'
-	    || $ARGV[0] eq 'yvonne')
-	{
-		print LOGON "NET USE LPT2: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\LJET3\r\n";
-		print LOGON "NET USE LPT3: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\FAXQ\r\n";
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		print LOGON "NET USE LPT1: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\LJET3\r\n";
-		print LOGON "NET USE LPT3: \\\\$ARGV[2]\\FAXQ\r\n";
-	}
-
-	# All done! Close the output file.
-	close LOGON;
-

-Those wishing to use more elaborate or capable logon processing system should check out these sites: -

http://www.craigelachi.e.org/rhacer/ntlogon
http://www.kixtart.org

Adding Printers without User Intervention

- -Printers may be added automatically during logon script processing through the use of: - -

-C:\> rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /?
-

- -See the documentation in the Microsoft knowledgebase article 189105. -

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