Chapter 24. Desktop Profile Management

@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@ problem to others. In particular, users of mobile computing tools, where often t be a sustained network connection, are often better served by purely Local Profiles. This chapter provides information to help the Samba administrator to deal with those situations also. -

Roaming Profiles

Warning

Roaming Profiles

Warning

Roaming profiles support is different for Win9x / Me and Windows NT4/200x.

Before discussing how to configure roaming profiles, it is useful to see how @@ -24,23 +25,23 @@ profiles are restricted to being stored in the user's home directory.

Windows NT4/200x clients send a NetSAMLogon RPC request, which contains many fields, including a separate field for the location of the user's profiles. -

Samba Configuration for Profile Handling

This section documents how to configure Samba for MS Windows client profile support. -

NT4/200x User Profiles

To support Windows NT4/200x clients, in the [global] section of smb.conf set the following (for example): -

 	logon path = \\profileserver\profileshare\profilepath\%U\moreprofilepath
-

This is typically implemented like: -

+ 		logon path = \\%L\Profiles\%u
-

+

where %L translates to the name of the Samba server and %u translates to the user name -

The default for this option is \\%N\%U\profile, namely \\sambaserver\username\profile. The \\N%\%U service is created automatically by the [homes] service. If you are using @@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ semantics of %L and %N, as well as %U and %u. MS Windows NT/2K clients at times do not disconnect a connection to a server between logons. It is recommended to NOT use the homes meta-service name as part of the profile share path. -

Windows 9x / Me User Profiles

To support Windows 9x / Me clients, you must use the logon home parameter. Samba has now been fixed so that net use /home now works as well, and it, too, relies on the logon home parameter. @@ -69,28 +70,28 @@ Not only that, but net use /home will also wor Windows 9x / Me. It removes any directory stuff off the end of the home directory area and only uses the server and share portion. That is, it looks like you specified \\%L\%U for logon home. -

Mixed Windows 9x / Me and Windows NT4/200x User Profiles

You can support profiles for both Win9X and WinNT clients by setting both the logon home and logon path parameters. For example:

 	logon home = \\%L\%u\.profiles
 	logon path = \\%L\profiles\%u
-

Disabling Roaming Profile Support

A question often asked is “How may I enforce use of local profiles?” or “How do I disable Roaming Profiles?”

There are three ways of doing this: -

In smb.conf

Affect the following settings and ALL clients will be forced to use a local profile: -

+		 			logon home =
 			logon path =
-		

-

MS Windows Registry:

+ +

MS Windows Registry:

By using the Microsoft Management Console gpedit.msc to instruct your MS Windows XP machine to use only a local profile. This of course modifies registry settings. The full path to the option is: -

+	 	Local Computer Policy\
 		Computer Configuration\
 			Administrative Templates\
@@ -99,8 +100,8 @@ There are three ways of doing this:
 
 	Disable:	Only Allow Local User Profiles
 	Disable:	Prevent Roaming Profile Change from Propagating to the Server
-	

-

Change of Profile Type:

+ +

Change of Profile Type:

From the start menu right click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, click on the User Profiles tab, select the profile you wish to change from Roaming type to Local, click Change Type. @@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ profiles. The specifics of how to convert a local profile to a roaming profile, or a roaming profile to a local one vary according to the version of MS Windows you are running. Consult the Microsoft MS Windows Resource Kit for your version of Windows for specific information. -

Windows Client Profile Configuration Information

Windows 9x / Me Profile Setup

Windows Client Profile Configuration Information

Windows 9x / Me Profile Setup

When a user first logs in on Windows 9X, the file user.DAT is created, as are folders Start Menu, Desktop, Programs and Nethood. @@ -218,7 +219,7 @@ If you have access to an Windows NT4/200x server, then first set up roaming prof and / or netlogons on the Windows NT4/200x server. Make a packet trace, or examine the example packet traces provided with Windows NT4/200x server, and see what the differences are with the equivalent samba trace. -

Windows NT4 Workstation

When a user first logs in to a Windows NT Workstation, the profile NTuser.DAT is created. The profile location can be now specified through the logon path parameter. @@ -247,7 +248,7 @@ turns a profile into a mandatory one.

The case of the profile is significant. The file must be called NTuser.DAT or, for a mandatory profile, NTuser.MAN. -

Windows 2000/XP Professional

You must first convert the profile from a local profile to a domain profile on the MS Windows workstation as follows:

@@ -297,7 +298,7 @@ On the XP workstation log in with an Administrator account.
Click: Start, Run
Type: mmc
Click: OK
A Microsoft Management Console should appear.
Click: File, Add/Remove Snap-in..., Add
Double-Click: Group Policy
Click: Finish, Close
Click: OK
In the "Console Root" window:
Expand: Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System, User Profiles
Double-Click: Do not check for user ownership of Roaming Profile Folders
Select: Enabled
Click: OK
Close the whole console. You do not need to save the settings (this refers to the console settings rather than the policies you have - changed).
Reboot

Sharing Profiles between W9x/Me and NT4/200x/XP workstations

+ changed).

Reboot

Sharing Profiles between W9x/Me and NT4/200x/XP workstations

Sharing of desktop profiles between Windows versions is NOT recommended. Desktop profiles are an evolving phenomenon and profiles for later versions of MS Windows clients add features that may interfere with earlier versions @@ -314,12 +315,12 @@ that need to be common are logon path and

If you have this set up correctly, you will find separate user.DAT and NTuser.DAT files in the same profile directory. -

Profile Migration from Windows NT4/200x Server to Samba

There is nothing to stop you specifying any path that you like for the location of users' profiles. Therefore, you could specify that the profile be stored on a samba server, or any other SMB server, as long as that SMB server supports encrypted passwords. -

Windows NT4 Profile Management Tools

Unfortunately, the Resource Kit information is specific to the version of MS Windows NT4/200x. The correct resource kit is required for each platform.

@@ -336,17 +337,17 @@ domain is not a member of a trust relationship with your NT4 PDC.

c:\temp\foobar

Click on the button Change in the Permitted to use box.

Click on the group 'Everyone' and then click OK. This closes the 'choose user' box.

Now click OK.

Follow the above for every profile you need to migrate. -

Side bar Notes

You should obtain the SID of your NT4 domain. You can use smbpasswd to do this. Read the man page.

With Samba-3.0.0 alpha code you can import all you NT4 domain accounts using the net samsync method. This way you can retain your profile settings as well as all your users. -

moveuser.exe

The W2K professional resource kit has moveuser.exe. moveuser.exe changes the security of a profile from one user to another. This allows the account domain to change, and/or the user name to change. -

Get SID

You can identify the SID by using GetSID.exe from the Windows NT Server 4.0 Resource Kit.

@@ -359,7 +360,7 @@ users who have logged on to this computer. (To find the profile information for the user whose locally cached profile you want to move, find the SID for the user with the GetSID.exe utility.) Inside of the appropriate user's subkey, you will see a string value named ProfileImagePath. -

Default Profile for Windows Users

MS Windows 9x / Me and NT4/200x/XP will use a default profile for any user for whom a profile does not already exist. Armed with a knowledge of where the default profile is located on the Windows workstation, and knowing which registry keys affect the path from which the default profile is created, it is possible to modify the default profile to one that has been optimised for the site. This has significant administrative advantages. -

MS Windows 9x/Me

To enable default per use profiles in Windows 9x / Me you can either use the Windows 98 System Policy Editor or change the registry directly.

@@ -409,7 +410,7 @@ select User Profiles, click on the enable box. Do To modify the registry directly, launch the Registry Editor (regedit.exe), select the hive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon. Now add a DWORD type key with the name "User Profiles", to enable user profiles set the value to 1, to disable user profiles set it to 0. -

How User Profiles Are Handled in Windows 9x / Me?

When a user logs on to a Windows 9x / Me machine, the local profile path, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList, is checked for an existing entry for that user: @@ -425,7 +426,7 @@ If a User Profile is not found in either location, the Default User Profile from machine is used and is copied to a newly created folder for the logged on user. At log off, any changes that the user made are written to the user's local profile. If the user has a roaming profile, the changes are written to the user's profile on the server. -

MS Windows NT4 Workstation

On MS Windows NT4 the default user profile is obtained from the location %SystemRoot%\Profiles which in a default installation will translate to C:\WinNT\Profiles. Under this directory on a clean install there will be @@ -466,15 +467,15 @@ the following steps are followed in respect of profile handling: MS Windows NT4 profiles may be Local or Roaming. A Local profile will stored in the %SystemRoot%\Profiles\%USERNAME% location. A roaming profile will also remain stored in the same way, unless the following registry key is created: -

 	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon\
 	"DeleteRoamingCache"=dword:00000001
-

In which case, the local copy (in %SystemRoot%\Profiles\%USERNAME%) will be deleted on logout. -

Under MS Windows NT4 default locations for common resources (like My Documents may be redirected to a network share by modifying the following registry keys. These changes may be affected via use of the System Policy Editor (to do so may require that you create your owns template extension @@ -487,17 +488,17 @@ are controlled by entries on Windows NT4 is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\

The above hive key contains a list of automatically managed folders. The default entries are: -

Table 24.1. User Shell Folder registry keys default values

Name	Default Value
AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Application Data
Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
NetHood	%USERPROFILE%\NetHood
PrintHood	%USERPROFILE%\PrintHood
Programs	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
Recent	%USERPROFILE%\Recent
SendTo	%USERPROFILE%\SendTo
Start Menu	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu
Startup	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Table 24.1. User Shell Folder registry keys default values

Name	Default Value
AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Application Data
Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
NetHood	%USERPROFILE%\NetHood
PrintHood	%USERPROFILE%\PrintHood
Programs	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
Recent	%USERPROFILE%\Recent
SendTo	%USERPROFILE%\SendTo
Start Menu	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu
Startup	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

The registry key that contains the location of the default profile settings is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders -

The default entries are: -

Table 24.2. Defaults of profile settings registry keys

Common Desktop	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Desktop
Common Programs	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Programs
Common Start Menu	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu
Common Startup	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

MS Windows 200x/XP

Note

Table 24.2. Defaults of profile settings registry keys

Common Desktop	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Desktop
Common Programs	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Programs
Common Start Menu	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu
Common Startup	%SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

MS Windows 200x/XP

Note

MS Windows XP Home Edition does use default per user profiles, but can not participate in domain security, can not log onto an NT/ADS style domain, and thus can obtain the profile only from itself. While there are benefits in doing this the beauty of those MS Windows @@ -545,9 +546,9 @@ are controlled by entries on Windows 200x/XP is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\

The above hive key contains a list of automatically managed folders. The default entries are: -

Table 24.3. Defaults of default user profile paths registry keys

Name	Default Value
AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Application Data
Cache	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
Cookies	%USERPROFILE%\Cookies
Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
History	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\History
Local AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data
Local Settings	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings
My Pictures	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures
NetHood	%USERPROFILE%\NetHood
Personal	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents
PrintHood	%USERPROFILE%\PrintHood
Programs	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
Recent	%USERPROFILE%\Recent
SendTo	%USERPROFILE%\SendTo
Start Menu	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu
Startup	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Templates	%USERPROFILE%\Templates

Table 24.3. Defaults of default user profile paths registry keys

Name	Default Value
AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Application Data
Cache	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
Cookies	%USERPROFILE%\Cookies
Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
History	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\History
Local AppData	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data
Local Settings	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings
My Pictures	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures
NetHood	%USERPROFILE%\NetHood
Personal	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents
PrintHood	%USERPROFILE%\PrintHood
Programs	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
Recent	%USERPROFILE%\Recent
SendTo	%USERPROFILE%\SendTo
Start Menu	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu
Startup	%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Templates	%USERPROFILE%\Templates

There is also an entry called "Default" that has no value set. The default entry is of type REG_SZ, all the others are of type REG_EXPAND_SZ.

@@ -571,9 +572,9 @@ MS Windows 200x/XP profiles may be Local A roaming profile will be cached locally unless the following registry key is created:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon\"DeleteRoamingCache"=dword:00000001

In which case, the local cache copy will be deleted on logout. -

Common Errors

The following are some typical errors/problems/questions that have been asked. -

How does one set up roaming profiles for just one (or a few) user/s or group/s?

With samba-2.2.x the choice you have is to enable or disable roaming profiles support. It is a global only setting. The default is to have roaming profiles and the default path will locate them in the user's home @@ -591,25 +592,25 @@ using the Domain User Manager (as with MS Windows NT4/ Win 2Kx).

In any case, you can configure only one profile per user. That profile can be either: -

A profile unique to that user

A mandatory profile (one the user can not change)

A group profile (really should be mandatory ie:unchangable)

Can NOT use Roaming Profiles

A profile unique to that user

A mandatory profile (one the user can not change)

A group profile (really should be mandatory ie:unchangable)

Can NOT use Roaming Profiles

“ I dont want Roaming profile to be implemented, I just want to give users local profiles only. ... Please help me I am totally lost with this error from past two days I tried everything and googled around quite a bit but of no help. Please help me. -”

+”

Your choices are: -

Local profiles

I know of no registry keys that will allow auto-deletion of LOCAL profiles on log out -

Roaming profiles

can use auto-delete on logout option

requires a registry key change on workstation

Roaming profiles

can use auto-delete on logout option

requires a registry key change on workstation

Your choices are: -

Personal Roaming profiles

Personal Roaming profiles: - should be preserved on a central server - workstations 'cache' (store) a local copy - used in case the profile can not be downloaded @@ -617,10 +618,10 @@ Your choices are:
Group profiles: - loaded from a central place
Mandatory profiles: - can be personal or group - can NOT be changed (except by an administrator -

A WinNT4/2K/XP profile can vary in size from 130KB to off the scale. Outlook PST files are most often part of the profile and can be many GB in size. On average (in a well controlled environment) roaming profile size of @@ -635,19 +636,19 @@ a problem free site.

Microsoft's answer to the PST problem is to store all email in an MS Exchange Server back-end. But this is another story ...! -

So, having LOCAL profiles means: -

If lots of users user each machine - lot's of local disk storage needed for local profiles

Every workstation the user logs into has it's own profile - can be very different from machine to machine

+
If lots of users user each machine - lot's of local disk storage needed for local profiles
Every workstation the user logs into has it's own profile - can be very different from machine to machine
On the other hand, having roaming profiles means: -

The network administrator can control EVERY aspect of user profiles

With the use of mandatory profiles - a drastic reduction in network management overheads

User unhappiness about not being able to change their profiles soon fades as they get used to being able to work reliably

+
The network administrator can control EVERY aspect of user profiles
With the use of mandatory profiles - a drastic reduction in network management overheads
User unhappiness about not being able to change their profiles soon fades as they get used to being able to work reliably
-

I have managed and installed MANY NT/2K networks and have NEVER found one where users who move from machine to machine are happy with local profiles. In the long run local profiles bite them. -

Changing the default profile

“ +

Changing the default profile

“ When the client tries to logon to the PDC it looks for a profile to download where do I put this default profile. ”

-- cgit