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May 9, 2005Remote and Local Management: The Net Commandnetremote managementcommand-linescripted control
The net command is one of the new features of Samba-3 and is an attempt to provide a useful
tool for the majority of remote management operations necessary for common tasks. The net
tool is flexible by design and is intended for command-line use as well as for scripted control application.
netnetwork administrator's toolboxsmbgroupeditrpcclient
Originally introduced with the intent to mimic the Microsoft Windows command that has the same name, the
net command has morphed into a very powerful instrument that has become an essential part
of the Samba network administrator's toolbox. The Samba Team has introduced tools, such as
smbgroupedit and rpcclient, from which really useful capabilities have
been integrated into the net. The smbgroupedit command was absorbed
entirely into the net, while only some features of the rpcclient command
have been ported to it. Anyone who finds older references to these utilities and to the functionality they
provided should look at the net command before searching elsewhere.
A Samba-3 administrator cannot afford to gloss over this chapter because to do so will almost certainly cause
the infliction of self-induced pain, agony, and desperation. Be warned: this is an important chapter.
Overviewstandalonedomain memberPDCBDCDMSauthentication
The tasks that follow the installation of a Samba-3 server, whether standalone or domain member, of a
domain controller (PDC or BDC) begins with the need to create administrative rights. Of course, the
creation of user and group accounts is essential for both a standalone server and a PDC.
In the case of a BDC or a Domain Member server (DMS), domain user and group accounts are obtained from
the central domain authentication backend.
server typelocal UNIX groupsmappeddomain global groupUIDGIDaccess rightsnet
Regardless of the type of server being installed, local UNIX groups must be mapped to the Windows
networking domain global group accounts. Do you ask why? Because Samba always limits its access to
the resources of the host server by way of traditional UNIX UID and GID controls. This means that local
groups must be mapped to domain global groups so that domain users who are members of the domain
global groups can be given access rights based on UIDs and GIDs local to the server that is hosting
Samba. Such mappings are implemented using the net command.
PDCBDCDMSsecurity accountdomain authenticationtrust accountsnet
UNIX systems that are hosting a Samba-3 server that is running as a member (PDC, BDC, or DMS) must have
a machine security account in the domain authentication database (or directory). The creation of such
security (or trust) accounts is also handled using the net command.
interdomain trustsnetadministrative dutiesuser managementgroup managementshare managementprinter managementprinter migrationSID management
The establishment of interdomain trusts is achieved using the net command also, as
may a plethora of typical administrative duties such as user management, group management, share and
printer management, file and printer migration, security identifier management, and so on.
netman pages
The overall picture should be clear now: the net command plays a central role
on the Samba-3 stage. This role will continue to be developed. The inclusion of this chapter is
evidence of its importance, one that has grown in complexity to the point that it is no longer considered
prudent to cover its use fully in the online UNIX man pages.
Administrative Tasks and MethodsnetADSDistributed Computing EnvironmentDCERemote Procedure CallRPC
The basic operations of the net command are documented here. This documentation is not
exhaustive, and thus it is incomplete. Since the primary focus is on migration from Windows servers to a Samba
server, the emphasis is on the use of the Distributed Computing Environment Remote Procedure Call (DCE RPC)
mode of operation. When used against a server that is a member of an Active Directory domain, it is preferable
(and often necessary) to use ADS mode operations. The net command supports both, but not
for every operation. For most operations, if the mode is not specified, net will
automatically fall back via the ads, rpc, and
rap modes. Please refer to the man page for a more comprehensive overview of the
capabilities of this utility.
UNIX and Windows Group ManagementActive DirectorynetrpcnetadsnetrapRAP
As stated, the focus in most of this chapter is on use of the net rpc family of
operations that are supported by Samba. Most of them are supported by the net ads
mode when used in connection with Active Directory. The net rap operating mode is
also supported for some of these operations. RAP protocols are used by IBM OS/2 and by several
earlier SMB servers.
netuser managementgroup management
Samba's net tool implements sufficient capability to permit all common administrative
tasks to be completed from the command line. In this section each of the essential user and group management
facilities are explored.
groupsdomaingroupslocalgroupsdomain user accounts
Samba-3 recognizes two types of groups: domain groups and local
groups. Domain groups can contain (have as members) only domain user accounts. Local groups
can contain local users, domain users, and domain groups as members.
The purpose of a local group is to permit file permission to be set for a group account that, like the
usual UNIX/Linux group, is persistent across redeployment of a Windows file server.
Adding, Renaming, or Deletion of Group Accounts
Samba provides file and print services to Windows clients. The file system resources it makes available
to the Windows environment must, of necessity, be provided in a manner that is compatible with the
Windows networking environment. UNIX groups are created and deleted as required to serve operational
needs in the UNIX operating system and its file systems.
In order to make available to the Windows environment Samba has a facility by which UNIX groups can
be mapped to a logical entity, called a Windows (or domain) group. Samba supports two types of Windows
groups, local and global. Global groups can contain as members, global users. This membership is
affected in the normal UNIX manner, but adding UNIX users to UNIX groups. Windows user accounts consist
of a mapping between a user SambaSAMAccount (logical entity) and a UNIX user account. Therefore,
a UNIX user is mapped to a Windows user (i.e., is given a Windows user account and password) and the
UNIX groups to which that user belongs, is mapped to a Windows group account. The result is that in
the Windows account environment that user is also a member of the Windows group account by virtue
of UNIX group memberships.
The following sub-sections that deal with management of Windows groups demonstrates the relationship
between the UNIX group account and its members to the respective Windows group accounts. It goes on to
show how UNIX group members automatically pass-through to Windows group membership as soon as a logical
mapping has been created.
Adding or Creating a New Group
Before attempting to add a Windows group account, the currently available groups can be listed as shown
here:
netrpcgroupnetrpcgroup list
&rootprompt; net rpc group list -Uroot%not24get
Password:
Domain Admins
Domain Users
Domain Guests
Print Operators
Backup Operators
Replicator
Domain Computers
Engineers
A Windows group account called SupportEngrs can be added by executing the following
command:
netrpcgroup add
&rootprompt; net rpc group add "SupportEngrs" -Uroot%not24get
The addition will result in immediate availability of the new group account as validated by executing
this command:
&rootprompt; net rpc group list -Uroot%not24get
Password:
Domain Admins
Domain Users
Domain Guests
Print Operators
Backup Operators
Replicator
Domain Computers
Engineers
SupportEngrs
POSIXsmbldap-groupaddgetent
The following demonstrates that the POSIX (UNIX/Linux system account) group has been created by calling
the /opt/IDEALX/sbin/smbldap-groupadd -p "%g" interface
script:
&rootprompt; getent group
...
Domain Admins:x:512:root
Domain Users:x:513:jht,lct,ajt,met
Domain Guests:x:514:
Print Operators:x:550:
Backup Operators:x:551:
Replicator:x:552:
Domain Computers:x:553:
Engineers:x:1002:jht
SupportEngrs:x:1003:
The following demonstrates that the use of the net command to add a group account
results in immediate mapping of the POSIX group that has been created to the Windows group account as shown
here:
netgroupmaplist
&rootprompt; net groupmap list
Domain Admins (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-512) -> Domain Admins
Domain Users (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-513) -> Domain Users
Domain Guests (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-514) -> Domain Guests
Print Operators (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-550) -> Print Operators
Backup Operators (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-551) -> Backup Operators
Replicator (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-552) -> Replicator
Domain Computers (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-553) -> Domain Computers
Engineers (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-3005) -> Engineers
SupportEngrs (S-1-5-21-72630-4128915-11681869-3007) -> SupportEngrs
Mapping Windows Groups to UNIX GroupsmappedWindows groupssystem groupsaccess controls
Windows groups must be mapped to UNIX system (POSIX) groups so that file system access controls
can be asserted in a manner that is consistent with the methods appropriate to the operating
system that is hosting the Samba server.
access controlsUIDGIDlocally known UID
All file system (file and directory) access controls, within the file system of a UNIX/Linux server that is
hosting a Samba server, are implemented using a UID/GID identity tuple. Samba does not in any way override
or replace UNIX file system semantics. Thus it is necessary that all Windows networking operations that
access the file system provide a mechanism that maps a Windows user to a particular UNIX/Linux group
account. The user account must also map to a locally known UID.
default mappingsDomain AdminsDomain UsersDomain GuestsWindows groupUNIX groupmapping
Samba depends on default mappings for the Domain Admins, Domain Users, and
Domain Guests global groups. Additional groups may be added as shown in the
examples just given. There are times when it is necessary to map an existing UNIX group account
to a Windows group. This operation, in effect, creates a Windows group account as a consequence
of creation of the mapping.
netgroupmapmodifynetgroupmapaddnetgroupmapdelete
The operations that are permitted include: add, modify,
and delete. An example of each operation is shown here.
An existing UNIX group may be mapped to an existing Windows group by this example:
&rootprompt; net groupmap modify ntgroup="Domain Users" unixgroup=users
An existing UNIX group may be mapped to a new Windows group as shown here:
&rootprompt; net groupmap add ntgroup="EliteEngrs" unixgroup=Engineers type=d
Supported mapping types are 'd' (domain global) and 'l' (domain local).
A Windows group may be deleted, and then a new Windows group can be mapped to the UNIX group by
executing these commands:
&rootprompt; net groupmap delete ntgroup=Engineers
&rootprompt; net groupmap add ntgroup=EngineDrivers unixgroup=Engineers type=d
The deletion and addition operations affected only the logical entities known as Windows groups, or domain
groups. These operations are inert to UNIX system groups, meaning that they neither delete nor create UNIX
system groups. The mapping of a UNIX group to a Windows group makes the UNIX group available as Windows
groups so that files and folders on domain member clients (workstations and servers) can be given
domain-wide access controls for domain users and groups.
Two types of Windows groups can be created: domain (global) and local.
In the previous examples the Windows groups created were of type domain or global. The
following command will create a Windows group of type local.
&rootprompt; net groupmap add ntgroup=Pixies unixgroup=pixies type=l
Supported mapping types are 'd' (domain global) and 'l' (domain local), a domain local group is Samba is
treated as local to the individual Samba serverr. Local groups can be used with Samba to enable multiple
nested group support.
Deleting a Group Accountnetrpcgroup delete
A group account may be deleted by executing the following command:
&rootprompt; net rpc group delete SupportEngineers -Uroot%not24get
Validation of the deletion is advisable. The same commands may be executed as shown above.
Rename Group Accounts
This command is not documented in the man pages; it is implemented in the source code, but it does not
work. The example given documents (from the source code) how it should work. Watch the release notes
of a future release to see when this may have been fixed.
Sometimes it is necessary to rename a group account. Good administrators know how painful some managers'
demands can be if this simple request is ignored. The following command demonstrates how the Windows group
SupportEngrs can be renamed to CustomerSupport:
netrpcgroup rename
&rootprompt; net rpc group rename SupportEngrs \
CustomerSupport -Uroot%not24get
Manipulating Group Memberships
Three operations can be performed regarding group membership. It is possible to (1) add Windows users
to a Windows group, to (2) delete Windows users from Windows groups, and to (3) list the Windows users that are
members of a Windows group.
To avoid confusion, it makes sense to check group membership before attempting to make any changes.
The getent group will list UNIX/Linux group membership. UNIX/Linux group members are
seen also as members of a Windows group that has been mapped using the net groupmap
command (see ). The following list of UNIX/Linux group membership shows
that the user ajt is a member of the UNIX/Linux group Engineers.
&rootprompt; getent group
...
Domain Admins:x:512:root
Domain Users:x:513:jht,lct,ajt,met,vlendecke
Domain Guests:x:514:
Print Operators:x:550:
Backup Operators:x:551:
Replicator:x:552:
Domain Computers:x:553:
Engineers:x:1000:jht,ajt
The UNIX/Linux groups have been mapped to Windows groups, as is shown here:
&rootprompt; net groupmap list
Domain Admins (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-512) -> Domain Admins
Domain Users (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-513) -> Domain Users
Domain Guests (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-514) -> Domain Guests
Print Operators (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-550) -> Print Operators
Backup Operators (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-551) -> Backup Operators
Replicator (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-552) -> Replicator
Domain Computers (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-553) -> Domain Computers
Engineers (S-1-5-21-72630-412605-116429-3001) -> Engineers
Given that the user ajt is already a member of the UNIX/Linux group and, via the
group mapping, a member of the Windows group, an attempt to add this account again should fail. This is
demonstrated here:
netrpcgroup addmem
&rootprompt; net rpc group addmem "MIDEARTH\Engineers" ajt -Uroot%not24get
Could not add ajt to MIDEARTH\Engineers: NT_STATUS_MEMBER_IN_GROUP
This shows that the group mapping between UNIX/Linux groups and Windows groups is effective and
transparent.
To permit the user ajt to be added using the net rpc group utility,
this account must first be removed. The removal and confirmation of its effect is shown here:
netrpcgroup delmem
&rootprompt; net rpc group delmem "MIDEARTH\Engineers" ajt -Uroot%not24get
&rootprompt; getent group Engineers
Engineers:x:1000:jht
&rootprompt; net rpc group members Engineers -Uroot%not24get
MIDEARTH\jht
In this example both at the UNIX/Linux system level, the group no longer has the ajt
as a member. The above also shows this to be the case for Windows group membership.
The account is now added again, using the net rpc group utility:
&rootprompt; net rpc group addmem "MIDEARTH\Engineers" ajt -Uroot%not24get
&rootprompt; getent group Engineers
Engineers:x:1000:jht,ajt
&rootprompt; net rpc group members Engineers -Uroot%not24get
MIDEARTH\jht
MIDEARTH\ajt
In this example the members of the Windows Domain Users account are validated using
the net rpc group utility. Note the this contents of the UNIX/Linux group was shown
four paragraphs earlier. The Windows (domain) group membership is shown here:
netrpcgroup members
&rootprompt; net rpc group members "Domain Users" -Uroot%not24get
MIDEARTH\jht
MIDEARTH\lct
MIDEARTH\ajt
MIDEARTH\met
MIDEARTH\vlendecke
This express example shows that Windows group names are treated by Samba (as with
MS Windows) in a case-insensitive manner:
&rootprompt; net rpc group members "DomAiN USerS" -Uroot%not24get
MIDEARTH\jht
MIDEARTH\lct
MIDEARTH\ajt
MIDEARTH\met
MIDEARTH\vlendecke
An attempt to specify the group name as MIDEARTH\Domain Users in place of
just simply Domain Users will fail. The default behavior of the net rpc group
is to direct the command at the local machine. The Windows group is treated as being local to the machine.
If it is necessary to query another machine, its name can be specified using the -S
servername parameter to the net command.
Nested Group Support
It is possible in Windows (and now in Samba also) to create a local group that has members (contains),
domain users, and domain global groups. Creation of the local group demo is
achieved by executing:
&rootprompt; net rpc group add demo -L -S MORDON -Uroot%not24get
The -L switch means create a local group. Use the -S argument to direct the operation to a particular
server. The parameters to the -U argument should be for a user who has appropriate administrative right
and privileges on the machine.
Addition and removal of group members can be achieved using the addmem and
delmem subcommands of net rpc group command. For example,
addition of DOM\Domain Users to the local group demo would be
done by executing:
&rootprompt; net rpc group addmem demo "DOM\Domain Users" -Uroot%not24get
The members of a nested group can be listed by executing the following:
&rootprompt; net rpc group members demo -Uroot%not24get
DOM\Domain Users
DOM\Engineers
DOM\jamesf
DOM\jht
Nested group members can be removed (deleted) as shown here:
&rootprompt; net rpc group delmem demo "DOM\jht" -Uroot%not24get
Managing Nest Groups on Workstations from the Samba Server
Windows network administrators often ask on the Samba mailing list how it is possible to grant everyone
administrative rights on their own workstation. This is of course a very bad practice, but commonly done
to avoid user complaints. Here is how it can be done remotely from a Samba PDC or BDC:
netrpcgroup addmem
&rootprompt; net rpc group addmem "Administrators" "Domain Users" \
-S WINPC032 -Uadministrator%secret
This can be scripted, and can therefore be performed as a user logs onto the domain from a Windows
workstation. Here is a simple example that shows how this can be done.
Automating User Addition to the Workstation Power Users Group
Create the script shown in and locate it in
the directory /etc/samba/scripts, named as autopoweruser.sh.
netrpcgroup addmemautopoweruser.sh/etc/samba/scriptsScript to Auto-add Domain Users to Workstation Power Users Group
#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/net rpc group addmem "Power Users" "DOMAIN_NAME\$1" \
-UAdministrator%secret -S $2
exit 0
Set the permissions on this script to permit it to be executed as part of the logon process:
&rootprompt; chown root:root /etc/samba/autopoweruser.sh
&rootprompt; chmod 755 /etc/samba/autopoweruser.sh
Modify the &smb.conf; file so the NETLOGON stanza contains the parameters
shown in the Netlogon Example smb.conf file.
A Magic Netlogon ShareNetlogon Share/var/lib/samba/netlogon/etc/samba/scripts/autopoweruser.sh %U %mYesYes
Ensure that every Windows workstation Adminsitrator account has the same password that you
have used in the script shown in the Netlogon Example smb.conf
file
This script will be executed every time a user logs onto the network. Therefore every user will
have local Windows workstation management rights. This could of course be assigned using a group,
in which case there is little justification for the use of this procedure. The key justification
for the use of this method is that it will guarantee that all users have appropriate rights on
the workstation.
UNIX and Windows User Managementuser accountUNIX/Linux user accountUIDPOSIX accountrangeWindows user accountswinbinddaccount information
Every Windows network user account must be translated to a UNIX/Linux user account. In actual fact,
the only account information the UNIX/Linux Samba server needs is a UID. The UID is available either
from a system (POSIX) account or from a pool (range) of UID numbers that is set aside for the purpose
of being allocated for use by Windows user accounts. In the case of the UID pool, the UID for a
particular user will be allocated by winbindd.
Although this is not the appropriate place to discuss the facility,
this interface is an important method of mapping a Windows user account to a UNIX account that has a
different name. Refer to the man page for the &smb.conf; file for more information regarding this
facility. User name mappings cannot be managed using the net utility.
Adding User Accounts
The syntax for adding a user account via the net (according to the man page) is shown
here:
net [<method>] user ADD <name> [-c container] [-F user flags] \
[misc. options] [targets]
The user account password may be set using this syntax:
net rpc password <username> [<password>] -Uadmin_username%admin_pass
The following demonstrates the addition of an account to the server FRODO:
netrpcuser addnetrpcuser password
&rootprompt; net rpc user add jacko -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Added user jacko
The account password can be set with the following methods (all show the same operation):
&rootprompt; net rpc password jacko f4sth0rse -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
&rootprompt; net rpc user password jacko f4sth0rse \
-S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Deletion of User Accounts
Deletion of a user account can be done using the following syntax:
net [<method>] user DELETE <name> [misc. options] [targets]
The following command will delete the user account jacko:
netrpcuser delete
&rootprompt; net rpc user delete jacko -Uroot%not24get
Deleted user account
Managing User Accounts
Two basic user account operations are routinely used: change of password and querying which groups a user
is a member of. The change of password operation is shown in .
The ability to query Windows group membership can be essential. Here is how a remote server may be
interrogated to find which groups a user is a member of:
netrpcuser info
&rootprompt; net rpc user info jacko -S SAURON -Uroot%not24get
net rpc user info jacko -S SAURON -Uroot%not24get
Domain Users
Domain Admins
Engineers
TorridGroup
BOP Shop
Emergency Services
User Mappinglogon name/etc/samba/smbusersusername map
In some situations it is unavoidable that a user's Windows logon name will differ from the login ID
that user has on the Samba server. It is possible to create a special file on the Samba server that
will permit the Windows user name to be mapped to a different UNIX/Linux user name. The &smb.conf;
file must also be amended so that the [global] stanza contains the parameter:
username map = /etc/samba/smbusers
The content of the /etc/samba/smbusers file is shown here:
parsonsw: "William Parsons"
marygee: geeringm
In this example the Windows user account William Parsons will be mapped to the UNIX user
parsonsw, and the Windows user account geeringm will be mapped to the
UNIX user marygee.
Administering User Rights and Privilegescredentialsmanage printersmanage sharesmanage groupsmanage users
With all versions of Samba earlier than 3.0.11 the only account on a Samba server that could
manage users, groups, shares, printers, and such was the root account. This caused
problems for some users and was a frequent source of scorn over the necessity to hand out the
credentials for the most security-sensitive account on a UNIX/Linux system.
delegate administrative privilegesnormal userrights and privilegeprivilege managementgroups of users
New to Samba version 3.0.11 is the ability to delegate administrative privileges as necessary to either
a normal user or to groups of users. The significance of the administrative privileges is documented
in . Examples of use of the net for user rights and privilege
management is appropriate to this chapter.
When user rights and privileges are correctly set, there is no longer a need for a Windows
network account for the root user (nor for any synonym of it) with a UNIX UID=0.
Initial user rights and privileges can be assigned by any account that is a member of the
Domain Admins group. Rights can be assigned to user as well as group accounts.
By default, no privileges and rights are assigned. This is demonstrated by executing the command
shown here:
&rootprompt; net rpc rights list accounts -U root%not24get
BUILTIN\Print Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Account Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Backup Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Server Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Administrators
No privileges assigned
Everyone
No privileges assigned
The net command can be used to obtain the currently supported capabilities for rights
and privileges using this method:
SeMachineAccountPrivilegeSePrintOperatorPrivilegeSeAddUsersPrivilegeSeRemoteShutdownPrivilegeSeDiskOperatorPrivilegeSeBackupPrivilegeSeRestorePrivilegeSeTakeOwnershipPrivilegenetrpcrights list
&rootprompt; net rpc rights list -U root%not24get
SeMachineAccountPrivilege Add machines to domain
SePrintOperatorPrivilege Manage printers
SeAddUsersPrivilege Add users and groups to the domain
SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege Force shutdown from a remote system
SeDiskOperatorPrivilege Manage disk shares
SeBackupPrivilege Back up files and directories
SeRestorePrivilege Restore files and directories
SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege Take ownership of files or other objects
Machine account privilege is necessary to permit a Windows NT4 or later network client to be added to the
domain. The disk operator privilege is necessary to permit the user to manage share ACLs and file and
directory ACLs for objects not owned by the user.
In this example, all rights are assigned to the Domain Admins group. This is a good
idea since members of this group are generally expected to be all-powerful. This assignment makes that
the reality:
netrpcrights grant
&rootprompt; net rpc rights grant "MIDEARTH\Domain Admins" \
SeMachineAccountPrivilege SePrintOperatorPrivilege \
SeAddUsersPrivilege SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege \
SeDiskOperatorPrivilege -U root%not24get
Successfully granted rights.
Next, the domain user jht is given the privileges needed for day-to-day
administration:
&rootprompt; net rpc rights grant "MIDEARTH\jht" \
SeMachineAccountPrivilege SePrintOperatorPrivilege \
SeAddUsersPrivilege SeDiskOperatorPrivilege \
-U root%not24get
Successfully granted rights.
The following step permits validation of the changes just made:
netrpcrights list accounts
&rootprompt; net rpc rights list accounts -U root%not24get
MIDEARTH\jht
SeMachineAccountPrivilege
SePrintOperatorPrivilege
SeAddUsersPrivilege
SeDiskOperatorPrivilege
BUILTIN\Print Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Account Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Backup Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Server Operators
No privileges assigned
BUILTIN\Administrators
No privileges assigned
Everyone
No privileges assigned
MIDEARTH\Domain Admins
SeMachineAccountPrivilege
SePrintOperatorPrivilege
SeAddUsersPrivilege
SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege
SeDiskOperatorPrivilege
Managing Trust Relationships
There are essentially two types of trust relationships: the first is between domain controllers and domain
member machines (network clients), the second is between domains (called interdomain trusts). All
Samba servers that participate in domain security require a domain membership trust account, as do like
Windows NT/200x/XP workstations.
Machine Trust Accounts
The net command looks in the &smb.conf; file to obtain its own configuration settings. Thus, the following
command 'know' which domain to join from the &smb.conf; file.
A Samba server domain trust account can be validated as shown in this example:
netrpctestjoin
&rootprompt; net rpc testjoin
Join to 'MIDEARTH' is OK
Where there is no domain membership account, or when the account credentials are not valid, the following
results will be observed:
net rpc testjoin -S DOLPHIN
Join to domain 'WORLDOCEAN' is not valid
The equivalent command for joining a Samba server to a Windows ADS domain is shown here:
netadstestjoin
&rootprompt; net ads testjoin
Using short domain name -- TAKEAWAY
Joined 'LEMONADE' to realm 'TAKEAWAY.BIZ'
In the event that the ADS trust was not established, or is broken for one reason or another, the following
error message may be obtained:
&rootprompt; net ads testjoin -UAdministrator%secret
Join to domain is not valid
The following demonstrates the process of creating a machine trust account in the target domain for the
Samba server from which the command is executed:
netrpcjoin
&rootprompt; net rpc join -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Joined domain MIDEARTH.
The joining of a Samba server to a Samba domain results in the creation of a machine account. An example
of this is shown here:
&rootprompt; pdbedit -Lw merlin\$
merlin$:1009:9B4489D6B90461FD6A3EC3AB96147E16:\
176D8C554E99914BDF3407DEA2231D80:[S ]:LCT-42891919:
The S in the square brackets means this is a server (PDC/BDC) account. The domain join can be cast to join
purely as a workstation, in which case the S is replaced with a W (indicating a workstation account). The
following command can be used to affect this:
netrpcjoin member
&rootprompt; net rpc join member -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Joined domain MIDEARTH.
Note that the command-line parameter member makes this join specific. By default
the type is deduced from the &smb.conf; file configuration. To specifically join as a PDC or BDC, the
command-line parameter will be [PDC | BDC]. For example:
netrpcjoin bdc
&rootprompt; net rpc join bdc -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Joined domain MIDEARTH.
It is best to let Samba figure out the domain join type from the settings in the &smb.conf; file.
The command to join a Samba server to a Windows ADS domain is shown here:
netadsjoin
&rootprompt; net ads join -UAdministrator%not24get
Using short domain name -- GDANSK
Joined 'FRANDIMITZ' to realm 'GDANSK.ABMAS.BIZ'
There is no specific option to remove a machine account from an NT4 domain. When a domain member that is a
Windows machine is withdrawn from the domain, the domain membership account is not automatically removed
either. Inactive domain member accounts can be removed using any convenient tool. If necessary, the
machine account can be removed using the following net command:
netrpcuser delete
&rootprompt; net rpc user delete HERRING\$ -Uroot%not24get
Deleted user account.
The removal is made possible because machine accounts are just like user accounts with a trailing $
character. The account management operations treat user and machine accounts in like manner.
A Samba-3 server that is a Windows ADS domain member can execute the following command to detach from the
domain:
netadsleave
&rootprompt; net ads leave
Detailed information regarding an ADS domain can be obtained by a Samba DMS machine by executing the
following:
netadsstatus
&rootprompt; net ads status
The volume of information is extensive. Please refer to the book Samba-3 by Example,
Chapter 7 for more information regarding its use. This book may be obtained either in print or online from
the Samba-3 by Example.
Interdomain Trusts
Interdomain trust relationships form the primary mechanism by which users from one domain can be granted
access rights and privileges in another domain.
To discover what trust relationships are in effect, execute this command:
netrpctrustdom list
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom list -Uroot%not24get
Trusted domains list:
none
Trusting domains list:
none
There are no interdomain trusts at this time; the following steps will create them.
It is necessary to create a trust account in the local domain. A domain controller in a second domain can
create a trusted connection with this account. That means that the foreign domain is being trusted
to access resources in the local domain. This command creates the local trust account:
netrpctrustdom add
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom add DAMNATION f00db4r -Uroot%not24get
The account can be revealed by using the pdbedit as shown here:
&rootprompt; pdbedit -Lw DAMNATION\$
DAMNATION$:1016:9AC1F121DF897688AAD3B435B51404EE: \
7F845808B91BB9F7FEF44B247D9DC9A6:[I ]:LCT-428934B1:
A trust account will always have an I in the field within the square brackets.
If the trusting domain is not capable of being reached, the following command will fail:
netrpctrustdom list
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom list -Uroot%not24get
Trusted domains list:
none
Trusting domains list:
DAMNATION S-1-5-21-1385457007-882775198-1210191635
The above command executed successfully; a failure is indicated when the following response is obtained:
net rpc trustdom list -Uroot%not24get
Trusted domains list:
DAMNATION S-1-5-21-1385457007-882775198-1210191635
Trusting domains list:
DAMNATION domain controller is not responding
Where a trust account has been created on a foreign domain, Samba is able to establish the trust (connect with)
the foreign account. In the process it creates a one-way trust to the resources on the remote domain. This
command achieves the objective of joining the trust relationship:
netrpctrustdom establish
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom establish DAMNATION
Password: xxxxxxx == f00db4r
Could not connect to server TRANSGRESSION
Trust to domain DAMNATION established
Validation of the two-way trust now established is possible as shown here:
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom list -Uroot%not24get
Trusted domains list:
DAMNATION S-1-5-21-1385457007-882775198-1210191635
Trusting domains list:
DAMNATION S-1-5-21-1385457007-882775198-1210191635
Sometimes it is necessary to remove the ability for local users to access a foreign domain. The trusting
connection can be revoked as shown here:
netrpctrustdom revoke
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom revoke DAMNATION -Uroot%not24get
At other times it becomes necessary to remove the ability for users from a foreign domain to be able to
access resources in the local domain. The command shown here will do that:
&rootprompt; net rpc trustdom del DAMNATION -Uroot%not24get
Managing Security Identifiers (SIDS)security identifierSIDdesktop profilesuser encodedgroup SID
The basic security identifier that is used by all Windows networking operations is the Windows security
identifier (SID). All Windows network machines (servers and workstations), users, and groups are
identified by their respective SID. All desktop profiles are also encoded with user and group SIDs that
are specific to the SID of the domain to which the user belongs.
machine SIDdomain SIDSIDrejoin
It is truly prudent to store the machine and/or domain SID in a file for safekeeping. Why? Because
a change in hostname or in the domain (workgroup) name may result in a change in the SID. When you
have the SID on hand, it is a simple matter to restore it. The alternative is to suffer the pain of
having to recover user desktop profiles and perhaps rejoin all member machines to the domain.
First, do not forget to store the local SID in a file. It is a good idea to put this in the directory
in which the &smb.conf; file is also stored. Here is a simple action to achieve this:
netgetlocalsid
&rootprompt; net getlocalsid > /etc/samba/my-sid
Good, there is now a safe copy of the local machine SID. On a PDC/BDC this is the domain SID also.
The following command reveals what the former one should have placed into the file called
my-sid:
&rootprompt; net getlocalsid
SID for domain MERLIN is: S-1-5-21-726309263-4128913605-1168186429
If ever it becomes necessary to restore the SID that has been stored in the my-sid
file, simply copy the SID (the string of characters that begins with S-1-5-21) to
the command line shown here:
netsetlocalsid
&rootprompt; net setlocalsid S-1-5-21-1385457007-882775198-1210191635
Restoration of a machine SID is a simple operation, but the absence of a backup copy can be very
problematic.
The following operation is useful only for machines that are being configured as a PDC or a BDC.
DMS and workstation clients should have their own machine SID to avoid
any potential namespace collision. Here is the way that the BDC SID can be synchronized to that
of the PDC (this is the default NT4 domain practice also):
netrpcgetsid
&rootprompt; net rpc getsid -S FRODO -Uroot%not24get
Storing SID S-1-5-21-726309263-4128913605-1168186429 \
for Domain MIDEARTH in secrets.tdb
Usually it is not necessary to specify the target server (-S FRODO) or the administrator account
credentials (-Uroot%not24get).
Share Management
Share management is central to all file serving operations. Typical share operations include:
Creation/change/deletion of sharesSetting/changing ACLs on sharesMoving shares from one server to anotherChange of permissions of share contents
Each of these are dealt with here insofar as they involve the use of the net
command. Operations outside of this command are covered elsewhere in this document.
Creating, Editing, and Removing Shares
A share can be added using the net rpc share command capabilities.
The target machine may be local or remote and is specified by the -S option. It must be noted
that the addition and deletion of shares using this tool depends on the availability of a suitable
interface script. The interface scripts Sambas smbd uses are called
and .
A set of example scripts are provided in the Samba source code tarball in the directory
~samba/examples/scripts.
The following steps demonstrate the use of the share management capabilities of the net
utility. In the first step a share called Bulge is added. The sharepoint within the
file system is the directory /data. The command that can be executed to perform the
addition of this share is shown here:
netrpcshare add
&rootprompt; net rpc share add Bulge=/data -S MERLIN -Uroot%not24get
Validation is an important process, and by executing the command net rpc share
with no other operators it is possible to obtain a listing of available shares, as shown here:
&rootprompt; net rpc share -S MERLIN -Uroot%not24get
profdata
archive
Bulge <--- This one was added
print$
netlogon
profiles
IPC$
kyocera
ADMIN$
Often it is desirable also to permit a share to be removed using a command-line tool.
The following step permits the share that was previously added to be removed:
netrpcshare delete
&rootprompt; net rpc share delete Bulge -S MERLIN -Uroot%not24get
A simple validation shown here demonstrates that the share has been removed:
&rootprompt; net rpc share -S MERLIN -Uroot%not24get
profdata
archive
print$
netlogon
profiles
IPC$
ADMIN$
kyocera
Creating and Changing Share ACLs
At this time the net tool cannot be used to manage ACLs on Samba shares. In MS Windows
language this is called Share Permissions.
It is possible to set ACLs on Samba shares using either the SRVTOOLS NT4 Domain Server Manager
or using the Computer Management MMC snap-in. Neither is covered here,
but see .
Share, Directory, and File Migrationnetrpcvampire
Shares and files can be migrated in the same manner as user, machine, and group accounts.
It is possible to preserve access control settings (ACLs) as well as security settings
throughout the migration process. The net rpc vampire facility is used
to migrate accounts from a Windows NT4 (or later) domain to a Samba server. This process
preserves passwords and account security settings and is a precursor to the migration
of shares and files.
The net rpc share command may be used to migrate shares, directories,
files, printers, and all relevant data from a Windows server to a Samba server.
A set of command-line switches permit the creation of almost direct clones of Windows file
servers. For example, when migrating a fileserver, file ACLs and DOS file attributes from
the Windows server can be included in the migration process and will reappear, almost identically,
on the Samba server when the migration has been completed.
The migration process can be completed only with the Samba server already being fully operational.
The user and group accounts must be migrated before attempting to migrate data
share, files, and printers. The migration of files and printer configurations involves the use
of both SMB and MS DCE RPC services. The benefit of the manner in which the migration process has
been implemented is that the possibility now exists to use a Samba server as a man-in-middle migration
service that affects a transfer of data from one server to another. For example, if the Samba
server is called MESSER, the source Windows NT4 server is called PEPPY, and the target Samba
server is called GONZALES, the machine MESSER can be used to effect the migration of all data
(files and shares) from PEPPY to GONZALES. If the target machine is not specified, the local
server is assumed by default.
The success of server migration requires a firm understanding of the structure of the source
server (or domain) as well as the processes on which the migration is critically dependant.
There are two known limitations to the migration process:
The net command requires that the user credentials provided exist on both
the migration source and the migration target.
Printer settings may not be fully or may be incorrectly migrated. This might in particular happen
when migrating a Windows 2003 print server to Samba.
Share Migration
The net rpc share migrate command operation permits the migration of plain
share stanzas. A stanza contains the parameters within which a file or print share are defined.
The use of this migration method will create share stanzas that have as parameters the file
system directory path, an optional description, and simple security settings that permit write
access to files. One of the first steps necessary following migration is to review the share
stanzas to ensure that the settings are suitable for use.
The shares are created on the fly as part of the migration process. The smbd
application does this by calling on the operating system to execute the script specified by the
&smb.conf; parameter add share command.
There is a suitable example script for the add share command in the
$SAMBA_SOURCES/examples/scripts directory. It should be noted that
the account that is used to drive the migration must, of necessity, have appropriate file system
access privileges and have the right to create shares and to set ACLs on them. Such rights are
conferred by these rights: SeAddUsersPrivilege and SeDiskOperatorPrivilege.
For more information regarding rights and privileges please refer to .
The syntax of the share migration command is shown here:
net rpc share MIGRATE SHARES <share-name> -S <source>
[--destination=localhost] [--exclude=share1,share2] [-v]
When the parameter <share-name> is omitted, all shares will be migrated. The potentially
large list of available shares on the system that is being migrated can be limited using the
--exclude switch. For example:
netrpcshare migrate
&rootprompt; net rpc share migrate shares myshare\
-S win2k -U administrator%secret"
This will migrate the share myshare from the server win2k
to the Samba Server using the permissions that are tied to the account administrator
with the password secret. The account that is used must be the same on both the
migration source server and the target Samba server. The use of the net rpc
vampire, prior to attempting the migration of shares, will ensure that accounts will be
identical on both systems. One precaution worth taking before commencement of migration of shares is
to validate that the migrated accounts (on the Samba server) have the needed rights and privileges.
This can be done as shown here:
netrpcright list accounts
&rootprompt; net rpc right list accounts -Uroot%not24get
The steps taken so far perform only the migration of shares. Directories and directory contents
are not migrated by the steps covered up to this point.
File and Directory Migration
Everything covered to this point has been done in preparation for the migration of file and directory
data. For many people preparation is potentially boring and the real excitement only begins when file
data can be used. The next steps demonstrate the techniques that can be used to transfer (migrate)
data files using the net command.
Transfer of files from one server to another has always been a challenge for MS Windows
administrators because Windows NT and 200X servers do not include the tools needed. The
xcopy is not capable of preserving file and directory ACLs. Microsoft does provide a
utility that can copy ACLs (security settings) called scopy, but it is provided only
as part of the Windows NT or 200X Server Resource Kit.
There are several tools, both commercial and freeware, that can be used from a Windows server to copy files
and directories with full preservation of security settings. One of the best known of the free tools is
called robocopy.
The net utility can be used to copy files and directories with full preservation of
ACLs as well as DOS file attributes. Note that including ACLs makes sense only where the destination
system will operate within the same security context as the source system. This applies both to a
DMS and to domain controllers that result from a vampired domain.
Before file and directory migration, all shares must already exist.
The syntax for the migration commands is shown here:
net rpc share MIGRATE FILES <share-name> -S <source>
[--destination=localhost] [--exclude=share1,share2]
[--acls] [--attrs] [--timestamps] [-v]
If the <share-name> parameter is omitted, all shares will be migrated. The potentially large
list of shares on the source system can be restricted using the --exclude command
switch.
Where it is necessary to preserve all file ACLs, the --acls switch should be added
to the above command line. Original file timestamps can be preserved by specifying the
--timestamps switch, and the DOS file attributes (i.e., hidden, archive, etc.) can
be preserved by specifying the --attrs switch.
The ability to preserve ACLs depends on appropriate support for ACLs as well as the general file system
semantics of the host operating system on the target server. A migration from one Windows file server to
another will perfectly preserve all file attributes. Because of the difficulty of mapping Windows ACLs
onto a POSIX ACLs-supporting system, there can be no perfect migration of Windows ACLs to a Samba server.
The ACLs that result on a Samba server will most probably not match the originating ACLs. Windows supports
the possibility of files that are owned only by a group. Group-alone file ownership is not possible under
UNIX/Linux. Errors in migrating group-owned files can be avoided by using the &smb.conf; file
yes parameter. This facility will
automatically convert group-owned files into correctly user-owned files on the Samba server.
An example for migration of files from a machine called nt4box to the Samba server
from which the process will be handled is shown here:
netrpcshare migrate files
&rootprompt; net rpc share migrate files -S nt4box --acls \
--attrs -U administrator%secret
This command will migrate all files and directories from all file shares on the Windows server called
nt4box to the Samba server from which migration is initiated. Files that are group-owned
will be owned by the user account administrator.
Simultaneous Share and File Migration
The operating mode shown here is just a combination of the previous two. It first migrates
share definitions and then all shared files and directories:
net rpc share MIGRATE ALL <share-name> -S <source>
[--exclude=share1, share2] [--acls] [--attrs] [--timestamps] [-v]
An example of simultaneous migration is shown here:
netrpcshare migrate all
&rootprompt; net rpc share migrate all -S w2k3server -U administrator%secret
This will generate a complete server clone of the w2k3server server.
Printer Migration
The installation of a new server, as with the migration to a new network environment, often is similar to
building a house; progress is very rapid from the laying of foundations up to the stage at which
the the house can be locked up, but the finishing off appears to take longer and longer as building
approaches completion.
Printing needs vary greatly depending on the network environment and may be very simple or complex. If
the need is very simple, the best solution to the implementation of printing support may well be to
re-install everything from a clean slate instead of migrating older configurations. On the other hand,
a complex network that is integrated with many international offices and a multiplexity of local branch
offices, each of which form an inter-twined maze of printing possibilities, the ability to migrate all
printer configurations is decidedly beneficial. To manually re-establish a complex printing network
will take much time and frustration. Often it will not be possible to find driver files that are
currently in use, necessitating the installation of newer drivers. Newer drivers often implement
printing features that will necessitate a change in the printer usage. Additionally, with very complex
printer configurations it becomes almost impossible to re-create the same environment &smbmdash; no matter
how extensively it has been documented.
The migration of an existing printing architecture involves the following:
Establishment of print queues.Installation of printer drivers (both for the print server and for Windows clients.Configuration of printing forms.Implementation of security settings.Configuration of printer settings.
The Samba net utility permits printer migration from one Windows print server
to another. When this tool is used to migrate printers to a Samba server smbd,
the application that receives the network requests to create the necessary services must call out
to the operating system in order to create the underlying printers. The call-out is implemented
by way of an interface script that can be specified by the &smb.conf; file parameter
. This script is essential to the migration process.
A suitable example script may be obtained from the $SAMBA_SOURCES/examples/scripts
directory. Take note that this script must be customized to suit the operating system environment
and may use its tools to create a print queue.
Each of the components listed above can be completed separately, or they can be completed as part of an
automated operation. Many network administrators prefer to deal with migration issues in a manner that
gives them the most control, particularly when things go wrong. The syntax for each operation is now
briefly described.
Printer migration from a Windows print server (NT4 or 200x) is shown. This instruction causes the
printer share to be created together with the underlying print queue:
netrpcprinter migrate printers
net rpc printer MIGRATE PRINTERS [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Printer drivers can be migrated from the Windows print server to the Samba server using this
command-line instruction:
netrpcprinter migrate drivers
net rpc printer MIGRATE DRIVERS [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Printer forms can be migrated with the following operation:
netrpcprinter migrate forms
net rpc printer MIGRATE FORMS [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Printer security settings (ACLs) can be migrated from the Windows server to the Samba server using this command:
netrpcprinter migrate security
net rpc printer MIGRATE SECURITY [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Printer configuration settings include factors such as paper size and default paper orientation.
These can be migrated from the Windows print server to the Samba server with this command:
netrpcprinter migrate settings
net rpc printer MIGRATE SETTINGS [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Migration of printers including the above-mentioned sets of information may be completed
with a single command using this syntax:
net rpc printer MIGRATE ALL [printer] [misc. options] [targets]
Controlling Open Files
The man page documents the net file function suite, which provides the tools to
close open files using either RAP or RPC function calls. Please refer to the man page for specific
usage information.
Session and Connection Management
The session management interface of the net session command uses the old RAP
method to obtain the list of connections to the Samba server, as shown here:
netrapsession
&rootprompt; net rap session -S MERLIN -Uroot%not24get
Computer User name Client Type Opens Idle time
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\\merlin root Unknown Client 0 00:00:00
\\marvel jht Unknown Client 0 00:00:00
\\maggot jht Unknown Client 0 00:00:00
\\marvel jht Unknown Client 0 00:00:00
A session can be closed by executing a command as shown here:
&rootprompt; net rap session close marvel -Uroot%not24get
Printers and ADS
When Samba-3 is used within an MS Windows ADS environment, printers shared via Samba will not be browseable
until they have been published to the ADS domain. Information regarding published printers may be obtained
from the ADS server by executing the net ads print info command following this syntax:
netadsprinter info
net ads printer info <printer_name> <server_name> -Uadministrator%secret
If the asterisk (*) is used in place of the printer_name argument, a list of all printers will be
returned.
To publish (make available) a printer to ADS, execute the following command:
netadsprinter publish
net ads printer publish <printer_name> -Uadministrator%secret
This publishes a printer from the local Samba server to ADS.
Removal of a Samba printer from ADS is achieved by executing this command:
netadsprinter remove
net ads printer remove <printer_name> -Uadministrator%secret
A generic search (query) can also be made to locate a printer across the entire ADS domain by executing:
netadsprinter search
net ads printer search <printer_name> -Uadministrator%secret
Manipulating the Samba Cache
Please refer to the net command man page for information regarding cache management.
Other Miscellaneous Operations
The following command is useful for obtaining basic statistics regarding a Samba domain. This command does
not work with current Windows XP Professional clients.
netrpcinfo
&rootprompt; net rpc info
Domain Name: RAPIDFLY
Domain SID: S-1-5-21-399034208-633907489-3292421255
Sequence number: 1116312355
Num users: 720
Num domain groups: 27
Num local groups: 6
Another useful tool is the net time tool set. This tool may be used to query the
current time on the target server as shown here:
nettime
&rootprompt; net time -S SAURON
Tue May 17 00:50:43 2005
In the event that it is the intent to pass the time information obtained to the UNIX
/bin/time, it is a good idea to obtain the time from the target server in a format
that is ready to be passed through. This may be done by executing:
nettimesystem
&rootprompt; net time system -S FRODO
051700532005.16
The time can be set on a target server by executing:
nettimeset
&rootprompt; net time set -S MAGGOT -U Administrator%not24get
Tue May 17 00:55:30 MDT 2005
It is possible to obtain the time zone of a server by executing the following command against it:
nettimezone
&rootprompt; net time zone -S SAURON
-0600