Samba now supports domain logons, network logon scripts and user profiles. The support is still experimental, but it seems to work. The support is also not complete. Samba does not yet support the sharing of the SAM database with other systems yet, or remote administration. Support for these kind of things should be added sometime in the future. The domain support only works for WfWg and Win95 clients. Support for NT and OS/2 clients is still being worked on and currently does not work. Using these features you can make your clients verify their logon via the Samba server, make clients run a batch file when they logon to the network and download their preferences, desktop and start menu. To use domain logons and profiles you need to do the following: 1) Setup nmbd and smbd and configure the smb.conf so that Samba is acting as the master browser. See INSTALL.txt and BROWSING.txt for details. 2) create a share called [netlogon] in your smb.conf. This share should be readable by all users, and probably should not be writeable. This share will hold your network logon scripts, and the CONFIG.POL file (Note: for details on the CONFIG.POL file, refer to the Microsoft Windows NT Administration documentation. The format of these files is not known, so you will need to use Microsoft tools.) For example I have used: [netlogon] path = /data/dos/netlogon writeable = no guest ok = yes Note that it is important that this share is not writeable by ordinary users, in a secure environment: ordinary users should not be allowed to modify or add files that another user's computer would then download when they log in. 3) in the [global] section of smb.conf set the following: domain logons = yes logon script = %U.bat the choice of batch file is, of course, up to you. The above would give each user a separate batch file as the %U will be changed to their username automatically. The other standard % macros may also be used. You can make the batch files come from a subdirectory by using soemthing like: logon script = scripts\%U.bat 4) create the batch files to be run when the user logs in. If the batch file doesn't exist then no batch file will be run. In the batch files you need to be careful to use DOS style cr/lf line endings. If you don't then DOS may get confused. I suggest you use a DOS editor to remotely edit the files if you don't know how to produce DOS style files under unix. 5) Use smbclient with the -U option for some users to make sure that the \\server\NETLOGON share is available, the batch files are visible and they are readable by the users. 6) you will probabaly find that your clients automatically mount the \\SERVER\NETLOGON share as drive z: while logging in. You can put some useful programs there to execute from the batch files. NOTE: You must be using "security = user" or "security = server" for domain logons to work correctly. Share level security won't work correctly. User Profiles 1) in the [global] section of smb.conf set the following: logon path = \\profileserver\profileshare\profilepath\%U The default for this option is \\%L\%U, namely \\sambaserver\username, The \\L%\%U services is created automatically by the [homes] service. If you are using a samba server for the profiles, you _must_ make the share specified in the logon path browseable. Windows 95 appears to check that it can see the share and any subdirectories within that share specified by the logon path option, rather than just connecting straight away. When a user first logs in on Windows 95, the file user.dat is created, as are folders "start menu", "desktop", "programs" and "nethood". These directories and their contents will be merged with the local versions stored in c:\windows\profiles\username on subsequent logins, taking the most recent from each. The user.dat file contains all the user's preferences. If you wish to enforce a set of preferences, rename their user.dat file to user.man, and deny them write access to the file. 2) On the Windows 95 machine, go to Control Panel | Passwords and select the User Profiles tab. Select the required level of roaming preferences. Press OK, but do _not_ allow the computer to reboot. 3) On the Windows 95 machine, go to Control Panel | Network | Client for Microsoft Networks | Preferences. Select 'Log on to NT Domain'. Press OK, and this time allow the computer to reboot. You will now find that the Microsoft Networks Login box contains [user, password, domain] instead of just [user, password]. Type in the samba server's domain name (or any other domain known to exist), user name and user's password. Once the user has been successfully validated, the Windows 95 machine will inform you that 'The user has not logged on before' and asks you if you wish to save the user's preferences? Select 'yes'. Once the Windows 95 client comes up with the desktop, you should be able to examine the contents of the directory specified in the "logon path" (the default is \\samba_server\username) and verify that the "desktop", "start menu", "programs" and "nethood" folders have been created. These folders will be cached locally on the client, and updated when the user logs off (if you haven't made them read-only by then :-). If you have problems creating user profiles, you can reset the user's local desktop cache, as shown below. When this user then next logs in, they will be told that they are logging in "for the first time". 1) instead of logging in under the [user, password, domain] dialog], press escape. 2) run the regedit.exe program, and look in: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList you will find an entry, for each user, of ProfilePath. Note the contents of this key (likely to be c:\windows\profiles\username), then delete the key ProfilePath for the required user. [Exit the registry editor]. 3) WARNING - before deleting the contents of the directory listed in the ProfilePath (this is likely to be c:\windows\profiles\username), ask them if they have any important files stored on their desktop or in their start menu. delete the contents of the directory ProfilePath (making a backup if any of the files are needed). This will have the effect of removing the local (read-only hidden system file) user.dat in their profile directory, as well as the local "desktop", "nethood", "start menu" and "programs" folders. 4) search for the user's .PWL password-cacheing file in the c:\windows directory, and delete it. 5) log off the windows 95 client. 6) check the contents of the profile path (see "logon path" described above), and delete the user.dat or user.man file for the user, making a backup if required. If all else fails, increase samba's debug log levels to between 3 and 10, and / or run a packet trace program such as tcpdump or netmon.exe, and look for any error reports.