path: root/docs/textdocs/DOMAIN.txt

Contributor:	Samba Team
Updated:	June 27, 1997

Subject:	Network Logons and Roving Profiles
===========================================================================

Samba 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, or remote administration.
Support for these kind of things should be added sometime in the future.

The domain support works for WfWg, and Win95 clients. Support for Windows
NT and OS/2 clients is still being worked on and is still experimental.
Support for profiles is confirmed as working for Win95 and NT 4.0, although
NT Workstation requires manual configuration of user accounts with NT's
"User Manager for Domains", and no automatic profile location support is
available.

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.


Configuration Instructions:	Network Logons
==============================================

To use domain logons and profiles you need to do the following:


1) Setup nmbd and smbd by configuring smb.conf so that Samba is
   acting as the master browser. See INSTALL.txt and BROWSING.txt
   for details.

2) Setup a WINS server (see NetBIOS.txt) and configure all your clients
   to use that WINS service.  [lkcl 12jul97 - problems occur where
   clients do not pick up the profiles properly unless they are using a
   WINS server.  this is still under investigation].

3) 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 = no

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.

4) 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
something like:

   logon script = scripts\%U.bat

5) 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.

6) 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.

7) 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.



Configuration Instructions:	Setting up Roaming User Profiles
================================================================

In the [global] section of smb.conf set the following (for example):

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

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.  It also attempts to create the components of the full path for
you.  If the creation of any component fails, or if it cannot see any
component of the path, the profile creation / reading fails.


Windows 95
----------

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.  You will need to use the [global]
options "preserve case = yes", "short case preserve = yes" and
"case sensitive = no" in order to maintain capital letters in shortcuts
in any of the profile folders.

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'.  Then, ensure that the Primary Logon is 'Client for
   Microsoft Networks'.  Press OK, and this time allow the computer
   to reboot.

Under Windows 95, Profiles are downloaded from the Primary Logon.
If you have the Primary Logon as 'Client for Novell Networks', then
the profiles and logon script will be downloaded from your Novell
Server.  If you have the Primary Logon as 'Windows Logon', then the
profiles will be loaded from the local machine - a bit against the
concept of roaming profiles, if you ask me.

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 make the folders read-only, then you will find that if the user
creates further folders or short-cuts, that the client will merge the
profile contents downloaded with the contents of the profile directory
already on the local client, taking the newest folders and short-cuts
from each set.


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.

If you have access to an NT server, then first set up roaming profiles
and / or netlogons on the NT server.  Make a packet trace, or examine
the example packet traces provided with NT server, and see what the
differences are with the equivalent samba trace.


Windows NT Workstation 4.0
--------------------------

When a user first logs in to a Windows NT Workstation, the profile
ntuser.dat is created.  The "User Manager for Domains" can be used
to specify the location of the profile.  Samba cannot be a domain
logon server for NT, therefore you will need to manually configure
each and every account.  [lkcl 10aug97 - i tried setting the path
in each account to \\samba-server\homes\profile, and discovered that
this fails for some reason.  you have to have \\samba-server\user\profile,
where user is the username created from the [homes] share].

The entry for the NT 4.0 profile is a _directory_ not a file.  The NT
help on profiles mentions that a directory is also created with a .PDS
extension.  The user, while logging in, must have write permission to
create the full profile path (and the folder with the .PDS extension)
[lkcl 10aug97 - i found that the creation of the .PDS directory failed,
and had to create these manually for each user, with a shell script.
also, i presume, but have not tested, that the full profile path must
be browseable just as it is for w95, due to the manner in which they
attempt to create the full profile path: test existence of each path
component; create path component].

In the profile directory, NT creates more folders than 95.  It creates
"Application Data" and others, as well as "Desktop", "Nethood",
"Start Menu" and "Programs".  The profile itself is stored in a file
ntuser.dat.  Nothing appears to be stored in the .PDS directory.

You can use the System Control Panel to copy a local profile onto
a samba server (see NT Help on profiles: it is also capable of firing
up the correct location in the System Control Panel for you).  The
NT Help file also mentions that renaming ntuser.dat to ntuser.man
turns a profile into a mandatory one.

[lkcl 10aug97 - i notice that NT Workstation tells me that it is
downloading a profile from a slow link.  whether this is actually the
case, or whether there is some configuration issue, as yet unknown,
that makes NT Workstation _think_ that the link is a slow one is a
matter to be resolved].


Sharing Profiles between W95 and NT Workstation 4.0
---------------------------------------------------

The default logon path is \\%L\U%.  NT Workstation will attempt to create
a directory "\\samba-server\username.PDS" if you specify the logon path
as "\\samba-server\username" with the NT User Manager.  Therefore, you
will need to specify (for example) "\\samba-server\username\profile".
NT 4.0 will attempt to create "\\samba-server\username\profile.PDS", which
is more likely to succeed.

If you then want to share the same Start Menu / Desktop with W95, you will
need to specify "logon path = \\samba-server\username\profile" [lkcl 10aug97
this has its drawbacks: i created a shortcut to telnet.exe, which attempts
to run from the c:\winnt\system32 directory.  this directory is obviously
unlikely to exist on a W95 host].

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