Configuring GSNW

After the GSNW service is installed, Windows NT prompts each user for preferred logon information the first time they log on. A GSNW icon, which invokes the GSNW dialog box, is also added to the Control Panel. (See Figure 10-4 for an illustration of this icon.) This is where you can change the preferred logon information after the first logon and configure gateway shares.

Configuring the Preferred Logon

Configuring the preferred logon for GSNW is exactly like configuring the preferred logon for CSNW in Windows NT Workstation. The only difference is that the icon in Control Panel says GSNW instead of CSNW.

Exercise 10-4: Configuring the Preferred Logon

1. Once you have installed GSNW, the Select NetWare Logon dialog box appears after you log on to the computer. This dialog box, shown in Figure 10-5, can also be invoked after the first logon by double-clicking the GSNW icon that is added to the Control Panel. The Overview button on this dialog box brings up the CSNW Help file, which contains lots of good information.

2. If you want to use a bindery logon to a specific server, select the Preferred Server radio button and choose in the Select Preferred Server field the server to which you wish to log on at startup.

3. If you are logging on to an NDS tree, select the Default Tree and Context radio button and complete the Default Tree and Context fields accordingly.

4. Check the Run Logon Script check box if you want the NetWare logon script to execute at the time of authentication.

The username and password used for your Windows NT logon are passed to the preferred server or tree. If a user account with the same password exists on the NetWare server or tree, you are logged on accordingly. If the user name does not exist, or if the password supplied by Windows NT is incorrect, you are prompted to supply the correct information to complete the logon.

Configuring the NetWare Server

Before you can successfully create a gateway share, a group named NTGATEWAY must exist on the NetWare server or NDS tree to which you are logging on. A user account that you want to use as the gateway account must be a member of this group. The group and user can be created with the SYSCON utility or NWAdmin, depending on whether your NetWare servers are using bindery services or NDS

There are no restrictions on the name of the gateway account, and you can use the admin or supervisor accounts if you wish. Whatever account you use, it must have appropriate permissions to the files or print queues that are going to be accessed via the gateway share on the Windows NT server.

Enabling the Gateway

Windows NT needs to know the name of the gateway account that you created on the NetWare network as well as the password for that account. Once Windows NT has this information, it authenticates to the NetWare network with these credentials to retrieve files and submit print jobs for clients who are using the gateway shares. You will notice that a Gateway button appears on the GSNW properties dialog box. Except for this button, the GSNW properties dialog box is identical to the CSNW properties dialog box in Windows NT Workstation.

Creating Gateway Shares to NetWare Directories

To create a gateway share to a NetWare directory, you must be logged on to the NetWare network with an account that has permissions to the NetWare resources the gateway share will access. This is in addition to the gateway account that is used by the Gateway Service.

Exercise 10-5: Creating a Gateway Directory Share

1. Double-click the GSNW icon in the Control Panel and click the Gateway button.

1. Check the Enable Gateway check box to activate the dialog box shown in Figure 10-6.

3. Enter the gateway account that is a member of the NTGATEWAY group on the NetWare network.

4. Enter the password for the gateway account in the Password and Confirm Password fields.

5. Click the Add button to create a new gateway share.

6. Enter a name for the share in the Share Name field. This is the name of the share that will be created on the Windows NT server.

7. Enter the path to the directory you wish to share in the Network Path field, e.g. \\SERVER\VOLUME\DIRECTORY.

8. Enter a comment in the Comment field if you would like to record additional information about the gateway share that you are creating.

9. Select a drive letter in the Use Drive drop-down list. Windows NT must assign a drive letter to the NetWare connection in order to share it as a gateway share.

10. If you wish to limit the number of sessions for this gateway share, click the Allow radio button and enter the appropriate number.

11. Click OK.

Creating Gateway Shares to NetWare Print Queues

Setting up a gateway share to a NetWare print queue is very similar to sharing a Windows NT printer. It involves setting up a NetWare print queue as you would for normal use, and then clicking one radio button to share it. The Enable Gateway check box in the Configure Gateway dialog box must be checked before gateway print shares can be created.

Exercise 10-6: Creating a Gateway Printer Share

1. Double-click the Printers icon in Control Panel and then double-click the Add Printer icon.

2. Select Network Printer Server and click Next.

3. Browse the Share Printers list and double-click the NetWare printer for which you want to create a gateway share.

4. Click Yes to install a printer driver if necessary, then indicate whether the printer is to be set as the default and click Next.

5. Click Finish to create the printer connection.

6. Right-click the printer just created and select Properties.

7. Select the Sharing tab and click the Shared radio button. Change the Share Name field, if you so desire, and click OK.

Setting Permissions for Gateway Shares

Setting permissions on gateway shares is very similar to setting permissions on native Windows NT shares. The only difference is the location of the Permissions button for directory shares. Default permissions for directory and print queue gateway shares are the same as the default permissions for native Windows NT directory and printer shares.

Exercise 10-7: Setting Permissions on Directory Gateway Shares

1. Double-click the GSNW icon in the Control Panel, click the Gateway button, and check the Enable Gateway check box.

2. Select the gateway share in the bottom window on which you want to change permissions, and click the Permissions button.

3. If you wish to change the type of access for any of the listed users or groups, click the user or group, and then select the appropriate permission from the Type of Access drop-down box.

4. To add a user or group to the access list, click Add, select the appropriate domain and user, click Add, select the desired access in the Type of Access drop-down list and click OK.

5. Click OK to finish.

Exercise 10-8: Setting Permissions on Print Queue Gateway Shares

1. Double-click the Printers icon in Control Panel.

2. Right-click the printer on which you want to change permissions.

3. Select the Security tab and click the Permissions button.

4. If you wish to change the type of access for any of the listed users or groups, click the user or group and then select the appropriate permission from the Type of Access drop-down box.

5. To add a user or group to the access list, click Add, select the appropriate domain and user, click Add, select the desired access in the Type of Access drop-down list and click OK.

Accessing Gateway Shared Resources

After the gateway shares are created, users can map network drives to gateway directory shares and set up network printers in the same way they use native Windows NT shared resources. The only thing that might tip a user off to the fact that the files are on a NetWare server is that the Security tab does not appear when a file or directory’s properties are viewed with a Windows NT computer. Users would not be able to distinguish the difference between a native Windows NT printer and a gateway printer.

When clients access a NetWare server directly, they can map network drives to any subdirectory on the server, since NetWare shares every directory by default. When a Windows NT Server gateway share is used, however, the client can only map a drive to the share name, since Windows NT does not share all the subdirectories below a share.

Using Remote Access Service (RAS) with GSNW

Clients connecting to the network with RAS can use gateway shares just as if they were connected to the network locally. Remote clients do not need any additional protocols or services beyond what is necessary to use native Windows NT shares on the gateway server.

Security Issues with GSNW

Since the Gateway Service connects to the NetWare server with just one user account, the gateway account, permissions for gateway users can’t be controlled on the NetWare server. Share-level security at the Windows NT Server computer is the only point of security configuration, and since share-level security is less extensive than NetWare’s file permissions you lose some granularity in the level of access you can permit. Additionally, since a Windows NT server can only host about 23 gateway shares, you can only provide that many users with secure home directories through gateway shares. Due to this limitation, you should plan to move user home directories to a Windows NT server as soon as your migration plan can allow.

Since the gateway account on the NetWare server must have access to all of the data that is accessed through the Windows NT Server gateway, keeping the account name and password secure is a must. This is by far the most important security concern regarding GSNW.

Connecting to NetWare Services with Explorer

Mapping network drives and browsing files on a NetWare server with Windows NT Explorer is the same as mapping drives and browsing files on a Windows NT Server. The most significant difference is that NetWare servers appear under the NetWare Compatible Network in the Network Neighborhood, while Windows NT Servers appear under the Microsoft Windows Network.

Exercise 10-9: Connecting to a NetWare Directory

1. Double-click the Network Neighborhood. If the server you wish to connect to is present, go to step 4.

2. Double-click Entire Network and then double-click NetWare or Compatible Network. If the server you are connecting to is present, go to step 4.

3. Double-click the NDS tree that contains the server you are connecting to. Continue browsing through the organizational units until you see the server.

4. Double-click the server and then right-click a folder and select Map Network Drive to connect a network drive to the folder, or just double-click the folder to browse its contents.

Connecting to NetWare print queues is just like connecting to shared printers on Windows NT computers. Three print queue configuration options are available in the GSNW dialog box, which is started with the GSNW icon in the Control Panel. If you want to eject a page at the end of each print job, check the Add Form Feed option; choose Notify When Printed to receive notification that your document has been printed; and select Print Banner for a banner page to be printed before each print job. The options selected apply to all NetWare printers used by the Windows NT computer.

Exercise 10-10: Connecting to a NetWare Printer Queue

1. Double-click the Network Neighborhood. If the server you wish to connect to is present, go to step 4.

2. Double-click Entire Network and then double-click NetWare or Compatible Network. If the server you are connecting to is present, go to step 4.

3. Double-click the NDS tree that contains the server you are connecting to. Continue browsing through the organizational units until you see the server.

4. Double-click the server. The contents of the server contain printer icons for each available print queue on the server.

5. Double-click on the print queue that you wish to use. Continue setting up the printer by specifying make and model to install the appropriate drivers, and naming the printer.

Connecting to NetWare Services with the Command Line

Mapping network drives and connecting to print queues on NetWare servers with the command line is different depending on whether the server is using bindery services or NDS. Listed below are examples of how to use command-line utilities to make drive and printer connections with either bindery or NDS servers.

NetWare Specific Applications

Most NetWare-aware applications operate correctly running on Windows NT Server, although they may require extra steps for setup and configuration. They typically require the NetWare dynamic link libraries (.DLL files) that are included with the NetWare client for Windows. To get these NetWare-aware applications to operate correctly, install the NetWare client for Windows onto a Windows NT Server computer, copy the .DLL files from the NetWare client directory to the Windows NT system32 directory, and then delete the NetWare client directory. The nwdoc.hlp file contains documentation for a few common MS-DOS and Windows NetWare-aware applications, including Btrieve and Lotus Notes.

As Windows NT becomes more common as a network client, software developers are recognizing the need to provide Windows NT-compatible software and documentation. Before attempting to make an application work on Windows NT, consult the software documentation and any technical support from the software vendor. It is likely that step-by-step instructions are available to solve the problems you are encountering. Checking for a newer version of the software is always a good idea also. Many software companies are requiring any new software they release to be compatible with Windows NT. Much of the PC software released prior to 1995 was not developed for, or tested on, the Windows NT platform. The latest version of any software is more likely to be compatible with Windows NT than an earlier version of the same software.

NetWare Utilities

NetWare provides command-line utilities for connecting to NetWare resources and managing NetWare servers. Novell designed these utilities for computers using DOS or OS/2 and the NetWare clients that Novell provides for those platforms. Since Windows NT does a good job of emulating DOS, most of the utilities operate as expected on Windows NT computers.

Supported Utilities

Almost all of the file and server management utilities provided with NetWare function with no problem with Windows NT. Only two utilities, SESSION and VOLINFO, have specific problems when used. When executed from a Windows NT Server computer, the SESSION command does not support search mapping and always maps as root, and the VOLINFO command runs very slowly if the update interval is set to five.

Some NetWare utilities do not function properly unless a network drive is mapped to the NetWare SYS/PUBLIC directory. If you plan to use NetWare utilities it’s a good idea to use a logon script to map a drive accordingly.

A Windows NT Help file states that the NetWare RCONSOLE command has some known problems running on Windows NT Server. However, the RCONSOLE command functions normally with Windows NT, and you should have no problems with it. The following is a list of supported NetWare commands:

Unsupported Utilities

Four NetWare commands are not supported on Windows NT. Everything that is accomplished with these NetWare commands, however, can be done in Windows Explorer or from the command line with the NET command. Table 10-2 presents the four inoperative NetWare commands and the equivalent Windows NT command. The specific syntax to use can be found by using the /? switch after the command (for example, NET LOGON /?).

The Migration Tool for NetWare

The Migration Tool for NetWare is automatically installed when GSNW is installed on Windows NT Server. The Migration Tool copies data, users, and groups from NetWare 2.x and 3.x servers to Windows NT servers. Once you have the Client for Microsoft Networks loaded on workstations, you are ready to use the Migration Tool to quickly copy the users and data from NetWare servers to the Window NT environment.

One of the best features of the Migration Tool is the ability to execute a trial migration. Logs are created which enable you to see any errors encountered during the trial migration, so they can be addressed before the real migration is attempted.

Migrating User Accounts and Groups

User and group accounts are copied to the Windows NT server from the NetWare server, and group memberships are retained in the process. Passwords, however, cannot be migrated. The Migration Tool allows you to set the password for migrated users to blank, the username, something else you wish to specify, or to use a mapping file to create unique passwords for each user. You can also set an option to force each new user to change his password the first time he logs on to the Windows NT server.

Account policies in effect on the NetWare server can also be transferred by selecting the Use Supervisor Defaults option on the Defaults tab in the User Options dialog box. This option is the only one in the Migration Tool that is quite misleading. All other options are plainly labeled and easily understood.

If you want to migrate the users and groups to a trusted domain, the Migration Tool allows you to do this, too. This enables you to migrate the files to a server in a resource domain and create the accounts in a master domain, if that best suits your needs.

Transferring Volumes and Files

The Migration Tool allows you to select which volumes and files on the NetWare server you want to migrate. It automatically creates a share on the Windows NT server to which it copies the data from the NetWare server. The path for this share can be changed within the Migration Tool, or you can choose to move the data to an existing share on the server.

Files transferred to an NTFS partition retain the effective rights they were assigned on the NetWare server. The translation of NetWare directory rights to Windows NT permissions is given in table 10-3, and NetWare file rights converted to NT permissions are shown in table 10-4. Basic file attributes are retained as indicated in table 10-5, but file attributes unique to NetWare’s file system are ignored.

Configuring the Migration

Once you have determined your strategy for passwords, file migration, account polices, and any other issues, you can run the Migration Tool, configure the migration, and execute a trial migration. After you review the logs from the trial, you can change any parameters necessary to achieve the desired results, and test your new configuration. It probably won’t take more than two or three trials to get your migration configured for success, and then you are ready to start the migration.

The options available in the Migration Tool are relatively straightforward, except for the account policies option mentioned earlier. Walking through each step of Exercise 10-11 will familiarize you with the options available and make you comfortable with the tool. Use the Help buttons to get additional information on the options available in each dialog box.

Exercise 10-11: Migrating a NetWare Server to Windows NT Server

1. Run the Migration Tool for NetWare, found under Programs | Administrative Tools in the Start menu. You should see the dialog box in Figure 10-7.

2. Click the … button to select a NetWare server for the From NetWare Server field. Select the NetWare server you wish to migrate and click OK.

3. Click the … button to select a Windows NT server for the To Windows NT Server field. Select the Windows NT server that will receive the migration data and click OK.

4. Click OK to continue. If you are not currently logged on with a user account that has administrative privileges on the NetWare server, you are prompted for those credentials.

5. Click the User Options button to bring up the window in Figure 10-8, and check the Transfer Users and Groups check box. Check the Use Mappings in File check box if you want to create, edit or use a mapping file to change user names, group names, or user passwords as they are migrated.

6. Select the Passwords tab and click the radio button of your choice to set the password options for the new accounts created on the Windows NT server. Checking the User Must Change Password check box sets the User Must Change Password at Next Logon option on the new Windows NT account.

7. Click the Usernames tab and select the desired option for what you want to happen when the Migration Tool encounters duplicate usernames on both servers.

8. Click the Group Names tab and select the desired option for what you want to happen when the Migration Tool encounters duplicate group names on both servers.

9. Select the Defaults tab and check Use Supervisor Defaults to migrate account policies from the NetWare server to the Windows NT server, if you wish. If you want the members of the NetWare Supervisors group to be placed in the Administrators group on the Windows NT server, check Add Supervisors to the Administrators Group.

10. Click the Advanced button if you wish to add the migrated accounts to a trusted domain. Check the Transfer Users to Trusted Domain check box and select the desired domain from the drop-down list.

11. Click OK and click the File Options button on the Migration Tool for NetWare window, bringing up the window in Figure 10-9.

12. Select a file system, if you wish to modify which directories get migrated, and click the Files button. Check the directories you wish to have migrated. If you wish to migrate system and hidden files, check those options under the Transfer menu. Click OK to close the Files To Transfer window.

13. Click Modify, if you want to change the share on the Windows NT server to which the files are copied. If you wish to use a share other than the default, you must create the share outside of the Migration Tool. To change where the default share is created, click the Properties button, enter the desired path, and click OK.

14. Click OK to finish setting File Options.

15. Click the Logging button, which brings up the dialog box in Figure 10-10, and select the options you want, then click OK.

16. Click the Trial Migration button to perform a test of the procedure. After the trial is completed a dialog box appears that lets you view the log files created. The logs show you how many duplicate users and groups are encountered, if the destination file system has enough free space for the data to be migrated, the new account policies, and other information.

17. Make any changes that are necessary for the migration to be successful, and run as many trials as necessary to make sure everything is ship-shape.

18. After you are satisfied with the migration configuration, click the Start Migration button. If you’ve got nothing better to do, you can sit back and watch, but you might be better off taking a nap.

19. When it is finished, you may want to print the log files for future reference.

Unfortunately, you cannot save the log files from the LogView applet, but you can highlight all of the text in a log and press Ctrl-C to copy it to the clipboard. You can then paste it into Notepad or a word processor, and save it from there.

20. Click OK to close the Transfer Completed windows, and click Exit to close the Migration Tool.

Windows NT Server has two NetWare integration components included with the operating system: GSNW and the Migration Tool for NetWare. GSNW has the functionality of CSNW and enables gateway shares to be created that access files and print queues on NetWare servers. The Migration Tool copies user accounts, groups, and data from NetWare 2.x and 3.x servers to Windows NT servers, and has a number of configuration options to optimize the process. NWLink is the IPX/SPX-compatible protocol that Windows NT uses to communicate with NetWare servers. Frame types, network numbers, and the internal network number can all be manually configured, or Windows NT can automatically detect the frame type and network number, which is the default setting.

Microsoft Services for NetWare is an add-on package available for Windows NT Server that includes FPNW and DSMN. FPNW enables a Windows NT server to emulate a NetWare server, while DSMN creates a user account database, which it incrementally propagates to selected NetWare 2.x and 3.x servers, enabling centralized administration of user accounts on both networks from a Windows NT domain. This enables network administrators to provide users with a single logon for the Windows NT domain and NetWare servers in their environment.

Careful planning and a working knowledge of the Windows NT tools available enables a migration project to move quickly, while keeping data available to users. The smallest migration projects may not need to use any of the tools, but large migrations benefit greatly from their use.

Review Questions: Just read, or Click HERE to launch interactive Self Test

A.) GSNW

B.) FPNW

C.) DSMN

D.) CSNW