Connecting Linux Workstation to NT domain??

[Electric Amish]

Can someone tell me, or point me to somwhere that will show me how to use Linux instead of Win98SE as a workstation on an NT domain?

I'm currently using Win98 here at work and would really like to replace it with RH7.1, but I don't know how to setup RH to authenticate into the NT domain so I can get access to the network.

tia
amish

 

[KindB]

First you need to have Admin rights to the NT domain. This allows you to add the Linux box in the Server manager tool. Add the linux box using its hostname as a NT workstation or server. This will at least permit your box some functionality in the NT portion of your domain.

Next you need to need to be a little familiar with "Samba". Basically you will need to run the Samba mount function, thus allowing you to view the Windows file servers in your network.
Linux now has support for the SMB file system (SMBFS)with which you would use a command like so:

mount -t smbfs -o username=username,password=password //servername/sharename/mountpoint

Example:
If you wanted to connect to a share called PERSONAL on a NT server called THESERVER, you will first create a directory on your Linux box to be the mount point. YES this is a directory... NO you will not store files in it. This directory is more of a map for Linux.

mkdir /ntshare

Then you need you username and password for connecting that the NT domain recognizes. Example... username=jason password=secret . You then create the mount as so:

mount - smbfs -o username=jason,password=secret //theserver/personal/ntshare

Once the mount is working try:

ls /ntshare

You should see something resembling the NT folder you wished to have access to.

Now, I'm nowhere near a linux knowledge base, most of what I know came from books like O'Reilly "Linux in a nutshell" and the "RedHat 7 Bible". The above info comes from a great migration of thought book known as "Linux for Windows NT/2000 Administrators:The Secret Decoder Ring" This was written by Mark Minasi. Excellent, easy to read book. Good reference for basic Linux functionality in a Microsoft world.

Hope that helps.

 

[Cenalian]

Check out This link for more info on installing Samba and Linux/Windows networking. It was recently released, and seems to be fairly up to date.

Also, you can try reading up a bit more on the Samba web page. Learning what Samba is and how it works will make it easier to install and configure in the future.

Hope this helps.

 

[Electric Amish]

Excellent!

Thanks.

amish

 

[nofuse]

This is how to get you RH box to join an NT Domain.
1. Download and install Samba 2.2. You can get it from www.samba.org. A boxed version of Red Hat will also include Samba. Just make sure you install it when you install Linux.
2. Enable Samba on your machine. This will require an edit of /etc/smb.conf (an example smb.conf file will be included at the end of this post) and /etc/services and in Red Hat 7.1 /etc/xinetd (If you choose for Samba to install when you install RH7.1 this all most likely be done for you. If not check out www.linuxlookup.com under the HOWTO's section and look for "SMB&quot
3. Create an account on the Windows Domain controller for the Linux machine and create a user account named "root" and give root administrative privledges on the Windows box.
4. Make sure you have basic communication ability between the Linux machine and the domain controller. You can do this with the "ping" command.
5. Log into your Linux machine as root and execute the command "smbpasswd -j YOURDOMAINNAME -r YOURDOMAINCONTROLLERNAME (This will most likely be the most troublesome step in this whole process. If this doesn't work, email me with the complete error message and a copy of your smb.conf file or go to your local bookstore and look for The Samba Black Book)
6. Now everything should work.
7. Here is an example smb.conf file. You will have to edit it to fit your site's needs of course but it is fairly intuitive:
# Global parameters
[global]
workgroup = SAIRTEST
netbios name = SAMBA
server string = Samba Server on Caldera OpenLinux
security = DOMAIN
encrypt passwords = Yes
password server = win2kserver
max log size = 50

8. This (above) is all you actually need for Samba to function in the domain but it has no shares defined. A share would look something like this:
[stuff]
comment = stuff
path = /stuff
read only = No

Good Luck! Samba is IMHO one of the best packages available for Linux. It is easy to set up once you become familiar with it and it's reliablity can't be beat. I have personally seen a Samba file and print server stay up for a year without being rebooted!

 

[nofuse]

This is how to get you RH box to join an NT Domain.
1. Download and install Samba 2.2. You can get it from www.samba.org. A boxed version of Red Hat will also include Samba. Just make sure you install it when you install Linux.
2. Enable Samba on your machine. This will require an edit of /etc/smb.conf (an example smb.conf file will be included at the end of this post) and /etc/services and in Red Hat 7.1 /etc/xinetd (If you choose for Samba to install when you install RH7.1 this all most likely be done for you. If not check out www.linuxlookup.com under the HOWTO's section and look for "SMB&quot
3. Create an account on the Windows Domain controller for the Linux machine and create a user account named "root" and give root administrative privledges on the Windows box.
4. Make sure you have basic communication ability between the Linux machine and the domain controller. You can do this with the "ping" command.
5. Log into your Linux machine as root and execute the command "smbpasswd -j YOURDOMAINNAME -r YOURDOMAINCONTROLLERNAME (This will most likely be the most troublesome step in this whole process. If this doesn't work, email me with the complete error message and a copy of your smb.conf file or go to your local bookstore and look for The Samba Black Book)
6. Now everything should work.
7. Here is an example smb.conf file. You will have to edit it to fit your site's needs of course but it is fairly intuitive:
# Global parameters
[global]
workgroup = SAIRTEST
netbios name = SAMBA
server string = Samba Server on Caldera OpenLinux
security = DOMAIN
encrypt passwords = Yes
password server = win2kserver
max log size = 50

8. This (above) is all you actually need for Samba to function in the domain but it has no shares defined. A share would look something like this:
[stuff]
comment = stuff
path = /stuff
read only = No

Good Luck! Samba is IMHO one of the best packages available for Linux. It is easy to set up once you become familiar with it and it's reliablity can't be beat. I have personally seen a Samba file and print server stay up for a year without being rebooted!

 

[neuralfx]

SAMBA!!! who needs an NT4 server? hehe..
-neural

 

[mcveigh]

<< SAMBA!!! who needs an NT4 server? hehe.. >>



I don't!

RedHat 7.1 with samba 2.2.0 is the PDC for my NT4 network

remember w/ samba there are 12 different ways to do the same thing. so don't worry if somethhing works for you but you parameters are different than someone else.