Windows NT tamed by daemons

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Windows NT tamed by daemons
Ouch!

• Mark Dawson
• Imperial College, London

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Queen Mary College
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Legacy teaching systems

• Central Sun server farm (SLCs) with YP/NFS
  serving
• Macs running A/UX
• Macs running MacOS
• Student compute servers (Suns)
• Staff and research workstations

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Objectives

• Consolidate NFS servers
• Keep single administrative system
• Keep single, shared home directories
• Improve range of softwareMac gt NT and Linux
• Keep investment in Unix compute servers

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NT User Administration
Domain Controller
NT WS
NT Server

• Local user accounts (per workstation)
• Domain based accounts (centralised)
• Compare local /etc/passwd with NIS

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What is a GINA?

• Manages the user login dialogue
• Prompts for username and password
• Logs the user in and sets up the session
• Manages logout and shutdown
• GINA runs with system privilege (cf. root)
• It knows username and plaintext password

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Roll your own GINA

• The Microsoft GINA is replaceable since NT 3.51.
  NISGINA was written to
• Authenticate user via NIS
• Create dynamic account in workstation SAM
• Customise the users registry from NIS
• Set up session (home directory, rights, etc)
• Manage dual boot

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More about NISGINA

• Author Nigel Williams
• Source available from Internethttp//www.dcs.qmw.
  ac.uk/williams/
• Mailing list nisgina_at_dcs.qmw.ac.uk

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Serving files Samba

• Options SAMBA or NFS NT clients?
• Runs on existing Unix servers
• Reasonably efficient -slower than NFS, faster
  than NT server
• Cheap and well supported
• Keeps clients simple/standard

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Customising the registry

• Two types of registry updates
• Before user login
• map used NTRegistryMods.machine
• example NISGINA, security settings
• After user login
• map used NTRegistryMods.user
• example Netscape settings

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Multiple Samba servers

• Problem using encrypted authentication

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Automated installation of Windows NT (1996)

• Need bootp and DHCP servers
• Use linux as a bootstrap
• Copy master NT image

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Parallel distribution of disk images
File server
Workstation
Workstation
Workstation

• Naïve approach can do 9 machines per hr.
• Compressing data saves 40 ( 15 mph)
• UDP broadcast to 150 at once does entire lab in
  30 minutes!

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Unattended installation of Windows NT (1997)

• Changing hardware - bigger disks
• Single master NT system too inflexible
• Use Linux as primary bootstrap
• Linux creates DOS partition (reboots)
• Unattended installation from a server
• Create packages for each application -special
  shell, sysdiff, etc.

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Server support

• I use Compaqs Proliant servers
• Solid construction, cost effective, powerful
• Excellent RAID subsystem
• Smart-2 series controllers
• Hot-pluggable disks
• Software FreeBSD
• see http//www.doc.ic.ac.uk/md/ida/

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The future...

• Zero Administration Kit (ZAK)
• doesnt address current issues
• Windows NT 5
• when will it ship?