FacetWin Logo  
 
FacetCorp
 

Preparing Windows NT 4.0 for FacetWin


Before you can install FacetWin on a PC running Windows 95 or Windows NT 4, you must have the Windows network system configured properly, especially in regard to the Microsoft TCP/IP software. The following configuration installation procedure is for Windows NT 4.

To examine your PC's network configuration, right click on the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop. Choose the Properties option on the menu, and you will be presented with the Network property sheet.

All of the following are tabs on the Network property sheet:

  1. Choose the Identification tab.

    Write down your Workgroup name for use in installing FacetWin on the UNIX server.

    If you have never setup a Workgroup for the PCs on your network, then you can use any name you like, as long as you use the same name for all the servers and PCs that you want to appear in the same workgroup on the network.

    If you have multiple Workgroups on your network, at least 1 PC must be in the same Workgroup as the UNIX server.

  2. Choose the Services tab:

    • Computer Browser
    • Netbios Interface
    • RPC Configuration
    • Server
    • Workstation

    The services shown in the list above must be installed. To add a service that is not already present, press the "Add" button, select the service type.

  3. Choose the Protocols tab.

    Choose the TCP/IP Protocol property sheet.

    The following are tabs on the TCP/IP property sheet.

    1. IP Address Tab:

      [x] Specify an IP address

      Supply the IP address that has been assigned to your PC. Each computer on the network must have its own unique IP address. If you are using a DHCP server on your network, then you may select the option "Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server" instead of specifying a specific address.

      If your local area network is connected to other networks, you will need to specify the address of a computer that is able to perform the routing to the other networks as a gateway. Otherwise, you can leave the Default Gateway address empty.

    2. WINS Address:

      [x] Enable WINS Resolution

      Set the primary WINS server address to the IP address of a UNIX server that has FacetWin installed. If you have multiple FacetWin servers on the network, then enter the IP address of another as the secondary WINS server. Otherwise, enter the same address for both the primary and secondary WINS servers.

    3. DNS:

      If you have a server on your local area network configured as the Domain Name Server, you can enable DNS and supply that server's address here. However, this is not required for FacetWin operation.

      Note that if you have the DNS configuration set up to point to your Internet provider, and you access that provider via Dial-up Networking, you should take the DNS address out of the Network properties, and put it in the TCP/IP properties of the Dial-up Networking configuration that is used to dial-up your Internet provider.

    4. Routing:

      The Routing tab on the TCP/IP property sheet can be left empty.

      That is all of the TCP/IP configuration. Click OK on the TCP/IP Protocol property sheet and return to the main Network Properties sheet.

    5. Adapter tab:

      The Adapter must be configured properly for your hardware configuration. If this is not the case, you must get the hardware configured before proceeding with the PC installation of FacetWin.

    6. Bindings:

      Show bindings for all services

      • Netbios Interface
      • WINS Client (TCP/IP)
      • 3Com EtherLink .....
      • Server
      • WINS Client (TCP/IP)
      • Workstation
      • WINS Client (TCP/IP)

Click OK on the Network Properties to save any changes you made. If you are given a message about rebooting, you must reboot before the changes will take effect.

Before you can install FacetWin on your PC across the network, the FacetWin security method must be changed to allow NT 4 machines to access and use the file and print services on the UNIX server.

Changing the FacetWin Security Method

NOTE: This is discussed in further detail on the Connecting from NT 4.0 / Service Pack 3 webpage.

The default FacetWin security method (UNIX) will not work with Windows NT 4. The default method requires that each user's PC Windows network logon and password be the same as the UNIX user name and password. The default security method then requires that the PC transmit the password as "clear text". Windows NT 4 will refuse to transmit anything but encrypted passwords.

The following are the four types of supported security methods.

The UNIX security method is the default. This method requires that the user name and password entered when you logon to Windows is the same as your UNIX user name and password. The password that the user entered when he started his PC is checked against the UNIX passwd or shadow file. The PC will send the password on the network in plain text. The file and print server will use the standard UNIX password encryption scheme to validate the client. This method works well with Windows 95, Windows 3.11 and in some cases with Windows NT 4.0 clients. It does not work with Windows NT 3.51 clients. It is recommended that if any of the client PC's are running Windows NT, that one of the other security methods is used.

The RHOST security method uses the standard UNIX .rhosts and hosts.equiv files to determine if a PC can log in as a particular user. The PC's IP address or DNS hostname is checked against the user's $HOME/.rhosts file and the /etc/hosts.equiv file. If it passes this test, the connection is allowed. This method does not exchange plain text passwords over the network, and will work for all Windows clients.

The LANMAN security method checks the password that the user entered against an encrypted password that is stored in a file named "fctpasswd" on the UNIX machine. The Administrator program will create this file for you with entries for each user listed in the /etc/passwd file. Passwords are then entered for each user by running the fct_encrypt program. For information on running the fct_encrypt program see the UNIX "man" page for this command. The user's PC password can be different from their UNIX password. This method does not exchange plain text passwords over the network, and will work for all Windows clients.

The NT SERVER method can be used in a network that uses an NT machine to maintain Windows user names and passwords. The name of the NT Server used to authenticate passwords must be entered in the "Primary password server" box below. In addition, a list of backup password servers may be entered to allow alternate NT servers to be used when the primary password server is down. When a user connects to the UNIX file server, his user name and password is checked with the NT server. This method does not exchange plain text passwords over the network, and will work for all Windows clients.

In the facetwin.cfg configuration file, the NT SERVER security method is indicated by the line:

pass_security=\\nt_server_name

where nt_server_name is the name of the primary password server. All of the other pass_security lines should be commented out.

Be sure that all the other pass_security lines are commented out. Only one security method can be used at one time on a UNIX server. Different UNIX servers may use different security methods.

If the PC and the FacetWin security method are now correctly configured, after a few minutes, you should be able to see UNIX servers that are running FacetWin in your PC's Network Neighborhood.

If you can see the UNIX server via the Network Neighborhood, then click on the UNIX server . If a window pops up with your UNIX's server name as the title and the window contains the 2 default shares (FacetWinPC and MYHomeDir), then you are ready to install the FacetWin on your PC.