System Management Guide: Communications and Networks

Configuring Client PCs for use with AIX Fast Connect

The steps shown in the following sections are required to connect a PC client to the AIX Fast Connect server.

TCP/IP Configuration

To access the AIX Fast Connect server, each client PC must be configured for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (RFC1001/1002). This can be accomplished for the various clients as shown in the following sections.

Windows 95, Windows 98 Clients

From the Start button, select Settings -> Control Panel -> Network.
On the Configuration tabbed panel (initially shown), verify that the following entries exist:
- An entry for your networking-card (hardware driver)
- TCP/IP (protocol)
- Client for Microsoft Networks (client).
If any are missing, add it from your Windows installation media.
Click on the TCP/IP entry and select Properties.
The TCP/IP Properties dialog box has several tabbed panels. Verify the following:

IP Address panel
Configure as needed. (For initial testing, you might want to disable DHCP and manually specify unique IP addresses for each PC.)

Bindings panel
Select Client for Microsoft Networks.

Additionally, you might want to enable WINS support, DNS support, and/or gateway support for each client. If so, configure each as needed.
Test the client TCP/IP configuration by ping-ing (by IP address) from the PC client DOS prompt to the AIX Fast Connect server, and vice versa.

Windows NT Clients

Note: You must be logged in as an Administrator.

From the Start button, select Settings -> Control Panel -> Network.
On the Adapters tabbed panel, verify that you have a correctly-configured entry for your networking card (hardware driver).
On the Services tabbed panel, verify that there are entries for the following services:
- Computer Browser
- NetBIOS Interface
- Workstation.
If any are missing, add it from your Windows NT CD.
On the Protocols panel, add TCP/IP (if missing), then select Properties.
The TCP/IP Properties dialog box has several tabbed panels. Verify the following:

IP Address panel
Configure as needed. (For initial testing, you might want to disable DHCP and manually specify unique IP addresses for each PC.)

You might also want to configure DNS, WINS Address, and Routing.
Test the client TCP/IP configuration by ping-ing (by IP address) from the PC client DOS prompt to the AIX Fast Connect server and vice versa.

Windows 2000 Clients

Note: You must be logged in as an Administrator.

From the Start button, select Settings -> Control Panel -> Network and Dialup Connections.
Right-click on the Local Area Connection icon of the network adapter to be configured. Select Properties.
On the General tabbed panel, verify that there are checked entries for the following components:
- Your networking card (hardware driver) entry
- Client for Microsoft Networks
- Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
If any is missing, add it from your Windows 2000 CD.
Select the TCP/IP entry, then select the Properties button. Configure as needed.
(For initial testing, you may want to disable DHCP and manually specify unique IP addresses for each PC.)
Select Advanced... -> WINS, to verify that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled.
Test the client TCP/IP configuration by ping-ing (by IP address) from the PC client DOS prompt to the AIX Fast Connect server and vice versa.

Windows For Workgroups (Windows 3.11) Clients

From Network group (within Program Manager), run Network Setup.
Verify that the following entries exist:
- Microsoft Windows Network (version 3.11) (network)
- An entry for your LAN adapter card (device-driver)
- Microsoft TCP/IP-32 3.11b (protocol)
You might need to install the TCP/IP protocol. TCP/IP is not included on the Windows 3.11 installation media. You can download a copy of Microsoft TCP/IP-32 3.11b from the Microsoft web site at www.microsoft.com.)
To set up the TCP/IP configuration, double-click on Microsoft TCP/IP-32 3.11b. Configure the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, WINS Server(s), DNS, and other options as needed. (LMHOSTS and DNS enablement are available as Advanced options.)
Test the client TCP/IP configuration by ping-ing (by IP address) from the PC client DOS prompt to the AIX Fast Connect server and vice versa.

OS/2 Clients

Install TCP/IP and NetBIOS support during OS/2 installation.
Use the TCP/IP configuration program to verify and configure TCP/IP.
Use the Multi-Protocol Transport Services program (MPTS) to verify and configure the following protocols for your network adapter:
- IBM OS/2 TCP/IP
- IBM OS/2 NetBIOS OVER TCP/IP
These protocols should have the same LAN adapter number and should match your TCP/IP interface.

Note: The default installation is IBM OS/2 NetBIOS. Be sure to add IBM OS/2 NetBIOS OVER TCP/IP if not already listed.
Test the client TCP/IP configuration by ping-ing (by IP address) from the PC client DOS prompt to the AIX Fast Connect server and vice versa.

In addition to being able to ping the AIX Fast Connect server over TCP/IP, each client PC also must be able to resolve the NetBIOS name of the AIX Fast Connect server (the AIX Fast Connect servername) to an IP address. This can be done using UDP-Broadcast, LMHOSTS files, DNS, or WINS.

UDP-Broadcast (B-node)

The simplest NetBIOS name resolution (both in terms of setup and functionality) is UDP-Broadcast (B-node name resolution). No additional setup is required on the PC client as long as the client is on the same physical network segment (Ethernet, Token Ring, etc.) as the AIX Fast Connect server. The PC client broadcasts a UDP NetBIOS query to the local network, to which the AIX Fast Connect server responds.

Note: This mechanism does not work across TCP/IP routers, gateways, etc. Larger networks typically use DNS or WINS.

LMHOSTS files

Windows PCs can provide local LMHOSTS files for resolving NetBIOS names. Similar to /etc/hosts on AIX, each PC can have an LMHOSTS file to statically resolve NetBIOS names to IP addresses. (This mechanism might be unsuitable for DHCP environments or networks with many client PCs, because every LMHOSTS file must change whenever the AIX Fast Connect servers' IP addresses change.)

The following is an example of editing an LMHOSTS file on Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows 3.11. From the DOS prompt:

DOS>  cd \windows
DOS>  edit lmhosts     (LMHOSTS.SAM is included with Windows as an example.)

On a Windows NT or Windows 2000 machine, do the following:

NT> cd \winnt\system32\drivers\etc
NT> edit lmhosts

After editing the LMHOSTS file, run the Windows PC command nbtstat -R.

DNS

If your network is running the domain name service (DNS) for TCP/IP and your AIX Fast Connect servername is registered in the DNS, then each client PC can be configured to use DNS for NetBIOS name resolution. (This is the default on Windows 95, but must be enabled under TCP/IP Properties vfor Windows NT.)

During installation, the AIX Fast Connect servername defaults to match the AIX hostname.

WINS

Your Windows network might use Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) for NetBIOS name resolution. Similar to DNS for TCP/IP, WINS allows NetBIOS service names to be resolved to IP addresses across multiple LAN segments. When this is the case, each Client PC is configured to use the WINS server(s) under TCP/IP Properties.

Additionally, use the SMIT fast path smit smbcfghatt to set the WINS Address entry and Backup WINS Server for the AIX Fast Connect server. The AIX Fast Connect server uses these IP addresses to automatically register its NetBIOS servername with the WINS servers.

You can configure one or more AIX Fast Connect servers to act as NBNS/WINS servers. For more information, see NetBIOS Name Service.

At this point, if you have LMHOSTS, DNS, or WINS correctly configured, you should be able to ping from the client PC by using the NetBIOS server name.

Workgroups, Domains, and User Accounts

AIX Fast Connect supports several different types of user authentication/access mechanisms. (See Basic User Administration and Advanced Server Administration.) Each client PC should be configured to match the AIX Fast Connect user-access scheme you have chosen for your network.

For ease of use, client PCs should be in the same Windows workgroup or NT domain as the AIX Fast Connect server (or vice versa). Windows 3.11, Windows 95, and Windows NT all use WORKGROUP as a default workgroup name, and AIX Fast Connect server initializes itself to use WORKGROUP, also. If your network uses NT domain login authentication, you can configure the AIX Fast Connect server to verify AIX Fast Connect access using the NT domain authentication servers.

Whether you use Workgroups or NT domains, access to AIX Fast Connect is managed by user security. You must set up AIX user accounts for each Windows user who is accessing AIX Fast Connect. It is easiest to use if the user accounts (and passwords) on AIX match the Windows or NT domain user accounts (and passwords).

On the AIX Fast Connect server, use the SMIT fast path:
```
smit smbcfghatt
```
Within the SMIT panel, enter the following:
- To use Workgroups, enter the workgroup name in the Domain Name field.
- To use NT domain validation, enter the IP addresses for the NT domain authentication server(s) in the Passthrough Authentication Server and Backup Passthrough Authentication Server fields.
On PC clients running Windows 95 or Windows 98, do the following:
1. Select Start button -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network.
2. On the Identification panel, enter the computer name for that PC.
3. Configure the domain:
  - To use workgroups, enter the workgroup name in the Workgroup field.
  - To use NT domain validation,
    1. Go to the Configuration tabbed panel.
    2. Select Client for Microsoft Networks, and click on Properties.
    3. Check the NT domain checkbox, and enter the NT domain name. (To join an NT domain, you must have Domain Administrator priviledges.)
On PC clients running Windows NT, make sure you are logged on as Administrator. Then:
1. Select Start button -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network.
2. On the Identification panel, select the Change... button.
3. Enter the Computer Name for that PC.
4. Enter the appropriate workgroup or domain name. (To join an NT domain, you must have Domain Administrator priviledges.)
On PC clients running Windows 2000, make sure you are logged on as Administrator. Then:
1. Select Start button -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System.
2. On the Network Identification panel, select the Properties button.
3. Enter the Computer Name for that PC.
4. Enter the appropriate workgroup or domain name. (To join an NT domain, you must have Domain Administrator priviledges.)
On PC clients running Windows for Workgroups, configuration for the workgroup occurs during Windows 3.11 install/setup, but can be changed in the Network applet of the Control Panel.
On PC clients running OS/2, configuration for the workgroup occurs during OS/2 installation, but can be changed in the DOMAIN parameter of the IBMLAN.INI file.

Note: Use the OS/2 command LOGON to use NetBIOS services such as network browsing, NET VIEW, and NET USE.

Enabling Windows Clients for Plain Text Passwords

For security reasons, Microsoft has disabled support for nonencrypted (plain text) network passwords in all recent versions of Windows (Windows 95C, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 w/ Service Pack 3, Windows 2000). If you want to use plain text passwords on your network, these clients must be upgraded with the following Registry patches.

Note: Microsoft has recommended the current System Registry be saved as a backup before any manual changes are made to it. For details, see Microsoft's technet web site.

To enable plain text passwords on Windows 95 or Windows 98,
1. Use EDIT or the NOTEPAD accessory to create the following text file, named W98plain.reg, as a local file on the Windows 98 machine:
```
REGEDIT4
 
; Registry file to allow plaintext passwords on Windows 98
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VNETSUP]
"EnablePlainTextPassword"=dword:00000001
```
2. Using Windows Explorer, double click on the W98plain.reg file name in the directory where you saved it. This action will update the Windows Registry for that client to allow plain text passwords.
3. Shutdown/Restart the Windows 98 machine. (Shutdown/Restart is required for this patch to take effect.)
To enable plain text passwords on Windows NT 4.0, logon as Administrator. Then:
1. Use EDIT or the NOTEPAD accessory to create the following text file, named NT4plain.reg, as a local file on the Windows NT machine:
```
REGEDIT4
 
; Registry file to allow plaintext passwords on Windows NT 4.0
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rdr\Parameters]
EnablePlainTextPassword=dword:00000001
```
2. Using Windows NT Explorer, double click on the NT4plain.reg file name in the directory where you saved it. This action will update the Windows Registry for that client to allow plain text passwords.
3. Shutdown/Restart the Windows NT machine. (Shutdown/Restart is required for this patch to take effect.)
Note: Even with the previous patch installed, all Windows NT 4.0 clients still require the user to type his/her password every time the user first connects to the AIX Fast Connect server (by browsing, mapping drives, etc.). Once the user is successfully connected, additional browsing or drive mapping operations proceed without hindrance. The initial "Password Invalid" message occurs because Windows NT 4.0 attempts to use encrypted passwords while connecting to AIX Fast Connect server, rather than plain text passwords.
To enable plain text passwords on Windows 2000, logon as Administrator. Then:
1. From the Start button, select Programs -> Administrative_Tools -> Local_Security_Policy.
2. On the Tree view, select Local_Policies -> Security_Options.
3. On the Policy list (right-hand panel), find the entry "Send unencrypted password to connect to third-party SMB servers", and enable it.
4. Shutdown/Restart the Windows 2000 machine.

Browsing the Network

AIX Fast Connect supports browser operations such as NET VIEW and Network Neighborhood (renamed My Network Places on Windows 2000). These operations show the user a list of file and printer shares exported by each server.

Network Neighborhood can also be used as a convenient way to map drives. (Right-click on a file share name, then select Map Network Drive from the pop-up menu.)

However, note the following limitations on network browsing:

To see the AIX Fast Connect server in Network Neighborhood, a client PC needs to be able to see the Master Browser for the workgroup or domain for which that AIX Fast Connect server is configured. (AIX Fast Connect does not act as a browse master itself, but any Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT clients in that workgroup can perform this role.)
Network browsing generally works best if the client PC and the AIX Fast Connect server are in the same workgroup/domain.
The browse list database that is maintained by the Master Browser is not always up-to-date. The list can show AIX Fast Connect server names for servers that are currently down, off, physically disconnected, or otherwise unreachable. The Master Browser does not delete a server from the browse list until that servername's refresh timeout has expired, which can take several days. However, if a user tries to access that servername (by browsing share names, mapping drives, etc.), a disconnected AIX Fast Connect server is detected as unavailable.

Mapping Drives

Normally, PC clients must define drive mappings to use the AIX Fast Connect-exported file shares. These drive mappings can be done from Windows or from the DOS command prompt.

You can use the following mechanisms to define/undefine mappings between PC drive letters and AIX Fast Connect file shares. For the sake of the following examples, assume that the NetBIOS servername is cifs01, and that file share apps is defined.

From DOS:

DOS> net help                     (help info for DOS)
DOS> net use H: \\cifs01\home     (pre-defined AIX Fast Connect share)
DOS> net use F: \\cifs01\apps
DOS> copy F:\oldfile H:\newfile   (uses the mapped drives)
DOS> net use F: /delete           (delete the drive-mapping)

From Windows:

Find the Map Network Drive dialog box.
- Select Windows Explorer -> Tools -> Map Network Drive.
  -or-
- Right-click on Network Neighborhood and select Map Network Drive.
Select the desired drive from the Drive: drop-down list, then
- Enter the path: (for example, \\cifs01\apps).
  -or-
- Use the Shared Directories (browse tree) panel to select the network share desired.

Using AIX Fast Connect Printers

For printing, DOS and Windows mappings are somewhat different. For the following examples, assume that AIX Fast Connect server cifs01 has print shares netprint1 and pscolor defined.

For DOS applications, the following simple device-mappings can be used:

DOS> net use LPT1: \\cifs01\netprint1
DOS> net use LPT2: \\cifs01\pscolor

To test these DOS printer-mappings, use the following:

DOS> COPY text_file LPT1:
DOS> COPY Postscript_file LPT2:

Note: During print-spooling, neither DOS nor AIX Fast Connect auto-convert Postscript to text, or vice versa; however, this auto-detection/auto-convert feature can be enabled using AIX print-spooling options, if desired.

For Windows applications, a Windows printer driver needs to be installed, and mapped to the network printer, as follows:

Select Start -> Settings -> Printers -> Add Printer.
Select Network Printer.
Enter the AIX Fast Connect print share name (for example, \\cifs01\netprint1) or use the browse list to select the desired print share.
Select the correct Windows printer driver for that network printer (for example, IBM 4039 Laser Printer PS), which is installed from your Windows installation disks.

Test Windows printer-driver functionality by printing a test-file from any Windows application (for example, Notepad), or by using the "Print Test Page" feature as follows:

Select Start -> Settings -> Printers.
Select the printer driver (for example, pscolor).
From the Menu Bar, select File -> Properties.
From the Tabbed-panel labelled "General", select Print Test Page.

For Windows 3.11, install the desired printer driver through Control Panel, and use the Connect... button to map it to the AIX Fast Connect print share.

Support for Windows 2000 Clients

Windows 2000 clients are now supported using CIFS/SMB protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP. Network Logon is not yet supported for Windows 2000 clients.

Support for Windows Terminal Server

AIX Fast Connect is compatible with the Windows Terminal Server program. This program allows multiple PC clients running Windows Terminal Client software to login to the Windows Terminal Server and establish a remote console session. Any network drive (or network printer) mapping made within that console session gets forwarded by Windows Terminal Server to other NetBIOS servers, as required.

Windows Terminal Server (and other similar terminal-server programs) must accomodate multiple net-mappings by multiple usernames, coming from multiple client PCs. Windows Terminal Server (and other terminal servers) can multiplex these requests to AIX Fast Connect using the following mechanisms:

Multiple TCP/IP sessions (from a single Windows Terminal Server PC) to AIX Fast Connect.
Multiple SMB sessions multiplexed into a single TCP/IP session.

Both of these mechanisms are supported by AIX Fast Connect version 3.0 and later.

To enable Windows Terminal Server support, set multiuserlogin=1.

Refer to your Windows Terminal Server documentation for specific information about setup and use of Windows Terminal Server and Windows Terminal Client.