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[previous article] [next article]The ECN Microsoft NT Server has been up and running since October 1996. Currently, there are 118 accounts ranging from undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, and faculty. Current operating systems accessing the NT Server include: Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, Windows NT Workstations, and Macintoshes. We are working on using Samba to mount the NT Server on UNIX platforms. Samba is an application that runs on the UNIX side. While we have had some successes, there are still issues needing attention. We are working with PACE to help with testing and to work out issues on the UNIX platforms.
Materials Engineering has been a testbed for the NT Server. In this test situation, there have been files shared between the Faculty and Staff within the department. Many of the folders (directories) have been set up with different access rights. For example, many of the Business Office's files need to be accessed for account and budget information but are not to be changed. In this case, we authorized the Business Office folder to allow members to read and execute but not to change. Materials Engineering is also sharing a schedule of events for Prof. Liedl, Head of Materials Engineering. The Materials Engineering School has several different platforms accessing the server through Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups, and Macintoshes.
Electrical and Computer Engineering is also taking advantage of the NT Server on newly installed Intel systems. The school asked the ECN to develop a method to permit the Windows NT Workstation user accounts to be centrally located and managed. This was done by creating a program on UNIX that would gather all of the necessary information for each account and then create a script file that the NT Server could import. NT Workstation allows each workstation user to log onto the NT Server for authorization. This means user accounts only needed to be created once on the NT Server, thereby saving a tremendous amount of time. Without this programming, we would have had to manually create accounts on each of the Intel systems.
The ECN is also testing a backup program called OmniBackup. Currently, the NT Server is taking part in the testing process. This is giving us the security of a backup every night. The NT Server is also working with PACE to create central distribution of commercial applications.
Projects for the future include user profiles, setting up trust relationships with other NT Servers on campus, permitting the monitoring of software licenses and account creation across platforms. Stay tuned to hear what is up and coming on the front lines of the ECN NT Server.
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