Network setup problems

[MDriggers]

I'm trying to complete the replacement of an old Linux server for my church
with a new XP file server because we need more storage space and the vendor
for our data management software does not support Linux. Every time they
send a software upgrade, we have problems that they have trouble helping us
resolve because of the way Linux and windows products differ in management
of permissions. Part of the transfer is done and working well, other parts
I'm having trouble getting to allow mapping to two resources simultaneously.

1. Each user needs to be mapped to the data folder for the data management
software [done and running smoothly]

2. Each user needs access to a shared folder for a few documents that we
all need to see and/or modify (password protection desirable, but not
absolutely necessary) [conflicts with step 3 below]

3. Each user also needs access to a folder on the server that only they
have access to (with password protection) [conflicts with step 2 above]

I had steps 1 and 2 done, but when I tried to accomplish step 3, I ran into
conflicts and got messages like: "The network folder is currently mapped
using a different user name and password. To connect using a different user
name and password, first disconnect any existing mappings to this network
share." and/or "Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the
same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed. Disconnect all
previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again."

When I disconnected and tried again, I lost step 2 on the workstation that I
was using. That's what got me here to ask the wisdom of those who know what
they're doing.

Here's what the file structure I'm trying to work with on the server looks
like (actual file names are different, but this is where they are):

C:\membership data folder
C:\shared documents
C:\users\user1
C:\users\user2
C:\users\user3
C:\users\user4
C:\users\user5
C:\users\user6

I have administrator rights on the server, so I can make any changes in
permissions there. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[MDriggers]

Any reason I'm being ignored?

in message

 

[Malke]

Any reason I'm being ignored?

I'm trying to complete the replacement of an old Linux server for my
church with a new XP file server because we need more storage space
and
the vendor for our data management software does not support Linux.
Every time they send a software upgrade, we have problems that they
have trouble helping us resolve because of the way Linux and windows
products differ in
management of permissions. Part of the transfer is done and working
well, other parts I'm having trouble getting to allow mapping to two
resources simultaneously.

1. Each user needs to be mapped to the data folder for the data
management software [done and running smoothly]

2. Each user needs access to a shared folder for a few documents
that we all need to see and/or modify (password protection desirable,
but not absolutely necessary) [conflicts with step 3 below]

3. Each user also needs access to a folder on the server that only
they have access to (with password protection) [conflicts with step 2
above]

I had steps 1 and 2 done, but when I tried to accomplish step 3, I
ran
into conflicts and got messages like: "The network folder is
currently
mapped using a different user name and password. To connect using a
different user name and password, first disconnect any existing
mappings to this network share." and/or "Multiple connections to a
server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user
name, are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the
server or shared resource and try again."

When I disconnected and tried again, I lost step 2 on the workstation
that
I was using. That's what got me here to ask the wisdom of those who
know what they're doing.

Here's what the file structure I'm trying to work with on the server
looks like (actual file names are different, but this is where they
are):

C:\membership data folder
C:\shared documents
C:\users\user1
C:\users\user2
C:\users\user3
C:\users\user4
C:\users\user5
C:\users\user6

I have administrator rights on the server, so I can make any changes
in
permissions there. Any help much appreciated.

You are not being ignored. These are public newsgroups, not Microsoft
tech support. We are all volunteers with Real Lives, most of which
include Jobs. So if you didn't get an answer to your quite complex
question immediately and you need one, call MS tech support. Since you
have an MS server operating system, tech support came with the package.
Depending on what you bought, you may be entitled to two free calls. In
addition, even though this is a church, it is a business and tech
support is a cost of doing business. I have paid the $245 usd or so for
server tech support and it was excellent and well worth it.

That said, Windows server operating systems are like Linux in that they
do not use password protection for folders/files. Permissions are set
for users and user groups. Create the user accounts you need on the
server and appropriate groups and doing what you need to is quite as
simple on Windows as doing it on Linux. If you have further questions
about setting up user accounts, groups and permissions, you should post
them to one of the MS server newsgroups like:

microsoft.public.windows.server.general

Malke

 

[MDriggers]

You are not being ignored. These are public newsgroups, not Microsoft
tech support. We are all volunteers with Real Lives, most of which
include Jobs. So if you didn't get an answer to your quite complex
question immediately and you need one, call MS tech support. Since you
have an MS server operating system, tech support came with the package.
Depending on what you bought, you may be entitled to two free calls. In
addition, even though this is a church, it is a business and tech
support is a cost of doing business. I have paid the $245 usd or so for
server tech support and it was excellent and well worth it.

That said, Windows server operating systems are like Linux in that they
do not use password protection for folders/files. Permissions are set
for users and user groups. Create the user accounts you need on the
server and appropriate groups and doing what you need to is quite as
simple on Windows as doing it on Linux. If you have further questions
about setting up user accounts, groups and permissions, you should post
them to one of the MS server newsgroups like:

microsoft.public.windows.server.general

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
www.elephantboycomputers.com
In Memoriam - MVP Alex Nichol
The world is diminished without him.

I'm not sure what I did to create a flaming response. I just noticed other
posts getting rapid responses while I was getting none. I'm familiar with
the way the public newsgroups work and the fact that MVPs are real people
whose paying jobs are not giving newsgroup advice. I am a grateful
beneficiary of the wonderful advice I have gotten in the past on numerous MS
newsgroups ... mostly from MVPs. I did not intend to offend, but apparently
I did. My apologies.

Perhaps my original post did not make it clear. Our new dedicated file
server is running XP Pro, not Windows Server, therefore we do not have the
tech support that you mentioned. It is a simple peer-to-peer like setup
with a little better security desired, which I think XP Pro will deliver
fine. Any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Morris Driggers, Minister of Music
First Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

 

[Chuck]

I'm not sure what I did to create a flaming response. I just noticed other
posts getting rapid responses while I was getting none. I'm familiar with
the way the public newsgroups work and the fact that MVPs are real people
whose paying jobs are not giving newsgroup advice. I am a grateful
beneficiary of the wonderful advice I have gotten in the past on numerous MS
newsgroups ... mostly from MVPs. I did not intend to offend, but apparently
I did. My apologies.

Perhaps my original post did not make it clear. Our new dedicated file
server is running XP Pro, not Windows Server, therefore we do not have the
tech support that you mentioned. It is a simple peer-to-peer like setup
with a little better security desired, which I think XP Pro will deliver
fine. Any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Morris Driggers, Minister of Music
First Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[Chuck]

I'm not sure what I did to create a flaming response. I just noticed other
posts getting rapid responses while I was getting none. I'm familiar with
the way the public newsgroups work and the fact that MVPs are real people
whose paying jobs are not giving newsgroup advice. I am a grateful
beneficiary of the wonderful advice I have gotten in the past on numerous MS
newsgroups ... mostly from MVPs. I did not intend to offend, but apparently
I did. My apologies.

Perhaps my original post did not make it clear. Our new dedicated file
server is running XP Pro, not Windows Server, therefore we do not have the
tech support that you mentioned. It is a simple peer-to-peer like setup
with a little better security desired, which I think XP Pro will deliver
fine. Any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Morris Driggers, Minister of Music
First Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

Morris,

Please don't take Malke's response personally. She's a volunteer here like the
rest of us. Please don't call that flaming either. Real flaming would have
been much more severe. This newsgroup is somewhat more professionally operated
than many, though flames do occur occasionally, but that wasn't a flame.

Now to your problem. Please forgive me as I ask obvious questions - I could
infer the answers from your post, but maybe my inferences would be wrong.

You are using a Windows XP Pro system as a server? How many users, total? Is
it using Advanced, or Simple, File Sharing?

If Advanced FS, are shares 1 and 2 setup for access by Everybody? And User
shares 1 - 6 setup for access by each individual user? Can any one person
access Shares 1, 2, and the appropriate user share simultaneously? Can any one
person access just the appropriate user share at all?

What you're doing is perfectly doable, as long as you haven't exceeded the
simultaneous connection limit. So the question is - what are you doing that we
can't see? Asking questions is not the best way to diagnose problems - most
folks like me would prefer to be in front of the computer, and diagnose on
direct observation. So be patient with us, and we'll try to help you out here.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[Chuck]

I'm not sure what I did to create a flaming response. I just noticed other
posts getting rapid responses while I was getting none. I'm familiar with
the way the public newsgroups work and the fact that MVPs are real people
whose paying jobs are not giving newsgroup advice. I am a grateful
beneficiary of the wonderful advice I have gotten in the past on numerous MS
newsgroups ... mostly from MVPs. I did not intend to offend, but apparently
I did. My apologies.

Perhaps my original post did not make it clear. Our new dedicated file
server is running XP Pro, not Windows Server, therefore we do not have the
tech support that you mentioned. It is a simple peer-to-peer like setup
with a little better security desired, which I think XP Pro will deliver
fine. Any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Morris Driggers, Minister of Music
First Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

Morris,

Please don't take Malke's response personally. She's a volunteer here like the
rest of us. Please don't call that flaming either. Real flaming would have
been much more severe. This newsgroup is somewhat more professionally operated
than many, though flames do occur occasionally, but that wasn't a flame.

Now to your problem. Please forgive me as I ask obvious questions - I could
infer the answers from your post, but maybe my inferences would be wrong.

You are using a Windows XP Pro system as a server? How many users, total? Is
it using Advanced, or Simple, File Sharing?

If Advanced FS, are shares 1 and 2 setup for access by Everybody? And User
shares 1 - 6 setup for access by each individual user? Can any one person
access Shares 1, 2, and the appropriate user share simultaneously? Can any one
person access just the appropriate user share at all?

What you're doing is perfectly doable, as long as you haven't exceeded the
simultaneous connection limit. So the question is - what are you doing that we
can't see? Asking questions is not the best way to diagnose problems - most
folks like me would prefer to be in front of the computer, and diagnose on
direct observation. So be patient with us, and we'll try to help you out here.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[MDriggers]

Morris,

Please don't take Malke's response personally. She's a volunteer here
like the
rest of us. Please don't call that flaming either. Real flaming would
have
been much more severe. This newsgroup is somewhat more professionally
operated
than many, though flames do occur occasionally, but that wasn't a flame.

Now to your problem. Please forgive me as I ask obvious questions - I
could
infer the answers from your post, but maybe my inferences would be wrong.

You are using a Windows XP Pro system as a server? How many users, total?
Is
it using Advanced, or Simple, File Sharing?

If Advanced FS, are shares 1 and 2 setup for access by Everybody? And
User
shares 1 - 6 setup for access by each individual user? Can any one person
access Shares 1, 2, and the appropriate user share simultaneously? Can
any one
person access just the appropriate user share at all?

What you're doing is perfectly doable, as long as you haven't exceeded the
simultaneous connection limit. So the question is - what are you doing
that we
can't see? Asking questions is not the best way to diagnose problems -
most
folks like me would prefer to be in front of the computer, and diagnose on
direct observation. So be patient with us, and we'll try to help you out
here.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

Chuck,

Thanks for your patience and the words of instruction on proper newsgroup
etiquette. Your advice is well-taken and appreciated. My apologies to
Malke for accusing a flame when it was not quite severe enough for that
label.

My _computer_ problem is complicated by the fact that the individual user
folders (share 3 according to your query above) were set up not by me, but
by our technical advisor (a church member who works in IT with a state home
for developmentally disabled and advises us on our network setup), so I'm
not completely in the know on how he set those up. His time is very
difficult to come by (I contacted him about the problem on Tuesday) so
meanwhile, I decided to see what kind of help I could get on the newsgroup.

Your understanding is correct.
File server OS: XP Pro
File Sharing Advanced or Simple?: Assume advanced, but don't know for sure.
Users: currently 6 or 7. Don't anticipate heavier user load for quite some
time.
Shares 1 and 2 will be for access by everyone (is PW protection available
via login?)
Share 3 (which was already set up) will be for each individual user.

Does this help?

Morris

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thanks for your patience and the words of instruction on proper newsgroup
etiquette. Your advice is well-taken and appreciated. My apologies to
Malke for accusing a flame when it was not quite severe enough for that
label.

My _computer_ problem is complicated by the fact that the individual user
folders (share 3 according to your query above) were set up not by me, but
by our technical advisor (a church member who works in IT with a state home
for developmentally disabled and advises us on our network setup), so I'm
not completely in the know on how he set those up. His time is very
difficult to come by (I contacted him about the problem on Tuesday) so
meanwhile, I decided to see what kind of help I could get on the newsgroup.

Your understanding is correct.
File server OS: XP Pro
File Sharing Advanced or Simple?: Assume advanced, but don't know for sure.
Users: currently 6 or 7. Don't anticipate heavier user load for quite some
time.
Shares 1 and 2 will be for access by everyone (is PW protection available
via login?)
Share 3 (which was already set up) will be for each individual user.

Does this help?

Morris

Morris,

Firstly, thank you for bottom posting. I was fearing from your second post that
you're a top poster, and that frequently interferes with my ability to find, and
deal with each, response.

Do you have administrative access to the computers (I'm assuming a workgroup
here, so you need administrative access to all computers).

If this is a workgroup, is each user computer "owned" used by one (or maybe two)
individuals, each with a different userid (and non-blank password)? If so, is
each userid (and identical password) setup on the server? Or are you guys maybe
trying to use a common userid somewhere, to save on administrative complexity?

When you get over 5 users, IMHE, you are getting very close to where a domain
(unfortunately requiring Server 2003 @ $700 - $900) is justified, in terms of
administrative complexity, security, and functionality. With a workgroup, you
must have identical userids and passwords setup on both the client (computer
owned by individuals) and the server (computer accessed in common by each
individual). The ongoing task of synchronising userids and passwords, on all
computers, becomes very painful, I know from experience. God forbid that the
church treasurer should sometimes sit at the secretary's desk and use that
computer too.

That being said, let me outline how I would setup one client computer, and the
server, as an example, to accommodate one staff member.

Computer A (also Windows XP Pro hopefully) would have 2 accounts - Administrator
(with administrative functionality), and User1 (with user functionality). Both
with non-blank passwords. User1 would use the User1 account, religiously (PI).

Server would have 2 accounts - Administrator and User1, both with non-blank
passwords identical to those on Computer A. User1 setup as a member of group
Users (and implied as a member of Everyone). Shares 1 and 2 permissioned under
Sharing to Everyone, and under Security, to Everyone and Users. Share User1
permissioned under Sharing to Everyone, and under Security to User1.

Is this in precise agreement with your setup, or is there maybe a shortcut that
somebody has taken, that might explain your unique circumstances?

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thanks for your patience and the words of instruction on proper newsgroup
etiquette. Your advice is well-taken and appreciated. My apologies to
Malke for accusing a flame when it was not quite severe enough for that
label.

My _computer_ problem is complicated by the fact that the individual user
folders (share 3 according to your query above) were set up not by me, but
by our technical advisor (a church member who works in IT with a state home
for developmentally disabled and advises us on our network setup), so I'm
not completely in the know on how he set those up. His time is very
difficult to come by (I contacted him about the problem on Tuesday) so
meanwhile, I decided to see what kind of help I could get on the newsgroup.

Your understanding is correct.
File server OS: XP Pro
File Sharing Advanced or Simple?: Assume advanced, but don't know for sure.
Users: currently 6 or 7. Don't anticipate heavier user load for quite some
time.
Shares 1 and 2 will be for access by everyone (is PW protection available
via login?)
Share 3 (which was already set up) will be for each individual user.

Does this help?

Morris

Morris,

Firstly, thank you for bottom posting. I was fearing from your second post that
you're a top poster, and that frequently interferes with my ability to find, and
deal with each, response.

Do you have administrative access to the computers (I'm assuming a workgroup
here, so you need administrative access to all computers).

If this is a workgroup, is each user computer "owned" used by one (or maybe two)
individuals, each with a different userid (and non-blank password)? If so, is
each userid (and identical password) setup on the server? Or are you guys maybe
trying to use a common userid somewhere, to save on administrative complexity?

When you get over 5 users, IMHE, you are getting very close to where a domain
(unfortunately requiring Server 2003 @ $700 - $900) is justified, in terms of
administrative complexity, security, and functionality. With a workgroup, you
must have identical userids and passwords setup on both the client (computer
owned by individuals) and the server (computer accessed in common by each
individual). The ongoing task of synchronising userids and passwords, on all
computers, becomes very painful, I know from experience. God forbid that the
church treasurer should sometimes sit at the secretary's desk and use that
computer too.

That being said, let me outline how I would setup one client computer, and the
server, as an example, to accommodate one staff member.

Both computers run XP Pro, both with Advanced File Sharing (Simple File Sharing
disabled), and both under Local Security Policies (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools) - Security Options, look at "Network access: Sharing and
security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic - local users authenticate as
themselves".

Computer A (also Windows XP Pro hopefully) would have 2 accounts - Administrator
(with administrative functionality), and User1 (with user functionality). Both
with non-blank passwords. User1 would use the User1 account, religiously (PI).

Server would have 2 accounts - Administrator and User1, both with non-blank
passwords identical to those on Computer A. User1 setup as a member of group
Users (and implied as a member of Everyone). Shares 1 and 2 permissioned under
Sharing to Everyone, and under Security, to Everyone and Users. Share User1
permissioned under Sharing to Everyone, and under Security to User1.

Is this in precise agreement with your setup, or is there maybe a shortcut that
somebody has taken, that might explain your unique circumstances?

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[MDriggers]

snip<

Morris,

Firstly, thank you for bottom posting. I was fearing from your second
post that
you're a top poster, and that frequently interferes with my ability to
find, and
deal with each, response.

Do you have administrative access to the computers (I'm assuming a
workgroup
here, so you need administrative access to all computers).

If this is a workgroup, is each user computer "owned" used by one (or
maybe two)
individuals, each with a different userid (and non-blank password)? If
so, is
each userid (and identical password) setup on the server? Or are you guys
maybe
trying to use a common userid somewhere, to save on administrative
complexity?

When you get over 5 users, IMHE, you are getting very close to where a
domain
(unfortunately requiring Server 2003 @ $700 - $900) is justified, in terms
of
administrative complexity, security, and functionality. With a workgroup,
you
must have identical userids and passwords setup on both the client
(computer
owned by individuals) and the server (computer accessed in common by each
individual). The ongoing task of synchronising userids and passwords, on
all
computers, becomes very painful, I know from experience. God forbid that
the
church treasurer should sometimes sit at the secretary's desk and use that
computer too.

That being said, let me outline how I would setup one client computer, and
the
server, as an example, to accommodate one staff member.

Both computers run XP Pro, both with Advanced File Sharing (Simple File
Sharing
disabled), and both under Local Security Policies (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools) - Security Options, look at "Network access: Sharing
and
security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic - local users
authenticate as
themselves".

Computer A (also Windows XP Pro hopefully) would have 2 accounts -
Administrator
(with administrative functionality), and User1 (with user functionality).
Both
with non-blank passwords. User1 would use the User1 account, religiously
(PI).

Server would have 2 accounts - Administrator and User1, both with
non-blank
passwords identical to those on Computer A. User1 setup as a member of
group
Users (and implied as a member of Everyone). Shares 1 and 2 permissioned
under
Sharing to Everyone, and under Security, to Everyone and Users. Share
User1
permissioned under Sharing to Everyone, and under Security to User1.

Is this in precise agreement with your setup, or is there maybe a shortcut
that
somebody has taken, that might explain your unique circumstances?

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

Chuck,

That sounds like it will get us where we need to be. I can't devote any
time to it until Thursday ... until then we are running the old Linux box as
well as the new XP box. We'd like to uncrowd the space and recover a port
on the switch, but we're in no worse shape now than we have been for a month
or a little more. Your help is much appreciated. Any recommendation on a
reference book that might help me now and in the future?

Morris

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

That sounds like it will get us where we need to be. I can't devote any
time to it until Thursday ... until then we are running the old Linux box as
well as the new XP box. We'd like to uncrowd the space and recover a port
on the switch, but we're in no worse shape now than we have been for a month
or a little more. Your help is much appreciated. Any recommendation on a
reference book that might help me now and in the future?

Morris

Morris,

Here are a few websites with useful tutorials:
http://www.cablesense.com/
http://www.homenethelp.com/
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/
http://www.wown.com/

Beyond that, most of what I told you above is from experience. Let us know how
it works for you, and we will try to diagnose any further problems.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.