Many popular UNIX programs have already been ported to SFU 3.5 and are available for download and installation. If you manage Linux systems, you're likely familiar with the BASH shell, which offers more features than the C or KORN shells. My next example walks you through the installation of the BASH shell on an SFU client. The BASH client, along with other SFU 3.5—compiled tools, are available on the InteropSystems Tools Web site. InteropSystems uses a Berkeley Software Design (BSD)-type program to package the utilities, thereby ensuring that all the files for a given program are copied into the correct locations.
First, download the packager program (ftp://ftp.interopsystems.com/pkgs/3.5/pkg-1.6-bin35.sh). Launch an SFU shell, navigate to the location to which you downloaded the file, and use the command
./pkg-1.6-bin35.sh
to install the packager. Next, use this packager program to download and install the BASH package directly from InteropSystems:
pkg_add ftp://ftp.interopsystems.com/pkgs/
3.5/bash-2.05.2.2-bin.tgz
(Alternately, you can download the package separately and, when you run pkg_add, point to the local copy of the file.)
You can now execute the BASH shell from an existing shell by typing
bash
or modify the shortcut to the Korn Shell or C Shell to point to the newly installed BASH shell. The package program copies the BASH program to /usr/local/bin/bash, so you'll want to point your shortcut there or create a symlink to the file at the traditional location /bin/bash by using the command:
ln-s
/usr/local/bin/
bash /bin/bash
Another useful add-on program available for SFU 3.5 is the OpenSSH package, which provides Secure Shell (SSH) server and client tools. A wealth of useful programs are available at the InteropSystems site, letting you easily extend your SFU installation.
Client for NFS
Using SFU 3.5, you can connect to NFS exports directly from Windows Explorer after you install the SFU Client for NFS service. To access an export, you can browse to the export by launching Start, My Network Places, then drilling into Entire Network, NFS Network, Default LAN. Find the name of the UNIX server computer and the listed export. Alternatively, you can access the export directly by entering the resource's UNC path (e.g., \\servername\share) from Start, Run or from Windows Explorer.
Server for NFS
You can also use the Server for NFS service to make Windows folders available to other NFS clients over the network. In the following example, I show you how to share the SFU computer's C:\download directory as an NFS export.
On the Windows host, install the Server for NFS and Server for NFS Authentication services. Server for NFS Authentication uses local or domain accounts as a source for mapped user permissions, depending on where it's installed. It uses local accounts if it's installed only on a workstation or member server, and it uses domain accounts if domain functionality is set to Windows 2003 or if it's installed on every DC.
Creating an NFS export is similar to creating a Windows share. Right-click the folder you want to export, and click Properties. Go to the NFS Sharing tab and complete the share details, as Figure 3 shows. Click Permissions to change the NFS Share Permissions from the default setting of ALL MACHINES, Read-Only. You set NFS export permissions by machine name or IP address, but you must also specify user-based permissions. User-based permission checking occurs when a user attempts to actually access the file or folder that the export exposed. Go to the Security tab and set NTFS security to allow access to a UNIX mapped domain user. Doing so will let the UNIX user running on a specified computer access the shared resource.
If you've installed the User Name Mapping service on a separate computer from your NFS server, you'll need to configure the .maphosts file to permit access. On the User Name Mapping server, open the file \SFU\Mapper\.maphosts, add a plus sign (+) to the bottom of the file, and save it. Doing so allows any computer to use the User Name Mapping server. After you work out all the kinks with the SFU installation and identify who will rely on the User Name Mapping server, you can restrict access to only the hosts that require access. To effect the changes, you'll need to restart the User Name Mapping service on the User Name Mapping server and Server for NFS on the host server.
Use the traditional mount.exe command to access the export from your UNIX computer. For example,
mount -o rw 192.168.0.201:/
download/mnt/windows
where rw is read/write privilege, 192.168.0.201 is the IP address of the SFU host, and /mnt/windows is the name of the UNIX folder to which you want to mount the /download export.
Generally, only the root user can use the mount.exe command, so remember to switch the user (e.g., su username) on your UNIX computer to that of the user you granted permissions. With this new user, you should be able to use the command
cd /mnt/windows
to access your new windows NFS export.
Quite a Package
SFU 3.5 packs a lot of functionality into a free package. If you routinely work in both the UNIX and Windows worlds, you should consider it carefully. Although the functionality doesn't match that of a true UNIX host and it doesn't come with an X Server to display graphical UNIX programs, its NFS and NIS services and Interix subsystem help bridge the gap and ease the support of these platforms. Plus, UNIX addicts who use Windows might find comfort in the Interix subsystem—especially after installing some of the third-party UNIX tools compiled for SFU 3.5.
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