When a User Logs In

When a user logs in to a client machine, the client broadcasts to the authentication servers on the network. The authentication servers respond to the broadcast, and the client uses the first server that responds as its authentication server. The client reads the logon script from the server and runs it. The same logon script can be shared by all network users.

Clients can either broadcast for or choose a specific authentication server. Choosing a specific authentication server is recommended because it is the most secure method.

If you create a logon script to be used by all users, store the logon script files on every authentication server on your network.

You can create specialized logon scripts for one or more users. When run, the logon scripts determine the user or group and customize the start up of the Solstice Network Client environment for the specific user or group. In a typical implementation, you would have a group.snc script for each group in your domain and supplemental user.snc scripts for specific users.

Windows NT clients can run logon scripts that contain the Windows NT built-in environment variables. For an example, see Example 6-1.