Services Provided by rpc.pcnfsd

The rpc.pcnfsd daemon provides the following services:

• Authentication - PC users can identify themselves to the network and be granted appropriate privileges for file access and program execution.

• Access to printer spooling services - PC users can send printing requests to printers attached to servers on the network.

Authentication and System Security

A Solstice Network Client user can log in to the Solstice network in much the same way as the user can log in to a UNIX system. The Login program takes the user name and password, encrypts them, and calls the authentication procedure in rpc.pcnfsd on the authentication server. If this procedure succeeds, it returns a user ID and a group ID to be used when constructing the credentials for the user. These credentials are used for subsequent NFS file access. If the user name and password are not found, then authentication fails and the user is denied access.

The authentication server may also return secondary group membership, umask, and home directory information (such as server name and home directory path name).

Solstice NFS Client users who do not log in to the network have no access to the Solstice network.

Shared Printer Support

The rpc.pcnfsd daemon provides users with the following printing services:

• Connecting to a network printer and starting a print job

• Browsing for network printers

• Viewing network print queues

• Canceling or removing print jobs in network print queues

In order to support NFS print services, you must export the spool directory on the pcnfsd server. The spool directory has the default name of /var/spool on a SunOS 5.4 operating system or compatible versions and /usr/spool on a SunOS 4.0 operating system or compatible versions.

By exporting /var or /var/spool or /usr/spool, printing should work correctly. You cannot simply export the root directory ("/").

Support for User Views and Site Policies

For Windows 95 and Windows NT users, a system administrator can create a directory on the PCNFSD server that contains user profiles and system policy files. Storing user profiles on the PCNFSD server allows users to have an identity separate from the machine on which they are working. Users can carry their preferences with them whenever they log in to any PC in the network.

The system administrator can use centrally located policy files to manage clients by customizing the desktops, configuring network settings, and restricting access to applications and options.

Support for user views and site policies requires the administrator to create a directory on the PCNFSD server called /opt/MSPolicy. For more information about managing Windows 95 and NT clients see Chapter 6, Managing Work Environments.