Administering Local and Remote Servers

When you administer a server while you are working at the server command prompt, that server is called the local server. If you are administering a server from the command prompt of another server, the server being administered is called the remote server.

Some of your network client computer users may be designated as account operators, print operators, or server operators. These users have limited administrative or operator privileges that enable them to perform specific tasks. These privileges are sufficient to use the net command to administer a local server at the SunLink Server command prompt.

However, to use the net command to administer a remote SunLink Server computer, you must be logged in to the SunLink Server computer as an administrator with full administrative privileges. If you have different operators responsible for parts of your network and you do not want to assign them full administrative privileges, then they must work only at the SunLink Server command prompt of the server being administered.

How to Administer a Local SunLink Server Computer

To administer a local SunLink Server computer using the net command:

1. Log in to the Solaris system that is running the SunLink Server software.

2. At the Solaris system prompt, log in to the network as Windows NT administrator or as a user with Windows NT administrative privileges by typing the following command:

   net logon username password

3. Enter the appropriate net command.

   See a complete listing of net command options in the section, "SunLink Server net Command Options".

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   Note -

   Remember to log off when you are finished administering the SunLink Server computer by entering the net logoff command.

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How to Administer a Remote SunLink Server Computer

To perform server administrative tasks using the net command remotely, use the net admin command and the appropriate net command for the task. (Note that Step 2 of the following procedure describes two ways of entering the net admin command.)

To enter a net command remotely:

1. Log in to the network as administrator or as a user with administrative privileges. (Operator privileges are not sufficient to perform this procedure.)

2. Enter the net admin command using one of the following methods:

   • Enter a separate net admin command for each net command you want to execute. For example, to display statistics for a server named account, type the following:

     net admin \\account /command net statistics server

   This method is useful for batch files.

   • Enter a net admin command followed by multiple net commands. For example, to execute multiple net commands on a server named payroll, type the following:

     net admin \\payroll /command

     This creates an administrative command shell from which you subsequently can issue net commands. The prompt changes to include the name of the server you are remotely administering; for example, \\payroll.

     Any net command that you type at this prompt is executed on the server that you specify. For example, at the prompt, type:

     [\\payroll] net share

     [\\payroll] net print

     where \\payroll is the prompt, and net share and net print are the commands.

3. To exit the command shell and return to the system prompt, type exit or press CTRL+Z.

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   Note -

   You can use net commands that take a domain or computer name as an option for administering remote servers. This type of administration can be performed directly at the Solaris system command prompt without using the net admin command. For example, to display local groups on a remote domain named market_dom, you would type: net localgroup /domain:market_dom

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Paging Through Screens

Some displays provide more than one screen full of information. For example, the following command provides several screens of information on the net share command:

net help share /options

To display information one screen at a time, use the more command; for example:

net help share /options | more

After you have examined one screen of information and are ready to proceed, press the Spacebar to display the next screen of text.

Using Passwords With Commands

Some commands require a password as an option. You can provide a password as a command option by typing the password on the same line as the command itself. For example, to log on to the network with the user name jim and the password kahuna, you would type:

net logon jim kahuna

You can also ask the SunLink Server computer to prompt you for your password, replacing the password with an asterisk (*) when you type the command.

In the Solaris operating environment, the asterisk (*) is a special character and must be preceded by a backslash (\).

For example, to use the same resource described above, type:

net logon jim \*

The SunLink Server software then displays the following message:

Type your password:

When you enter a password at this prompt, the password does not appear on the screen as you type. This allows you to keep your password confidential, providing added security.

If you forget to type a password with a command that requires one, the SunLink Server software prompts you for it. Depending on the command that you type, the SunLink Server software also may prompt you for other pertinent information, such as your user name.

Using Command Confirmation

Some net commands require confirmation. The /yes and /no options help expedite net commands. When SunLink Server software reads one of these options, it does not pause to display the corresponding prompt. Instead, it accepts the /yes or /no option as your response to the prompt.

You can use net commands with /yes (/y) and /no (/n) options to create batch files and shell scripts that are not interrupted by SunLink Server prompts.

For example, if you use the net logoff command to log off the local area network with connections to remote shared resources intact, SunLink Server software displays a prompt similar to the following:

You have the following remote connections:

LPT1

Continuing will cancel the connections.

Do you want to continue this operation? (Y/N) [Y]:

You can use the /yes and /no options with any net command to anticipate and respond to a prompt. For example, you are not prompted for confirmation when you type the following:

net logoff /yes

Using Abbreviations

The command reference pages in this chapter always use the full command names, command options, and service names. However, SunLink Server software recognizes abbreviations.

You can abbreviate any command option by typing enough letters to distinguish it from other command options. For example, the following is the syntax for the net accounts command:

net accounts [/forcelogoff:{minutes|no }] [/minpwlen:length] [/maxpwage:{days|unlimited}][/minpwage:days] [/uniquepw:number]

You can abbreviate the options, as illustrated in the following example:

net accounts /f:10 /minpwl:6 /ma:unlimited /minpwa:7 /u:3

You cannot abbreviate option values (for example, the unlimited option value for /maxpwage).

Using Special Characters With Commands

Some of the names or passwords that you need to enter may contain one or more special characters; for example, an ampersand (&). When you are at the Solaris system command prompt typing a name with a special character in a SunLink Server command, you must use an escape character (the backslash [ \ ]) before each special character. If you are at a client computer, you can surround the string containing the special characters in double quotation marks.

For example, to log in with the user name marksp and the password mrkt&dev from the system command prompt, you would type the following:

net logon marksp mrkt\&dev

Some commonly used Solaris system special characters include the following: asterisk (*); semicolon (;); pipe (|); square brackets ([ ]); parentheses [( )]; question mark (?); ampersand (&); caret (^); backslash (\); greater-than and less-than signs (< >); blank ( ) and the "at" sign (@).

There are other Solaris special characters that you may encounter. For more information on special characters, consult your Solaris system documentation.

Typing Path Names With Solaris System net Commands

The Solaris system uses a forward slash to separate names in a path. This is different from client computers, which use backslashes. Note, however, that the great majority of commands will work with either forward or backward slashes.

When typing path names at a Solaris system command prompt, you can use any of the following methods:

• Single forward slashes - Separate each element of the path with single forward slashes, like this:

net share tmpshare=c:/tmp /us:10 /r:"Share for temporary use"

• Double backslashes - Separate each element of the path with double backslashes, like this:

net share tmpshare=c:\\tmp /us:10 /r:"Share for temporary use"

• Single quotation marks - Separate each element of the path with single backslashes and surround the whole path in single quotation marks, like this:

net share 'tmpshare=c:\tmp' r:"Share for temporary use"

When including spaces in values, you may want to enclose the value in double quotation marks. For example, to change the comment for the domain guests group, you would type the following command:

net group "domain guests" /comment: "All domain guests"

Typing Path Names at Client Computers

Client computer operating systems, such as Windows 95 and Windows NT, use backslashes to separate names in paths. For example:

net use f: \\product\data