TotalNET Advanced Server v5.4

[Steen Jensen]

On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, David Krovich wrote:

dkrovi> 	I checked, and I only have TotalNet 5.2.  Thats whats bundled with
dkrovi> the 5/99 release of Solaris 7.
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> 	Sun also has a product that was formely titled "Project Cascade",
dkrovi> and is now called Sun PC Netlink.  This is currently shipping and offers
dkrovi> full NT Domain support.  Cost is based on what kind of machine you want
dkrovi> to run it on, the low end (Sun Ultra 5S through Enterprise 450) is $1495.
dkrovi> I called Sun about getting an eval, and they said there is no eval program
dkrovi> with it, but that it will eventually be bundled with the server edition of
dkrovi> Solaris 7.  Maybe as soon as september...

Is this the same product that Sun calls Sun Link Server 1.0?

I spend a few hours last week testing SLS 1.0, which is bundled with
enterprise 250 and 450, at least with the ones we just bought.

As far as I can tell it's a complete implementation of NT domain server,
with domain logons, SAM, NT ACLs, administration from MS Windows, PDC and
BDC support, etc., and all this seems to be working just fine. But I don't
like the way it integrates with Unix.

When you install it, it creates a bunch of users and groups in the local
/etc/{passwd|shadow|group} files. I think there was 4 users named
'lm??????', and about twice as many groups named 'DOS?????', all files on
shares belongs to one of these lm* users, and I think that the groups are
used to set DOS archive bit etc. It's possible to create maps between NT
and Unix users, then NT users get to own there files, but the group is
still DOS*. You have to create all users in SLS, and there is no passwd
sync with unix. I didn't find any way to map between Unix groups and NT
groups, but you can map NT-groups to unix users...

It comes with a pretty useless Server-manager written in Java, and during
installation it also installs a JDK-1.1.6 (first it removes the one that
came with solaris-2.6). fortunately there is command-line interface for all
operations, but there is no man-readable configuration files, everything
is stored in binary databases. It got support for NT ACLs, but I think
that they are stored in a ACL database within SLS, and not converted til
Solaris ACLs. 

It's properly fine, if you have users that use either windows or unix.
IMHO samba is much better in a mixed environment, and gets even better when
the PDC stuff is done.

It looks like Sun licensed the MS code, and ported it to solaris, and
didn't spend enough time to really make it the brilliant piece of software,
that more or less all there server costumers need.

The above is based on only a few hours with SLS, and everything might not
be 100% accurate. But I spend enough time with SLS, to know that I'll
continue with samba as file/print server for our windows machines.

Best,

Steen Jensen,
Aalborg University, Denmark.

dkrovi> 
dkrovi> 	Anyways, here is the product description from the Sun Web Page:
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> Product Description
dkrovi> SolarisTM PC NetLink is a software product that allows Sun servers to run native Windows NT 4.0 network services on the Solaris Operating Environment. Solaris PC NetLink provides Windows NT naming, authentication, file, and print services on Sun Enterprise servers, increasing the reliability, scalability, and manageability of WindowsNT networks. 
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> Solaris PC NetLink is a key addition to Sun's Windows NT interoperability product line. Based on AT&T's Advanced Server for UNIX product, Solaris PC NetLink provides transparent connectivity into Windows NT network environments, allowing customers to replace WindowsNT servers with the more reliable and scalable Sun solution. 
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> Features and Benefits
dkrovi> Features Functions Benefits 
dkrovi> Primary/Backup Domain Controller Server that contains the master copy of all user account and security information Increases reliability and availability of Microsoft Domain Controller Environments 
dkrovi> Windows NT File System Support (CIFS/SMB) File/Print Allows PC users to share files and print resources across networks Provides a more robust and greater overall ability; consolidates dedicated Windows NT servers on Sun/Solaris PC NetLink 
dkrovi> Windows NT Access Control Lists Uses the same permissions that Windows NT uses for access to files, directories, and resources Maintains file integrity; allows for transparent integration into Windows NT networks 
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> Product System Specifications
dkrovi> Platforms Sun Enterprise Ultra 5S, Sun Enterprise Ultra 10S, Sun Enterprise 2, Sun Enterprise 250, Sun Enterprise 450, Sun Enterprise 3500, Sun Enterprise 4500, Sun Enterprise 5500, Sun Enterprise 6500, and Sun Enterprise 10000 
dkrovi> Operating Systems Solaris 2.5.1, Solaris 2.6 
dkrovi> Window System Supports the following Microsoft clients: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 3.11  
dkrovi> Memory 64-MB RAM 
dkrovi> Disk Space 100-MB disk space 
dkrovi>  
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> -----------------------------------------
dkrovi> David Krovich
dkrovi> West Virginia University
dkrovi> Manager/Information Systems
dkrovi> Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
dkrovi> -----------------------------------------
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, Matthew Keller wrote:
dkrovi> 
dkrovi> > David Krovich wrote:
dkrovi> > >
dkrovi> > >         I think I've got eval copies sitting with my SGI and Sun machines.
dkrovi> > > I'll check, and if I have it I'll load it up and see how it does.
dkrovi> > 
dkrovi> > Dave-
dkrovi> > 	Is it the current version? It's fairly new.
dkrovi> > 
dkrovi> 
dkrovi>