windows desktop redirection -> samba has problems

[Andrew Bartlett]

Alexander Lazarevich wrote:
> 
> here's our setup:
> 
> 1) Windows NT4.0 server/PDC
> 2) Multiple Windows NT4.0 (SP 6) and Windows 2000 (SP 2)
> 3) AIX 4.3 file server running samba (1.9)
> 
> currently we are trying to make a change in all users windows profiles. we
> are trying to switch from roaming to local. thats easy engouh, but we also
> want to redirect the windows desktop and my docs folder to our network
> file server (samba) so that the desktop and my documents will, in effect,
> roam to other comuters.
> 
> heres our problem:
> 
> a user, on a windows platform, creates a document in word, or any other
> windows app, and saves it to the desktop (i.e., the redirected desktop,
> which is actually the home directory of that user on the network filesever
> running samba). the file is saved and you can see it on the unix side, but
> the new file will not show up on the actual windows desktop unless the
> user logs-out/logs-in, or the user craetes another file, and then removes
> it. a right-click/refresh of the desktop does not work.
> 
> this is not good, because we cant tell users they need to logout/login
> just to see things on there desktop.
> 
> i think the problem is in samba. because if i redirect the desktop to a
> share on the windows server, the updates work just fine. has anyone else
> delt with this problem before? anyone got any ideas? i hesitate to upgrade
> samba because we tried that before and it didnt work, and im not sure its
> gonna fix the current problem.

I've done this with Roaming profiles - the redirection was by use of a
System Policy.  However I have only ever done it on Samba versions this
side of 2.0, but it has always worked fine - except when the server
'goes away' :-).  

I really would recommend upgrading, becouse you will have to at some
stage, and Samba will be changing more, not less - jumping from 1.9 to
3.0 will be a *really* big pain.

Other than that, I would not be supprised to learn that directory
notification was only implemented reltivlty recently, and this is almost
certainly what you need here.

Andrew Bartlett

-- 
Andrew Bartlett                                 abartlet at pcug.org.au
Manager, Authentication Subsystems, Samba Team  abartlet at samba.org
Student Network Administrator, Hawker College   abartlet at hawkerc.net
http://samba.org     http://build.samba.org     http://hawkerc.net