Windows Services for UNIX overview

Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX provides a comprehensive set of services, tools, and applications that make it easy to integrate computers running Windows into your existing UNIX enterprise. Windows Services for UNIX supports flexible file sharing between Windows-based and UNIX-based computers. Windows 2000 network administrators can use Windows Services for UNIX to manage Network Information Service (NIS) domains.

Windows Services for UNIX contains the following components:

Interix. See Interix overview. A complete, high-powered implementation of a POSIX-compliant environment that includes the C and Korn command shells and over 350 utilities. These let you leverage your existing scripts and UNIX knowledge to administer Windows computers and run UNIX applications directly on Windows computers. Some of the Interix utilities are covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL), and you can choose not to install these GPL utilities. Please note, however, that if you do not install these utilities, the overall functionality of Interix will be limited. See Files covered by the GNU Public License (GPL) for a complete listing.

Interix Software Development Kit. See Porting applications to the Interix subsystem. Using the tools, libraries, and documentation provided in the Interix Software Development Kit (SDK), you can port your UNIX applications to run on Windows computers through the Interix subsystem. Some of the SDK tools are covered by the GPL; you can choose not to install these tools. See Files covered by the GNU Public License (GPL) for a complete listing.

User Name Mapping. This component provides centralized mapping between Windows user accounts and UNIX accounts for Client for NFS, Server for NFS, Gateway for NFS, and Interix. With User Name Mapping, Windows and UNIX users can access files on each other's computers transparently and without compromising security. User Name Mapping can use UNIX accounts from Personal Computer Network File System (PCNFS) servers or NIS servers.

Client for NFS. With Client for NFS, Windows-based computers can map an exported network file system (NFS) share to a drive letter. This lets users access files on the file system as though they were on a local disk drive. They can also access NFS shares using Universal Naming Convention (UNC) names. Users can receive UNIX authentication credentials through User Name Mapping or from a PCNFS server (either UNIX–based PCNFS daemon (PCNFSD) or Server for PCNFS running on a Windows NT–based or Windows 2000–based computer).

Server for NFS. The administrator of a Windows computer can use Server for NFS to share directories as NFS exported file systems. This makes it possible for UNIX-based clients to mount a shared directory just as they would an exported file system located on a UNIX server. User-level security is maintained because, in conjunction with Server for NFS Authentication, User Name Mapping maps the UNIX client's user identifier (UID) and group identifier (GID) to existing Windows user accounts. This ensures that UNIX clients are given appropriate access to files on Windows-based servers.

Gateway for NFS. With Gateway for NFS, Windows users can access exported file systems on NFS without running special client software on their computers. The Windows server running Gateway for NFS mounts exported file systems on UNIX-based NFS servers and then shares those mounted file systems as Windows networking shared folders. Gateway for NFS relies on User Name Mapping to provide the appropriate UID and GID for the Windows user. This allows transparent access to UNIX-based files without requiring users to log on to Windows and UNIX systems separately.

Server for PCNFS. This component is similar to a PCNFS daemon (PCNFSD) running on a UNIX server. Windows users running PCNFS or Windows Services for UNIX Client for NFS version 1.0 software on their computers can access NFS file systems by providing the required UNIX user name and password when they attempt to access an NFS file.

Server for NIS. This component completely integrates UNIX Network Information System (NIS) networks with Windows Active Directory. Windows Services for UNIX includes an easy-to-use wizard that a Windows domain administrator can use to export NIS domain maps to Active Directory entries. Once this is done, an Active Directory domain controller running Server for NIS becomes the master server for the NIS domain.

Password Synchronization. Password Synchronization automatically changes a user's password on the UNIX network when the user changes his or her Windows password, or vice versa. This allows users to maintain just one password for both networks.

Telnet Client and Telnet Server. Windows users are given command-line access to UNIX systems through the popular Telnet terminal protocol. By taking advantage of Windows authentication, users of Telnet Client can log on directly to computers running Telnet Server, eliminating the need to send unencrypted passwords over the network.

The Windows-based Remote Shell service. See Remote Shell service. Users of remote computers use the Windows-based Remote Shell service to carry out commands on the server.

The Windows-based Cron service. See Cron service. The Windows-based Cron service runs commands scheduled using the crontab utility.

ActiveState ActivePerl. This component allows Perl scripts to run on the computer. Complete documentation for this feature is available when you install ActivePerl.