Microsoft KB Archive/268442

= SMS: Design Considerations When Integrating Novell NetWare and SMS 2.0 =

Article ID: 268442

Article Last Modified on 10/27/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q268442



SUMMARY
There are three items to take into consideration when you are creating a Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0, and Novell NetWare integrated site hierarchy.

Item 1
Avoid an architecture where one SMS site contains site systems, such as Client Access Points (CAPs), Distribution Points (DPs), and Logon Points (LPs), that are in both NDS containers, and bindery-based NetWare servers.

Item 2
Be aware of the security credentials that are required by clients of different operating systems, and the site systems to which they may need to connect. There may be situations where the algorithm that the SMS client uses to attach to various site systems may void the NetWare security, or architecture, or both.

Item 3
Be aware of the licensing limits on NetWare bindery servers that may be reached by the connections that are being made by SMS clients.



Item 1
If an SMS 2.0 site has NetWare site systems role, such as the CAP, that are spread among NDS containers, and NetWare bindery servers, you have to take the connection accounts into consideration.

The logic of the SMS client is such that it may attempt to attach to any of the CAPS that are part of that SMS site. Thus, the client may connect to either an NDS CAP, or to a bindery CAP at any time. In order to be successful, you must correctly establish the security credentials.

Take into consideration how the security differs depending on the operating system of the SMS Client: If the client is a Windows 95 computer, then the logged-on user's credentials are used for connectivity to the CAP. Thus, the logged-on user needs to have an account in both NetWare NDS, and on the bindery server. If passwords become unsynchronized, the user may be prompted for authentication anytime at which the SMS client needs to connect to the CAP that belongs to that NetWare resource where the password is unsynchronized.

For Windows NT-based SMS clients, you need to create the NetWare client connection account in both the NDS tree, and in the bindery server.

Item 2
If an SMS 2.0 site has multiple CAPS, LPs, or DPs, the client (Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98) may connect to any of those system roles. The second security concern would be in compromising how NDS security is managed within some environments. Take for example, an NDS tree that has three containers. In each container, you have a volume that has been configured as an SMS CAP. In considering how the client will react, note that the SMS client, at random, chooses one of those three CAPS each time it needs to connect to a CAP. For Windows 95, or Windows 98 clients that use the logged-on user's credentials, the Novell administrator would need to make sure that the user accounts have access to the three CAPS in the three different NDS containers.

Using this same example for Windows NT clients, you can see that the SMS NDS connection account needs to be granted access to all three CAPS in the three containers.

If the SMS hierarchy includes bindery servers, as well as Novell NDS resources, then, for Windows NT clients, you need to configure a proper client connection account within the SMS Administrator Console. For Windows 95, or Windows 98 clients, the user accounts need to be granted access to any container that has an SMS CAP, LP, or DP on both NDS, and on the bindery server.

Item 3
When bindery servers are included in SMS hierarchies, there are licensing limits on Novell 3.x bindery servers. If you include a bindery server within the SMS hierarchy, you are establishing a valid server to which the SMS client can connect. There is a risk that the number of clients that try to connect to your bindery server will be greater than the number for which the bindery server has licenses.

In consideration of the design, estimate how many clients you anticipate to have for this SMS site. If the number is greater than the Novell licenses for this server, then you run the risk of going over the number of connections that bindery server can handle.

Controlling Client Behavior
You can configure the SMS client to go to a specific site system if you do not want to use the default algorithm. For additional information about controlling this behavior, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

235873 SMS: Specifying Preferred Servers in Systems Management Server 2.0

If you use this method, you must use it for all clients of a particular site to point to a preferred resource.

Additional query words: prodsms Novell Connection NDS install design

Keywords: kbinfo KB268442

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