Re: [seul-edu] Hello - Introduction - NDS Homedir

[Cameron Miller <cdmiller@adams.edu>]

Linux at DCE wrote:
> Like many schools in this area, we primarily have NetWare for file
> servers and use NDS for authentication.  One of my biggest roadblocks to
> Linux on the desktop is finding some way to share a common home
> directory between Linux and NetWare and managing a single source for
> authentication.  If anyone has done this, I'd love to know the details.
>
>
> Cory Jaeger
> Network Manager
> D.C. Everest Area School District
> Weston, WI  54476
Hi Corey,

I recently, (yesterday), got Novell automounted home directories for 
Linux working.

I used the pam_mount module from pam_mount-0.5.10 and ncpfs-2.2.0.19.  I 
had to modify a pam_mount pmhelper.c program to get it to work here. 
Now pam_mount.so handles NDS authentication and automounting of user 
home directories stored on a Novell server.

There appear to be some drawbacks to using a Netware home directory, 
file and directory permissions are immutable, and free disk space 
detection is affecting OpenOffice client installation.  You can 
apparently gain symbolic link support by enabling the 
CONFIG_NCPFS_EXTRAS flag at kernel compile time when turning on NCPFS 
support in the kernel.  It does look possible to automount an NFS home 
directory and submount the Netware directory in there, at which point 
Netware is not acting as the sole home directory.

I'll be posting a write up on it in the next week or month, (link to a 
web page). If you need this earlier let me know and I'll send you what 
details I have right now.

- cameron

--
- cameron miller
- UNIX Systems Administrator
- Outhouse Attendant
- http://portal.adams.edu/outhouse/
- cdmiller@adams.edu