Sharing Files, Directories, and Drives

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from Chapter 10, Windows NT Administrator's Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek.

Sharing files, directories, and drives allows remote users to access these resources on a network or the Web. When you share a directory or a drive, you make all its files and subdirectories available to a specified set of users. If you want to control access to specific files and subdirectories within a shared directory, you can only do this with NTFS volumes. On NTFS volumes, you use Microsoft Windows NT access control lists to grant or deny access to files and directories.

Sharing Directories on Local and Remote Systems

Shares are used to control access for remote users. Permissions on shared directories have no effect on users who log on locally to a server.

• To grant remote users access to files across the network, you use standard directory sharing.

• To grant remote users access to files from the Web, you use Web sharing. This is only available if the system has Internet Information Server or Personal Web Server installed from the Microsoft Windows NT Option Pack.

Creating Shared Directories

Windows NT provides two ways to share directories:

• You can share local directories using Microsoft Windows NT Explorer.

• You can share local and remote directories using Server Manager.

Because Server Manager allows you to work with and manage shared resources on any of your network computers, it's usually the best tool to use. Keep in mind that to share directories you must be a member of the Administrators or Server Operators group.

To share a directory, follow these steps:

1. In Server Manager, select the computer on which you want to set up the share.

2. Select Shared Directories from the Computer menu.

   

   Figure 10-1: Use the New Share dialog box to create a new share on the selected computer.

3. In the Shared Directories dialog box, click on the New Share button to open the dialog box shown in Figure 10-1.

4. Enter a name for the share. Share names must be unique for each system and can be up to 12 characters long.

   Note: MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 computers only access shares that follow the standard 8.3 naming convention. To ensure that the share is accessible to users on these systems, you should follow the 8.3 naming convention. For example, instead of using the name PrimaryShare, you would use PRIMARY.SHR or something similar. See Chapter 9 for more information on this naming convention.

5. Enter the local file path to the directory you want to share. The file path must be exact, such as C:\Data\CorpDocuments.

6. If you like, you can enter a comment to describe the share. In Windows NT Explorer, users will see the comment when connecting to the shared directory.

7. If you like, you can set a maximum number of users who can connect to the share at one time. You do this by clicking on the Allow radio button and then entering the user limit.

8. Click OK when you're finished.

By default, everyone on the network has full control over the share. If you want to restrict access to the share, follow the steps outlined in the section of this chapter titled "Managing Share Permissions."

Note: If you view the shared directory in Windows NT Explorer, you'll see that the folder icon now includes a hand to indicate a share. Through Server Manager, you can also view shared resources. To learn how, see the section of this chapter titled "Viewing Shares on Local and Remote Systems."

Creating Additional Shares on an Existing Share

Individual directories can have multiple shares. Each share can have a different name and a different set of access permissions. To create additional shares on an existing share, simply follow the steps for creating a share outlined in the previous section—with these changes:

• In Step 4: when you name the share, make sure that you use a different name.

• In Step 6: when you add a comment to the share, use a comment that explains what the share is used for (and how it is different from the other share(s) for the same directory).

Creating a Web Share

If the system you are currently logged on to has Internet Information Server or Personal Web Server installed on it, you can create shares that are accessible from Web browsers. To create Web shares, follow these steps:

1. In Windows NT Explorer, right-click on the local directory you want to share and then select Sharing from the pop-up menu.

2. In the Properties dialog box, click on the Web Sharing tab, which is shown in Figure 10-2.

3. Use the Share On drop-down list box to select the Web server on which you want to share the directory.

4. If this is the first share for this folder, select the Share This Folder radio button to display the Edit Alias dialog box. Otherwise, click on the Add button. Figure 10-3, on the following page, shows the Edit Alias dialog box.

   

   Figure 10-2: Use the Web Sharing tab to create a Web share.

   

   Figure 10-3: The Edit Alias dialog box allows you to set the alias and access permissions for the directory.

5. In the Alias field, enter an alias for the directory. The alias is the name you'll use to access the folder on the Web server. This name must be unique and must not conflict with existing directories used by the Web server. For example, if you enter the alias MyDir, you could access the directory as https://localhost/MyDir/.

6. Use the check boxes in the Access area to set permissions for the directory. These check boxes are used as follows:

   • Read Sets Read permission on the directory.

   • Execute Allows programs in the directory to be executed from the Web.

   • Scripts Allows scripts in the directory to be run from the Web.

7. Click OK when you're finished.

8. To further restrict access to contents of the shared directory on an NTFS volume, set file and directory permissions as outlined in the section of this chapter titled "Managing Share Permissions."

Note: Web shares are subject to the access controls enforced by the Web server and Windows NT. If you have problems accessing a share, check the Web server permissions first and then the Windows NT file and directory permissions.

Managing Share Permissions

Share permissions set the maximum allowable actions available within a shared directory. By default, when you create a share everyone with access to the network has full control over the share's contents. With NTFS volumes, you can use file and directory permissions to further constrain actions within the share as well as share permissions. With FAT volumes, share permissions provide the only access controls.

The Different Share Permissions

Share permissions available, from the most restrictive to the least restrictive, are

• No Access No permissions are granted for the share.

• Read With this permission, users can

  • View file and subdirectory names.

  • Access the subdirectories of the share.

  • Read file data and attributes.

  • Run program files.

• Change Users have Read permissions and the additional ability to

  • Create files and subdirectories.

  • Modify files.

  • Change attributes on files and subdirectories.

  • Delete files and subdirectories.

• Full Control Users have Read and Change permissions, as well as the following additional capabilities on NTFS volumes:

  • Change file and directory permissions.

  • Take ownership of files and directories.

Note: Only NTFS volumes have file and directory permissions, or (sometimes and) file and directory ownership.

Share permissions can be assigned to users and groups. You can even assign permissions to these implicit groups: EVERYONE, SYSTEM, NETWORK, INTERACTIVE, and CREATOR OWNER. For details on implicit groups, see Chapter 4.

Viewing Share Permissions

To view share permissions, follow these steps:

1. In Server Manager, select the computer on which the share is created.

2. Select Shared Directories from the Computer menu.

3. In the Shared Directories dialog box, click on the share you want to view and then click on the Properties button.

4. In the Share Properties dialog box, click on the Permissions button to open the dialog box shown in Figure 10-4, on the following page. You can now view the users and groups that have access to the share and the type of access they have.

   

   Figure 10-4: The Access Through Share Permissions dialog box shows which users and groups have access to the share and what type of access they have.

Adding User and Group Permissions to Shares

To add user and group permissions to shares, follow these steps:

1. In Server Manager, select the computer on which the share is created and then select Shared Directories from the Computer menu.

2. In the Shared Directories dialog box, select the share you want to modify, then click on the Properties button to open the Share Properties dialog box. Then click on the Permissions button to open the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box.

3. Choose Add in the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box. This opens the Add Users and Groups dialog box shown in Figure 10-5. You can now grant access to users and groups. The fields of this dialog box can be used as follows:

   • List Names From To access account names from other domains, click on the List Names From drop-down list box. You should now see a list that shows the current domain, trusted domains, and other computers that you can access.

   • Names Shows the available accounts on the currently selected domain or computer. For a domain, user accounts and global group accounts are shown. For a computer, only user accounts are shown.

   • Add Add selected names to the Add Names list.

   • Show Users Shows user accounts in the current domain.

   • Members Shows the members of a global group. When you select a global group in the Names list box, you can use this button to show group members. You can then select individual members of the group and add them to the Add Names list.

   • Search Allows you to search for a user or group name.

     

     Figure 10-5: Add users and groups to the share using the Add Users And Groups dialog box.

   • Add Names The list of users and groups to add to the local group.

   • Type Of Access The type of access the user or group is granted.

4. Select the user(s) or group(s) you want to have share permissions.

5. Use the Type Of Access drop-down list box to select the access to be granted to the users and groups in the Add Names area.

6. Click OK. The users and groups are added to the Names list for the share.

Modifying Existing Share Permissions for Users and Groups

Share permissions you assign to users and groups can be changed using the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Server Manager, select the computer on which the share is created and then select Shared Directories from the Computer menu.

2. In the Shared Directories dialog box, select the share you want to modify, then click on the Properties button. This will open the Share Properties dialog box. Then click on the Permissions button to open the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box.

3. Select the user or group you want to modify in the Name list box.

4. Use the Type Of Access drop-down list box to set the new access permission.

5. Repeat for other users or groups, then click OK when you are finished.

Removing Share Permissions for Users and Groups

You remove share permissions assigned to users and groups using the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Server Manager, select the computer on which the share is created, then select Shared Directories from the Computer menu.

2. In the Shared Directories dialog box, select the share you want to modify, then click on the Properties button. This will open the Share Properties dialog box. Then click on the Permissions button to open the Access Through Share Permissions dialog box.

3. Select the user or group you want to remove in the Name list box.

4. Choose Remove.

5. Repeat for other users or groups as necessary, then click OK when you are finished.

from Windows NT Administrator's Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek. Copyright © 1999 Microsoft Corporation.

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