Integrate UNIX systems with Services for UNIX

by Jim Boyce | Feb 06, 2006 4:20:00 PM

Tags: Operating systems, Microsoft Windows 2000, Servers, Jim Boyce, Unix system, Services for Unix, Network File System, Microsoft Windows, file system, Unix, network, Microsoft Windows Server, server, Windows 2000 Server Tips Newsletter

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Takeaway: Whether your network contains UNIX, Linux, or a combination of the two, you are likely looking for ways to integrate these systems with Windows Server. Jim Boyce shows us how.

Whether your network contains UNIX, Linux, or a combination of the two, you are likely looking for ways to integrate these systems with Windows Server. For example, perhaps you need to provide file sharing between these systems and also provide printer sharing.

An excellent tool for integrating these systems with Windows Server is Services for UNIX (SFU), an add-on for Windows Server from Microsoft. For file sharing, SFU includes both server and client components of Network File System (NFS), as well as a gateway service that enables Windows Server to act as a gateway between Windows client systems and NFS shares on the network.

In addition to NFS, SFU provides User Name Mapping service components to provide bi-directional, one-to-one mapping among UNIX UIDs/GIDs and Windows users and groups. Client for NFS and Gateway for NFS use user name mapping to authenticate and manage access to NFS resources.

For further integration, SFU provides several UNIX utilities and shells, the capability to run UNIX scripts on Windows Server to simplify application porting, and Windows-to-UNIX and UNIX-to-Windows password synchronization.

If you are looking for new tools to integrate UNIX/Linux and Windows, have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sfu/default.mspx to learn more about Services for UNIX, and to download a copy.