Adding a Unix Profile through iManager instead of ConsoleOne

  • 7000180
  • 22-Apr-2008
  • 27-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell NetWare 6.5
Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES)
Novell Open Enterprise Server (Linux based)
Novell Open Enterprise Server (NetWare based)
Novell eDirectory

Situation

NetWare NFS products usually require User and Group objects in eDirectory to have a "Unix Profile" in order to have unique UIDs and GIDs for NFS file operations. Previously, that functionality was provided with a Unix Profile tab in ConsoleOne, in User or Group properties. That same functionality is present in iManager, but is now called the "Linux Profile." Some aspects of these profiles are found in different locations. Plus there is more than one way to populate that information. This document covers the various options available.

Resolution

Note that this document assumes iManager 2.5, 2.6, or 2.7. Earlier versions of iManager may or may not contain the same functionality. Future versions will likely work similarly.
 
Editing an existing profile:
 
If a user or group object already has this information assigned, then it can be modified through iManager under Users, Modify User, (browse/select the user), Linux Profile tab. However, this tab will not exist on a user or group which does not yet have a profile.
 
In some older versions of iManager, another possible way to edit an existing profile is to go to eDirectory Administration, Modify Object, General tab, Other. The User ID is stored in attribute "uidNumber" and the Group ID is stored in attribute "gidNumber."
 
Creating a new profile:
 
Creation Option 1:
 
If the tree includes OES Linux or eDirectory for Linux / Unix, then it might be best to create a profile as part of LUM-enabling a user or group. That way the object is fully LUM-enabled, rather than only having the minimum NetWare-NFS-related attributes. However, if creating the Profile is only being done for the benefit of NetWare NFS Services (like Native File Access for Unix, aka NFS Server; or NFS Gateway for NetWare 6.5) then LUM-enabling users or groups may be more complex than administrators wish to deal with. The process of LUM-enabling users or groups will not be covered here, as it is documented elsewhere and should already be familiar to those who require it.
 
Creation Option 2 - Minimal setup for NetWare NFS:
 
1. In iManager, select Schema, then Object Extensions.
 
2. Browse to the user or group object, select it, and click OK.
 
3. Click "Add" and select posixAccount (if working with a user object) or posixGroup (if working with a group object).
 
4. Fill out the values requested. NetWare NFS products actually only use the User ID and Group ID, but schema rules will require a home directory value be set as well. A posixAccount home directory is usually entered in the Unix / Linux style: /path/to/directory. This can be set arbitrarily, even to a nonexistent path, if NetWare NFS is the only product suite using this profile.
 
5. Click OK.
 
If this profile needs to be modified in the future, see "Editing an existing profile" above.

Additional Information

Formerly known as TID# 10097415