Topic: Domain Controller Problem

[staverts]

Hi Everyone, I am running SME 7pre4 as a domain controller, and have been with success for about two weeks, with it as my DNS and WINS server.  Today, all of my clients lost there connection, and we're unable to join the SME domain controller again, I checked all of thier DNS and wins setting, and they are the same as before, they point to the SME server...the clients just cannot see it now.  I tried disconnecting them, then reconnecting to no avail...any ideas?  

Please help if you have any suggestions, thanks!

Matt

[troykd]

I'm pretty new at this too but...  are you on a dynamic IP or static?  Why are you running the DNS server and not your ISP?

Thanks

[staverts]

I am one of the lead network analysts for a school devision, this is running as a stand alone server with many other servers, on a class C address.  

Thanks

[staverts]

Sorry, to to add, it is a static class C that we own, as we are a school devision with a whole range of Class C addresses

Thanks,

Matt

[achandra]

Okay so you are on a class C network with other servers as well.

Any PDC's that exist now besides the SME box? Might be competing with another PDC.

Also, Id suspect that there is already another DNS server. Why do you need to enable DNS on this?
Also why not simplify things by using that static class C address for one ethernet interface and natting all the PCs connected to the box behind a second ethernet card. That way you can attempt to isolate the problem.

Need more info on your network topology and what you intended the setup up to be or look like.

[staverts]

There are no other Domain Controllers, we are a Novell house currently, and are looking to swtich to SME Linux at some point

I cannot Nat the other client behind this device, as they are alreafy on a special network of thier own.  We have many network here as we are a large wan with 30+ internal nated networks.  It was working before as well, so I am looking more to solve a server issue I beleieve vs a network one at this point, as all other devices are functioning fine.  I think samba may just have hicupped but I am new to the way SME uses custom templates to configure the Smb.conf.  Thank-you for the suggestgion though, I did take it into consideration, but I truly believe this is not the problems.  I am open to almost all suggestions, so keep em coming, this was a good one!

Thanks!

Matt

[achandra]

Im taking a look now and most seem to reside -

/etc/e-smith/templates/etc/smb.conf

note that the smb.conf is a directory and the samnba directives are broken up.

When you also do a ps-ef | grep smb what do you get?

Is the process running?

[staverts]

I did drill down to the above noted directory and look at the template smb.conf, this is one thing I know nothing about, e-smith templates.  Is there something I should be looking to fix in here?  I can fix a normal smb.conf, but do not know how to edit this esmith template.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  I really need to join users to the domain again, I am considerong just backing up all the data, and rebuilding the server.

[NickCritten]

I can fix a normal smb.conf, but do not know how to edit this esmith template.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I can totally relate, when I was still a SME newbie I could not get my head around templates at all, and the questions I asked were responded to with the usual RTFM, Search the F'ing Forum etc etc crap, which when you are trying to solve a seeming simple, but urgent problem is not what you want to hear!

The information *is* in the documentation
http://no.longer.valid/phpwiki/index.php/Key%20concepts
http://no.longer.valid/phpwiki/index.php/Customizing
and when I read it now I can mostly understand it, but it's not really explained in a way that I found easy to understand at the time so here goes: (BTW I'm not an expert, and there are some aspects of the system which still ellude me but I'll do my best to explain for you)

The config files, e.g. /etc/smb.conf are built from the contents of the template folders. so, /etc/e-smith/templates/etc/smb.conf will contain a bunch of files which are used to make your smb.conf file.

Each of these files is called a template fragment (guru's please correct me if I'm wrong with any of this)
Each fragment is a plain text file, but perl can be embedded into it.
The files are parsed in name order (which is why they each start with a number... this is so that they get parsed in the order you want them to be)
If text is encountered then it is appended to the new conf file, if perl is encountered (identified with {curly braces}) then that code is processed which will output some text which is put into the conf file.

The STANDARD templates are stored in /etc/e-smith/templates
templates created by contribs or by yourself should go into /etc/e-smith/templates-custom
You shouldn't EVER change anything in templates, because when/if you update the server, these templates will likely be replaced.

If you want for example to change the smb.conf file to add something to the [global] section; instead of changing the 10globals file in templates you would create an equivalent file in templates-custom

First though you need to create the directory structure.
so its

Code: [Select]

mkdir -p /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/smb.conf This creates the required direcetory structure (the -p flag just tells linux to create any parent folders that are required)

Next you copy the template fragment you want to edit to the templates-custom folder:

Code: [Select]

cp /etc/e-smith/templates/etc/smb.conf/10globals /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/smb.conf/  To be completely honest though, I'll frequently use Midnight Commander (mc at the command line)to do this! I know, I'm cheating! So shoot me!

Now you edit the 10globals file in the templates-custom directory to whatever you want.
If you want to add another template instead of editing an existing one, just name it so that it gets parsed at the right point, so if you wanted it to go after 20something but before 30something call it 25something (doesn't this remind you of the old BBC/Spectrum Basic Days? ahhh...

Now, to re-build the template, you do a

Code: [Select]

expand-template /etc/smb.conf and hey presto! the smb.conf file is built.
Note that if an identically named template fragment exists in both templates and templates-custom then the templates-custom one will take precedence.

I hope this has been of help to you!

Time for a  

[mdo]

All very good explained but do not do this:

Now, to re-build the template, you do a
Code:
expand-template /etc/smb.conf
and hey presto! the smb.conf file is built.

Instead (this for SME7) do

expand-template /etc/samba/smb.conf !

In SME7, /etc/smb.conf is a symbolic link to /etc/samba/smb.conf and you have to create from templates the file /etc/samba/smb.conf.

Michael

[NickCritten]

Thanks for the correction mdo