Server Administration, File and Print Services Over the Internet

 Last reviewed: September 23, 1997
Article ID: Q143175

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0

SUMMARY

You can administer domains and Windows NT Servers across the Internet for companies or users that are away from the main domain or server. You can even use Windows 95 to administer the Windows NT Domain/Server if you have the Windows 95 Windows NT Admin Tools (Nexus) installed.

You can use the Internet as a WAN and allow users at remote locations to access both file and printer services as if they were on the local area network. To do this you must modify the LMHOSTS file on the client computer.

MORE INFORMATION

How to Administer a Windows NT Server Across the Internet

The client (and server) computer must have TCP/IP loaded. If you do not have a file named LMHOSTS in your \%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc (for Windows NT) or \%winroot$\ (for Windows 95), perform the following step: 

   -On a Windows NT client, rename the LMHOSTS.SAM file in the
    \%systemroot%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC directory to LMHOSTS.

   -On a Windows 95 computer, rename the LMHOSTS.SAM file in the %winroot%
    directory to LMHOSTS.
Make sure the LMHOSTS capability is enabled in the Advanced portion of the TCP/IP setup of the Network Control Panel. Next, add IP addresses and computer names to the LMHOSTS file. For example, if there is a server called FILESRV1 with an IP address of 158.140.10.1, you would add the following line: 

   158.140.10.1   FILESRV1 #PRE
At the MS-DOS prompt, type NBTSTAT -R to load the new entry into cache. Type ‘NBTSTAT –C’ to verify that the entry has been read into the NetBIOS name cache.

You should now be able to use the Admin Tools such as User Manager, Server Manager, and Performance Monitor to manage the computer, FILESRV1.

NOTE: You need permissions to manage the server.

How to Access File and Print Services Across the Internet

The client (and server) computer must have TCP/IP loaded. If you do not have a file named LMHOSTS in your \%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc (for Windows NT) or \%winroot$\ (for Windows 95), perform the following step: 

   -On a Windows NT client, rename the LMHOSTS.SAM file in the
    \%systemroot%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC directory to LMHOSTS.

   -On a Windows 95 computer, rename the LMHOSTS.SAM file in the %winroot%
    directory to LMHOSTS.
Make sure the LMHOSTS capability is enabled in the Advanced portion of the TCP/IP setup of the Network Control Panel. Next, add IP addresses and computer names to the LMHOSTS file. For example, if there is a server called FILESRV1 with an IP address of 158.140.10.1, you would add the following line: 

   158.140.10.1   FILESRV1 #PRE
At the MS-DOS prompt type NBTSTAT -R to load the new entry into cache. Type ‘NBTSTAT –C’ to verify that the entry has been read into the NetBIOS name cache.

You should now be able to view the server with the following: 

   net view \\FILESRV1
You should see all file and printer shares.

NOTE: You must make sure that security is setup properly otherwise everyone on the Internet will now have access to all file and print services.

NOTE: Performance Monitor does not require any permissions to run against a server.

Additional query words: prodnt
Keywords : NTSrvWkst nttcp kbnetwork
Version : 3.5 3.51 4.0
Platform : winnt

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Last reviewed: September 23, 1997
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