Microsoft Directory Service Manager for NetWare (DSMN), a Microsoft Windows NT Server utility, enables synchronization of user accounts between Windows NT Server domains and servers running Novell NetWare version 2.x, 3.x, and 4.x, running in the bindery emulation mode. DSMN extends the Windows NT Server directory database service features for user and group account management to NetWare servers. By using DSMN, the NetWare server can be managed as part of the Windows NT domain, using the Windows NT Directory Services to manage the NetWare-based servers.
DSMN is a utility offered as part of the Microsoft product called Services for NetWare. For details on the use of DSMN, see the Services for NetWare Administrator's Guide.
Chapter 5 of the Windows NT Server Networking Guide described how centralized network logon was installed and configured. Terra Flora chose the network logon services provided by the Windows NT operating system because Windows NT Server is the only product that allows users to log on to all of the Terra Flora heterogeneous networks with a single user account and password. The benefit of using a single user account and password is that users only have to remember one account and password to log on and then be able to access any application they need.
One of the challenges with the use of a single logon is the synchronization of the user accounts and passwords on all servers that the users access. Currently, to synchronize user accounts and passwords at Terra Flora, network administrators must grant permissions to each user on each individual NetWare server by creating a user account. In addition to adding the users to each NetWare server, users must be added to the Windows NT domain. Thus, although the Windows NT Server network logon service provides single-account logon to all servers, administrators must still add the users to several servers.
If a user changes the password for the logon, the password must be changed on all servers that the user accesses. If the administrator forgets to change the password on a single server, the user accounts and passwords are out of sync and the user cannot access the server.
For each Windows NT domain, the directory database of the primary domain controller (PDC) contains all users of all services. Therefore, any user with permissions who is added to the domain's directory database can access any server that is part of that domain.