Sharing BIBLIO on a LAN (Local Area Network) using Windows XP

Transcription

1 Sharing BIBLIO on a LAN (Local Area Network) using Windows XP Practical cases Let s suppose there are 2 types of users who need to access remotely (through a different computer on a LAN) to Library DB (Database). These users are referred to as Librarian and Student. Let s also suppose a simpler case, in which only Student need to access remotely, to a centralized Library DB. Also, you have 2 different types of computers: Librarian computer, where Library DB is shared. (this computer is referred to as SERVER) And the rest of computers to make searches on a LAN (these computers are referred to as Clients) Different users BIBLIO is thought to be used, by Librarian and Student, with different access levels, in any of the following cases: 1.- Librarian and Student shared the SERVER, the computer where the Library DB is. It is not recommended, but it is possible. 2.- Librarian uses the SERVER and Student can access to it to make searches about Library data, t hrough other computers on a LAN (Clients) 3.- Librarian and Student share the same Client on a LAN so that: When a Librarian uses a Client computer can make modifications on the SERVER. This situation allows several Librarians, at the same time, to add new items from several computers (from SERVER and from other Clients). When Student use a Client computer, they can only make searches.on SERVER. Different versions of Windows With Windows 98, security and folder sharing on a LAN, was very easy and was based on passwords. That it, a folder could have different access passwords depending on the users who wanted to use it. According to the password, a user could be granted access, just to read information (Student) or to modify information (Librarian). With Windows XP, security systems becomes more powerful on networked computers on a LAN (and therefore, the complexity to configure them). Now, security and shared folder access are not defined by passwords, like in Windows 98, but by the privileges that each user has in their accounts. Therefore, the possibility to work from BIBLIO with remote computer data (SERVER) means to configure properly, every single computer on a LAN (This was not necessary with Windows 98).

2 Requirements to share folders and grant privileges with Windows XP First of all, you must be confident that your Windows XP system is on an NTFS formatted hard disk. (it used to be usual). It is possible, in some cases, to find a hard disk not formatted with NTFS and still keeping Windows 95/98 file system, called FAT32. If so, you should change it to NTFS format, and if it is not possible, you can always create a new partition, on the same hard disk, with NTFS format. To find out if your hard disk(s) is/are formatted with NTFS format, click My PC, right-click hard disk and click Properties. As you can see, in the figure on the right, this hard disk is formatted using NTFS. BIBLIO installation Installing a new program under Windows XP means to start a session as Administrator. If you try to install a program and you do not have Administrator privileges (f.e. if you do it using a Guest or Limited account) BIBLIO could be not installed properly. When BIBLIO is installed, by default, uses C:\Biblio folder (It is not recommended to change it). NOTE: To use BIBLIO on a LAN, it is necessary to install it, on every single LAN computer in which it is going to be used (SERVER and Clients). Once BIBLIO be installed, the first thing to do is, specially if it is going to be used by Librarian and Student, to change or set up access passwords for each user. To change or set up access password, do the following: 1.- From Windows XP desktop, click Start, select Programs, select Biblio entry and then BIBLIO 2.- Select English language by clicking the British flag. 3.- Enter access password. By default, biblio 4.- Click Settings Menu and then click Edit access passwords 5.- Change Librarian access password, by default is biblio and is known by everybody. 6.- Create an access password for Student. To do this easily, the password could be student. NOTE: To make things easy, it is convenient to use the same access passwords in every single computer and for the same access levels.

3 Creating user accounts In SERVER computer. This computer should be used, by default, by Librarian and it is where the Library DB is. In this computer we need to create 2 accounts, corresponding to the 2 users who could need access to SERVER from other computers on a LAN. These 2 accounts should be named Librarian and Student. NOTE: If you are completely sure that Student are going to access to SERVER through other computers on a LAN, we could create just one account named Student. If not 1.- Start session as Administrator to create new user accounts. 2.- From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, go to Control Panel, click User accounts, and then click Create a new account. 3.- Create 2 new accounts and name them Librarian and Student. NOTE: These 2 new user accounts must have the following features: Librarian account: It must be as Administrator (or Limited) and MUST have a password. Student account: It must be Limited and MUST have a password. To create an access password on a user account, do the following: 1.- From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, then go to Control Panel, and then go to User accounts. 2.- Select the user account in which you want to create a password. 3.- Click option Create a password.

4 In Client computer(s) In Client computer(s), that is, that or those computers on a LAN that will be used by Student (or by other Librarian) to access to Library data, you must create the same 2 accounts (Librarian and Student) following the same steps described above for Server computer. Running and working with BIBLIO Once BIBLIO is installed: If you start session as Administrator, from Windows XP Desktop, click Start, select Programs, go to Biblio entry and click Biblio. If you start session with a limited account (f.i. Student), it is possible to get error messages, if C:\Biblio folder was created by the Administrator (when making the installation), as the Administrator is the proprietor of that folder. Another user with a different access level (Student, for example) could be not authorized to work (or modify) existing files, and therefore get error messages. To fix this situation and make BIBLIO program available for the Administrator and for other users with Limited accounts (Student), read ahead Section named: Security: Assigning privileges to different users. Sharing folders with Windows XP In Windows XP, by default, every existing folders and files on Shared Documents folder, are shared with all users and PCs on a LAN and can be read and modified by all users from any networked PC. A different folder (not inside Shared Documents folder) can be shared on a LAN. To do this, right-click it and click the option Properties. Then, click Sharing tab. If you select Share this folder on the network, all files on that folder can be viewed by all users. If you also select Allow network users to change my files, all files on that folder can be viewed and modified by all users on a LAN. This action could be similar to create a new folder inside Shared Documents folder. Under a shared disk drive or folder, will always be displayed a hand or folder is shared with other PCs on a LAN. to know that disk drive It is not possible (by default) to make a read-only folder for some users (Student) and full control for others (Librarian). But yes, it is possible. To do this, keep on reading this manual

5 Activating advanced options to share folders To fix the problem described above, you need to active advanced options to share folders. 1.- From Windows XP desktop, click Start, click Control Panel, and double click Appearances and Themes icon. Then, double click Folder Options and click View tab. 2.- At the bottom, check out if Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box is unselected. By default, it is selected. 3.- Clear Hide file extensions for known file types check box. It is not compulsory, but it can be useful. 4.- Double click My PC, select C:\Biblio folder, right-click it and go to Sharing and security option. Now you could find out new options and tabs not displayed before. Differences between Sharing and Security SHARING: It is only used to grant access privileges to other users on a LAN (whose user accounts do NOT need to be the same as the ones on the PC in which you are working). It is used to define what users from other PCs on a LAN can access to a disk drive or folder, and to grant them read and modify access or just read-only access. Sharing is NOT used to grant access to the PC s different users in which you are working. Sharing is useful if you want other users to be granted access to your PC. If not, it is not necessary to use this option. SECURITY: It is used to grant access privileges to the PC s different users in which you are working. If a user from a different PC on a LAN has been granted access to a disk drive or a folder of your PC, you could also define his access levels. Security is used to grant access privileges to folders to different users of your PC. It will be useful, for example, to grant access to Student users to work with files on C:\Biblio folder, created by the Administrator.

6 Sharing C:\Biblio folder on a LAN Only in SERVER computer Now you are going to share C:\Biblio folder, that it is on SERVER computer, with other users on a LAN. You will need to start session as Administrator to be able to make the following changes. Sharing (or not sharing) the entire hard disk(s) 1.- Double click My PC, right click the working hard disk, click Sharing and Security and select Do not share this folder radio button. This step is not compulsory, but advisable to prevent other users on a LAN from reading or viewing existing files and folders on your hard drive. 2.- If you have other hard disks on your PC, and you consider it necessary, you can repeat the previous step, with every single hard disk present on your PC (C:, D:, ). 3.- Select and Remove, default user, Everyone. 4.- Add to user list, the 2 new users created before: Librarian and Student. Click [Add] and on the new screen displayed, enter the username inside the text box named, Enter the object names you wish to select. In this case, type Librarian and click [Add] Do the same and add user Student. 5.- Select Read and Modify check boxes for the 2 new accounts added (Librarian and Student). NOTE: Now both users, Librarian and Student, have privileges to access, from another PC, to C:\Biblio folder on SERVER. The right thing would be to select Read check box for Student account and Read and Modify check boxes for Librarian account, but in order to make BIBLIO work properly, you need to select both check boxes, both for Librarian account and for Student account.

7 Security: Assigning privileges to different users Now, you need to assign access privileges to C:\Biblio folder to the different users of your PC (Librarian and Student). If not, only users with Administrator level will be able to run BIBLIO and modify existing data on C:\Biblio folder, as the Administrator is the proprietor of that folder because it was him who created it when BIBLIO installation was made. If the 2 new accounts (Librarian and Student) are not displayed in Group or user names list, you must add them by clicking [Add ] On SERVER computer. 1.- Librarian account: You will grant it four permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read and Write. 2.- Student account: You will grant it only three permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents and Read With these settings on SERVER computer, Librarian will have permissions to read and write (modify) existing data on C:\Biblio folder, while Student will be able just to read (and not modify). On Client computer(s). 1.- Librarian account: You will grant it four permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read and Write. 2.- Student account: You will grant it four permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents and Read and Write. With these settings on Clients computer(s), both Librarian and Student will have permissions to read and write (modify) existing data on C:\Biblio folder, but just from Clients computer(s).

8 Assigning special attributes to individual files NOTE: Next procedure is NOT necessary, as C:\Biblio folder is read-only for Students (Impossible to modify data). It is described to enhance network configuration knowledge for all possible users of BIBLIO. To prevent Student accounts from deleting or modifying existing data on SERVER C:\Biblio folder from other computer(s) on a LAN, you need to assign read-only attribute to specific files on this folder. Do the following: 1.- From Windows XP desktop, double click My PC, double click the hard disk on which BIBLIO is installed and double click C:\Biblio folder. Find biblio.mdb (Library DB) file and right-click it. 2.- Click Properties and then click Security tab. 3.- If Student account does NOT appear in Group or user names List, (in this case, Librarian account is not needed), you need to add it by clicking [ Add ] 4.- Select Write Deny check box and click [OK] 5.- Repeat steps, 1 to 4, with Biblio.ini and with Biblio.exe.

9 Remote connection with SERVER from other computer(s) Following are described the steps to remote access to SERVER from other computer on a LAN, both to make searches (Student) and to make loans, add new items, etc. (Librarian or a second Librarian). 1.- Start session on any computer on a LAN. If it is a Student with Student account and if it is a Librarian with Librarian account. 2.- Run BIBLIO and enter the access password according to user. It is recommended to make this process simple to set student as password for Students. 3.- Once BIBLIO is running, click Settings Menu and then click Use DB in Local Network Mode. 4.- When prompted with the Select a Database window, click My Network Places icon. 5.- Double click the PC to connect to, that is, the Library SERVER computer. 6.- You might be prompted (or not) with a Start session window to enter a username and a password to access to the remote computer. If so, enter your username and your password. Now you can access to the shared folder, not the Database. 7.- Double click the folder where the Library DB is, by default, C:\Biblio. 8,- When prompted, just click [ OK ]. NOTE: Once a first connection to SERVER is established, connection data are saved, so next time you want to establish the same connection, just confirm you want to connect using saved data. NOTE: If different users, with different access privileges (Librarian and Student), want to use the same computer, once a user stops working with BIBLIO, he must close his session and next user starts a different one, with a different user account.

10 Troubleshooting It is important to remember that these technical procedures described above, related to folder sharing on a LAN, must be done by advanced users on networking configuration, to prevent possible errors when BIBLIO runs or data loss due to lack of security or inadequate use from users who could remotely access to C:\Biblio folder. It is advisable to check out the proper running of BIBLIO on a LAN, before letting Students work with it and verify that it is impossible to delete data from a remote computer. It is possible, after following the procedures and steps described in this manual, to get Locked Database error messages when running BIBLIO or trying to connect to Server computer. Also you could be prompted with Database is in use by another user error message. To avoid these error messages, check out you have done, step by step, the procedures described above, and if necessary, delete and create again the user accounts, starting from scratch. The easiest configuration For those who think that the configuration described above is too complex, there is another solution, easier, that will work on most cases without problems, but with limitations. In which cases can it be used this alternative solution to share C:\Biblio folder? If you do NOT want to create and configure user accounts. If Librarian is NOT going to use a remote computer to work with BIBLIO, that is, he always uses his own computer located in the Library, to make loans, add new items, etc. If users who use a computer to make searches on Database, do NOT need real time data. If these are your circumstances, on most cases they are, do the following: 1.- In Server computer (Librarian s), copy C:\Biblio folder (where BIBLIO files are) and paste it inside Shared Documents folder. 2.- In Client computer, used to make searches, establish a remote connection to C:\Biblio folder, located now inside Shared Documents folder on remote Server. 3.- Every day, when stop working with BIBLIO, or after making massive changes on Library Database (adding new items, loans, modifications), copy and paste C:\Biblio folder data inside C:\Biblio folder created inside Shared Documents folder on Server. This procedure allows to: Not to create and configure user accounts on Server computer. Be sure that C:\Biblio folder data are NOT going to be changed by users. Have a backup copy on Shared Documents folder in case of data loss, despite of making backup copies on diskette(s), CD ROM or USB pen drive. Hope this manual be useful for you. Best regards, José A. Graña.