Learning Center

 Recently we conducted a survey of several IT Administrators working in mixed Windows / Unix / Linux environments.  They told us that they wanted to see meaty, "how-to" content as an alternative to blog opinion pieces or marketing advertorials.
So we have developed a series of Windows interoperability "Tech Notes" covering several important topics.  We invite you to post your comments and your suggestions for future topics in our Interop Community forums.

Tech Notes

Acronyms:
SUA -- Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, formerly Interix
SFU -- Windows Services for Unix
IdMU -- Identity Management for Unix
NFS -- Network File System
NIS -- Network Information Service
AD -- Active Directory
UNM - User Name Mapping

Unix/Linux Interoperability Components In Windows
Tech Note #1 in the "Interop Components in Windows" series
The split-up of Windows Services for UNIX into individual components in Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Vista has left users confused as to how to set up the ultimate Unix/Linux interoperability environment.

Installing SUA Commands, Utilities and Libraries
Tech Note #2 in the "Interop Components in Windows" series
If you are new to the Windows Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA), here is an easy screen-by-screen description of the installation process.

PowerShell and SUA together
Tech Note #3 in the "Interop Components in Windows" series
PowerShell is Microsoft’s new interactive command line shell and scripting environment. SUA provides a totally Unix-compatible shell, utilities and scripting environment. These two powerful toolsets can work together. This Tech Note highlights the strengths of each environment and how to set up each component to work well with the other components.

Configuring OpenSSH for passwordless login on the Interix subsystem (SFU or SUA)
Tech Note #4 in the "Interop Components in Windows" series
The biggest single reason people come to Interop Community's "Tool Warehouse" is to obtain a secure shell solution that they can run on Windows. It is de facto on Unix and Linux systems today that a secure shell solution be available. Fortunately, OpenSSH is available for SFU and SUA.

Implementing and configuring NFS on Windows Server
Tech Note #5 in the "Interop Components in Windows" series
With Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 R2 several of the components that were previously part of SFU became part of the base operating system distribution. This includes the Network File System (NFS) components. There have been changes to these components since the release of SFU version 3.5.
There are a lot of different items to install and configure just to get basic NFS Server support; however, the end result can be very productive in a heterogeneous operating system environment.  

An Introduction to Active Directory Integration for Unix and Linux Systems
Tech Note #1 in the "Identity Management" series
Cross platform integrated directory, security and identity management services is a hot topic for enterprises these days. This series of four Tech Notes shows you how to leverage the most usable Unix/Linux interoperability components to build a basic integrated cross-platform identity management solution.

Using Server for NIS, IdMU and Kerberos for Unix/Linux Directory and Authentication Services
Tech Note #2 in the "Identity Management" series
In the past you may have used NIS for centralized directory services on Unix. Ultimately you want to have one centralized account entry and password for each user and group in Active Directory (AD) and have users and systems able to leverage the account information and credentials from Windows, Unix and Linux client systems.

Using Samba client technology and Kerberos for AD-based identity management
Tech Note #3 in the "Identity Management" series
Many administrators use Samba file sharing technology on Unix and Linux and wish to use Samba client technology to enable centralized integrated directory and identity management services with an AD Windows Server.

Using native LDAP, native Kerberos and Windows Server AD Services and schema for cross platform identity management
Tech Note #4 in the "Identity Management" series
Many administrators are moving away from NIS and are standardizing on LDAP for directory services across all platforms. AD is an LDAP directory. Windows Server even includes a schema for typical Unix attributes. This Tech Note will describe how to leverage all these Microsoft technologies on the server side and use Open Source technologies on the Unix or Linux client side to build a robust, integrated Windows-centric solution.

Windows PowerShell Screencasts
Introduction to PowerShell for those familiar with Unix-style shells

Novice Tutorial: (2:51 minutes)
After installing PowerShell this Novice Tutorial provide a brief orientation for a user with a Unix background of some of the commands. To help a new user get started.

Beginner Tutorial: (3:47 minutes)
This Beginner Tutorial is for a user with a Unix background who has some familiarity with PowerShell.
Includes an introduction to start writing scripts. Assumes you can already do some basic commands.

Advanced Tutorial: (5:53 minutes)
This tutorial shows how functions can be added to scripts, argument passing, pipelines and some file interaction.
You should already know how to do some more complex tasks and understand the organization of PowerShell.

Expert Tutorial: (2:45 minutes)
Introduces how .NET and WMI can be used with PowerShell.
Includes the example of getting a web page, a resource use script, Greater use of objects in these examples.
Should have a solid understanding of scripting writing.

Windows PowerShell Resources:
Visit the Microsoft Technology Center for Windows PowerShell: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell.

Windows PowerShell Team Blog

Recommended book: Windows PowerShell in Action By Bruce Payette Manning Publications.

PowerShell screencasts created by Rodney Ruddock, Interop Systems