* RE: Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives. @ 2003-09-02 14:48 Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 2003-09-03 4:16 ` David Rothenberger 0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread From: Louis-Luc Le Guerrier @ 2003-09-02 14:48 UTC (permalink / raw) To: cygwin Hello, I have tried Universal Name Convention path as well, and I still can't access the network drives, even with UNC paths inside the script ran by 'cron'. The same script invoked manually accesses net drives of course. I have looked at "www.denicomp.com/faq.htm#Q21" and understand partially what they mean to do, but they don't explicitly explain how to perform the tasks in Windows. I also noticed the 'id' command on the Cygwin shell gives "Administrator" as user name when invoked manually. I also included 'id > tstfile' into a 'cron' job to send the output of 'id' while in a cron, and it also states "Administrator" is the user. I set up a password to the Windows Administrator account, and it's the one I log in. cron still fails to access network drives even though Administrator has a password and I'm trying it with UNC paths. I'm still puzzled, and stuck unable to access network drives. Anyone can share a clearer procedure of what to do, or an example? Thanks in advance. Louis-Luc -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/ ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives. 2003-09-02 14:48 Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives Louis-Luc Le Guerrier @ 2003-09-03 4:16 ` David Rothenberger 2003-09-09 18:38 ` Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread From: David Rothenberger @ 2003-09-03 4:16 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Louis-Luc Le Guerrier; +Cc: cygwin Louis-Luc Le Guerrier wrote: > Hello, > I have tried Universal Name Convention path as well, and I still can't > access the network drives, even with UNC paths inside the script ran by > 'cron'. The same script invoked manually accesses net drives of course. > > I have looked at "www.denicomp.com/faq.htm#Q21" and understand partially > what they mean to do, but they don't explicitly explain how to perform > the tasks in Windows. That page explains that to access a network share that requires user authentication, Windows needs a password, which isn't available to cron. For example, cron, running as the SYSTEM user, runs a job for Administrator. It switches to the Administrator user to run the job, which tries to access a network share. This share's permissions require the Administrator user to authenticate by providing the correct password. But, cron has no such password, so the access fails. You should be able to access the network share if the share doesn't require you to authenticate to access it (i.e., it allows access by "Everyone" per the Sharing settings). As the page above also explains, accessing through a drive letter won't work, so you'll need to use UNC paths, even if this works. If you only plan to run cron jobs for one user (Administrator in your case), you may be able to run the cron service as that user. You'll have to provide the user's password when you setup the service, so you'll avoid the problem described above. However, I don't know whether cron will run correctly as any user other than SYSTEM, and I haven't tested this, so try it at your own risk. > I also noticed the 'id' command on the Cygwin shell gives "Administrator" > as user name when invoked manually. I also included 'id > tstfile' into > a 'cron' job to send the output of 'id' while in a cron, and it also > states "Administrator" is the user. I set up a password to the Windows > Administrator account, and it's the one I log in. cron still fails to > access network drives even though Administrator has a password and > I'm trying it with UNC paths. When you log in to the machine's console, you provide a password, that Windows uses (or tries) for subsequent network share authentication. That's why you don't have to type the password in again when you access the share from Windows or a bash shell running from the console. But, this password isn't available to a service running on the machine (which is good), which is why cron can't access the network share. > I'm still puzzled, and stuck unable to access network drives. > > Anyone can share a clearer procedure of what to do, or an example? You can change the share's permissions and use UNC paths or run cron as the Administrator user. HTH, Dave -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/ ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives. 2003-09-03 4:16 ` David Rothenberger @ 2003-09-09 18:38 ` Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 2003-09-09 19:24 ` David Rothenberger 2003-09-09 19:43 ` Andrew DeFaria 0 siblings, 2 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: Louis-Luc Le Guerrier @ 2003-09-09 18:38 UTC (permalink / raw) To: David Rothenberger; +Cc: cygwin On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, David Rothenberger wrote: > Louis-Luc Le Guerrier wrote: > > Hello, > > I have tried Universal Name Convention path as well, and I still can't > > access the network drives, even with UNC paths inside the script ran by > > 'cron'. The same script invoked manually accesses net drives of course. > > > > I have looked at "www.denicomp.com/faq.htm#Q21" and understand partially > > what they mean to do, but they don't explicitly explain how to perform > > the tasks in Windows. > > That page explains that to access a network share that requires user > authentication, Windows needs a password, which isn't available to cron. > > For example, cron, running as the SYSTEM user, runs a job for > Administrator. It switches to the Administrator user to run the job, > which tries to access a network share. This share's permissions require > the Administrator user to authenticate by providing the correct > password. But, cron has no such password, so the access fails. > > You should be able to access the network share if the share doesn't > require you to authenticate to access it (i.e., it allows ac > "Everyone" per the Sharing settings). > The target (sharing) machine has Windows XP, and I have not yet found how to change the share permission to "everyone". I remember that in previous Windows versions, but Microsoft seems to have moved options all around, and just this straight forward task seems complicated now. I have been able to log in on the target machine as Administrator, with the same password, and made the share again. On the server (source machine) I also tried to create a SYSTEM account since none is in the user account list, but it refuses to create it saying one already exists. In any of these cases, nothing works, and I'm still unable to access the network drive with 'cron'. On UNIX (cygwin) side, how can I tell 'cron' to execute with a different user than "Administrator"? Maybe this will work. How do I provide the password, then? Our server has become a "Domain Server", so it might be the problem. I'm not that familiar with domain accounts. > As the page above also explains, accessing through a drive letter won't > work, so you'll need to use UNC paths, even if this works. > > If you only plan to run cron jobs for one user (Administrator in your > case), you may be able to run the cron service as that user. You'll > have to provide the user's password when you setup the service, so > you'll avoid the problem described above. However, I don't know whether > cron will run correctly as any user other than SYSTEM, and I haven't > tested this, so try it at your own risk. How can I determine what user 'cron' runs under? If I schedule an 'id' command through cron, 'id' shows user is Administrator, but does it mean it is the user? Thanks again for helping. Louis-Luc > > > I also noticed the 'id' command on the Cygwin shell gives "Administrator" > > as user name when invoked manually. I also included 'id > tstfile' into > > a 'cron' job to send the output of 'id' while in a cron, and it also > > states "Administrator" is the user. I set up a password to the Windows > > Administrator account, and it's the one I log in. cron still fails to > > access network drives even though Administrator has a password and > > I'm trying it with UNC paths. > > When you log in to the machine's console, you provide a password, that > Windows uses (or tries) for subsequent network share authentication. > That's why you don't have to type the password in again when you access > the share from Windows or a bash shell running from the console. But, > this password isn't available to a service running on the machine (which > is good), which is why cron can't access the network share. > > > I'm still puzzled, and stuck unable to access network drives. > > > > Anyone can share a clearer procedure of what to do, or an example? > > You can change the share's permissions and use UNC paths or run cron as > the Administrator user. > > HTH, > Dave > > -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/ ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives. 2003-09-09 18:38 ` Louis-Luc Le Guerrier @ 2003-09-09 19:24 ` David Rothenberger 2003-09-09 19:43 ` Andrew DeFaria 1 sibling, 0 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: David Rothenberger @ 2003-09-09 19:24 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Louis-Luc Le Guerrier; +Cc: cygwin Louis-Luc Le Guerrier wrote: > On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, David Rothenberger wrote: > > >>Louis-Luc Le Guerrier wrote: >> >>>Hello, >>>I have tried Universal Name Convention path as well, and I still can't >>>access the network drives, even with UNC paths inside the script ran by >>>'cron'. The same script invoked manually accesses net drives of course. >>> >>>I have looked at "www.denicomp.com/faq.htm#Q21" and understand partially >>>what they mean to do, but they don't explicitly explain how to perform >>>the tasks in Windows. >> >>That page explains that to access a network share that requires user >>authentication, Windows needs a password, which isn't available to cron. >> >>For example, cron, running as the SYSTEM user, runs a job for >>Administrator. It switches to the Administrator user to run the job, >>which tries to access a network share. This share's permissions require >>the Administrator user to authenticate by providing the correct >>password. But, cron has no such password, so the access fails. >> >>You should be able to access the network share if the share doesn't >>require you to authenticate to access it (i.e., it allows ac >>"Everyone" per the Sharing settings). >> > > The target (sharing) machine has Windows XP, and I have not yet found > how to change the share permission to "everyone". I remember that in > previous Windows versions, but Microsoft seems to have moved options > all around, and just this straight forward task seems complicated now. I have XP Pro and don't have a problem with this. Do you have Home or Pro? In Pro, I just bring up Sharing and Security for the folder, go into permissions, click the button to add a user, then type "Everyone". I have disabled simple file sharing on that machine, though. Perhaps that's necessary? See <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307874> for more info on that. It may also be that the folder being shared needs to be in an NTFS partition. > I have been able to log in on the target machine as Administrator, with > the same password, and made the share again. On the server (source > machine) I also tried to create a SYSTEM account since none is in the > user account list, but it refuses to create it saying one already exists. > In any of these cases, nothing works, and I'm still unable to access > the network drive with 'cron'. > > On UNIX (cygwin) side, how can I tell 'cron' to execute with a different > user than "Administrator"? Maybe this will work. How do I provide the > password, then? There may be a way to do it with cygrunsrv, but I normally do it with the Windows Services tool. Just edit the existing service, go to the Log On tab, and the rest should be obvious. You enter the password directly on that screen. -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/ ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives. 2003-09-09 18:38 ` Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 2003-09-09 19:24 ` David Rothenberger @ 2003-09-09 19:43 ` Andrew DeFaria 1 sibling, 0 replies; 5+ messages in thread From: Andrew DeFaria @ 2003-09-09 19:43 UTC (permalink / raw) To: cygwin Louis-Luc Le Guerrier wrote: > The target (sharing) machine has Windows XP, and I have not yet found > how to change the share permission to "everyone". I remember that in > previous Windows versions, but Microsoft seems to have moved options > all around, and just this straight forward task seems complicated now. Let's say you are sharing C:\Cygwin\tmp on the XP box. Open up an Explorer and go to C:\Cygwin. Right click on tmp and select Properties. Select the Sharing tab then click on the Permissions button. You should see Everyone there with Full Control set to allow. If not then change it. > I have been able to log in on the target machine as Administrator, > with the same password, and made the share again. Once you login with a password the password is available to authenticate your access to the share. > On the server (source machine) I also tried to create a SYSTEM account > since none is in the user account list, Which user account list? > but it refuses to create it saying one already exists. In any of these > cases, nothing works, and I'm still unable to access the network drive > with 'cron'. > > On UNIX (cygwin) side, how can I tell 'cron' to execute with a > different user than "Administrator"? Cron runs as the user SYSTEM. crontabs (created by crontab) are made on a per user basis. When cron (the service running as SYSTEM) needs to execute a cronjob of a user it will switch user to that user. So user joe can create a crontab and when cron runs it it will switch user to joe. User Administrator can also create a crontab and when cron runs it ti will switch user to Administrator. This switch user is a "passwordless" login. As such no password is available to authenticate the user to network shares (like network drive mapping). Thus such attempted access fails. However, you should be able to access things via a UNC path if that share has everyone set to full control. So try 0 * * * ls //<server>/<share> > /tmp/debug.log You may want to change the 0 and the * to a more appropriate and immediate time. Also change <server> and <share> their appropriate names. Then check /tmp/debug.log. What did it list? > Maybe this will work. How do I provide the password, then? You don't. See above. > Our server has become a "Domain Server", so it might be the problem. > I'm not that familiar with domain accounts. Have your /etc/passwd and /etc/group files been generated with mkpasswd -d for domains? Or are you using local accounts? If you are, say, using the local Administrator account and trying to access a share on the domain then beware that local Administrator != the domain's Administrator account. Why don't you stick to your domain username for now. > How can I determine what user 'cron' runs under? If I schedule an 'id' > command through cron, 'id' shows user is Administrator, but does it > mean it is the user? Not sure what "schedule and 'id' command" means. Do you mean that (being logged in as Administrator) you did a crontab -e and added a line to execut the id command? -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/ ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2003-09-09 19:43 UTC | newest] Thread overview: 5+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed) -- links below jump to the message on this page -- 2003-09-02 14:48 Need help: cron jobs can't access network drives Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 2003-09-03 4:16 ` David Rothenberger 2003-09-09 18:38 ` Louis-Luc Le Guerrier 2003-09-09 19:24 ` David Rothenberger 2003-09-09 19:43 ` Andrew DeFaria
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