OK, I'm now at the point of complete frustration!

 

I've upgraded to 4.2.1 and trying to get User Level Security working on my Windows Network.  I've tried several times and each time have had to go back to setting it to Disabled.  I actually tried a 4.2beta version earlier and ended up reverting back to 4.1.

 

I could disable User Level Security, but then I don't have the rescan button anymore, so may as well go back to 4.1.

 

OK, now that I have gotten that frutration off my chest, hopefully someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong!

 

Here's the scenario...

 

Enable User Level Security, and add a couple of user names and passwords.  Noting also to keep the user names all lowercase.

 

Then I go to one of my Windows XP or Windows Vista network PC's and try to browse to a User Share. The result of this is a long wait (minutes not seconds) until the Explorer Window finally prompts with a "Connect To" username / password dialog box.

 

So I key in one of the usernames and passwords I created, click OK, and wait... then the dialog box just pops up again.  So try again with teh other username and password... no luck, just a endless loop of dialog boxes that won't accept my username and password.

 

OK, so I restart my unRaid server, just to be sure the created Users have been registered by unRaid... no help.

 

Then I try to use the Windows Control Panel / User Accounts to setup a Network Password for the currently logged in user.  Looks good, but does not help with most of my PC's.

 

This is with the exception of one of my XP and one of my Vista PC's, which do manage to successfully connect to a unRaid share using the entered User Accounts / Network Password.

 

However, when I try to connect to another User Share folder from the same PC, no luck!  Just the same repeating dialog boxes prompting for my login credentials!

 

On the Vista PC I have a number of Mapped Drives for various User Shares.  This is because PowerDVD only seems to like to playback certain media types if the are using a drive letter (instead of a UNC path).  The interesting thing is that the first drive letter I clicked on works fine, even after a reboot of the Vista PC.  However all of the other mapped drives are disconected, and after reboot simply report that they are unavailable.  Trying to open one simply gives me the looping login dialog box.

 

By now I'm starting to get the impression that each unRaid user that has been defined can only have a single concurrent User Share login?  I therefore create Users on unRaid for each PC name on my network, and try again with a login unique to each Windows PC.  Same result!

 

OK, so now I'm thinking do I need to create multiple users for each PC, to allow a set of users for each possible User Shares accessed by each individual PC, then have to manually connect each Share from each PC using a unique User?

 

At this point it's all just getting too hard... so I'm sitting here writing this.

 

As a further note, the XP PC that managed to connect the User Account / Network Password I setup, runs my primary iTunes software as a server that looks to an unRaid User Share folder for it's music library to share to other PC's on the network.

This has been working fine under 4.1 (where I actually shared it as a disk share with full read/write).  Under 4.2.1 PC's on the network now connecting to the shared iTunes instalation, are now having long delays between each music track played (even though the disks are all spun-up, and my iTunes library all live on a single unRaid drive anyway).  Now when each track finishes the remote PC iTunes window shows a dialog box taht is waiting for the URL for the iTunes share. after 30 seconds or so the next track finally plays.  Under 4.1 this was seamless with no pause between tracks.

 

OK, any suggestions... what am I obviously doing wrong?  If I can't get this to work I may as well go back to trusty old 4.1 and await a better security implementation sometime in the future?

 

Greg

I think someone should put this on Manual/FAQ. Lets say your unRAID server is named tower and when you go to \\tower path with windows you authentication box where you write your login.

Lets say you have user named tommy with password secret on your unRAID server, write these as authentication and select checkbox save password.

After this this login is saved to your windows account. Meaning only for that user you are currently logged as so you don't have to write that login information ever again.

You can make multiple users on your unRAID server and attach them to windows account you like this way. Or even use same unRAID user account for multiple windows users.

 

You can manage your network passwords in Control Panel/User Accounts/(Select User From the List)/Manage my network passwords.

Also that pause thing you are talking about really sound like you still have samba 2.0.25b on your unRAID. You sure you have 4.2.1 installed not 4.2? Check in unRAID WebUI which version you have. Only thing changed in those two versions are samba server. 4.2 has 2.0.25b which has bug that causes things like that.

Hi wanton, thanks for your prompt reply.

 

Firstly, I am definately using 4.2.1 as confirmed by the web admin console.

 

What you have described for authenticating the windows access to the shared folders pretty much describes what I have been trying to do, but has not been working for me!

 

However with some more perserverance I might have discovered the problem.  I noticed that it accepts my username and password for the root folder (ie. If I go to \\tower for example), but when I try to access an individual User Share folder (eg. \\Tower\DVD), it will not accept the username and password!

 

So, I tried specifically adding the user name to the User Share "Valid Users" list in the web admin.  Woohoo... it now accepts the username and password and allows acess to that User Share folder!

 

OK, so I had followed the instructions in the online manual, and had left the "Valid Users" blank on the basis of the following quote from the manual:

 

Valid users

A list of users who can exclusively access the share. Blank means all users.

 

Specifically: "Blank means all users."

 

At the moment it appears this information is incorrect, and you do infact need to list the users you want to allow access to, for each User Share!

 

Back to my testing...  Does this agree with your settings / findings?

 

If so, the manual definately needs updating, and some step by step instructions with screenshots would also be useful for clarity. 

OK, so I had followed the instructions in the online manual, and had left the "Valid Users" blank on the basis of the following quote from the manual:

 

Valid users

A list of users who can exclusively access the share. Blank means all users.

 

Specifically: "Blank means all users."

 

At the moment it appears this information is incorrect, and you do infact need to list the users you want to allow access to, for each User Share!

 

OK, further testing confirms that this was indeed my problem. ie. You need to specifically specify the user name in the "Valid users" list for each User Share.

 

The question for Tom is whether this is a bug in the manual, or whether it is a bug in the implementation of 4.2.1?  The quote from the manual does appear to be a logical implementation. ie. blank indicating that all users created can access the User Share.  Otherwise you would need to always list all users created for every User Share, if you want all users to be able to access the shares.  In addition you currently need to add any new user created to all the existing User Shares everytime you add a new user that you wanted to be able to access all User Shares.