win server 2003 1

[woodlee]

can someone tell me how i check to see which users are still logged onto the domain so i can make sure they are disconnected before i reboot the server.

sorry if this seems a stupid question but really nedd to get a user disconnected

thanks

lee

 

[WillShakespeare]

On the desktop of the server:

[ol]
[li]Right-click on My Computer[/li]
[li]Click Manage[/li]
[li]Open System Tools[/li]
[li]Open Shared Folders[/li]
[li]Open Sessions[/li]
[/ol]

If there are people here, it will give you an indication of who is still connected to resources on the server. You can then either go tell them to log off, or if you know they are already logged off, just right-click on the seesion and Close Session.

hth,

Will

 

[woodlee]

hi will

thanks for that great help


cheers

lee

 

[woodlee]

Hi Will

just tried that it tells me whos is accessing files on the server but not who is currently logged into the domain. i don't think i made that very clear before

thanks

lee

 

[WillShakespeare]

Well, you made the statement "logged onto the domain" clear enough, but I don't think your understanding of what this means, given that you want to "reboot the server," is correct.
Although we often use the statement "logged onto the domain", the actual physical "log on" is to the local machine. But a user can "access" the domain via any connections to the server regarding open documents and active connections/sessions. This is because the machine and user have membership in the domain, and therefore have security token which the server uses to allow access.

In order to reboot the server, all you need to do is make sure no-one has any active connections to the server. The "domain" is a virtual thing used for organisation and security. You don't actually "log into" a domain. Though I'm sure someone out there will have a hair-splitting argument against this!

However, you should note that if you reboot a server, and there are active connections, they should be restored without problem.

The only main problem will be if someone tries to save a document during the reboot, and sometimes this can cause a lock-up of the app on their local machine, and when this happens, either the app will crash, or some people will get impatient, close the app manually, and possibly lose work.

As to your question of who is "logged into the domain?" At the command prompt, you can use the command "net view", and even stipulate specific domains if you have several, and this will show you which machines are currently on, and in the master browser list. This may be more what you want.

But I should reiterate, that when you reboot the server, more important isn't what machines are "on" and "on the domain", but which users have active connections to the server you are about to reboot. These are where problems are likely to occur.

hth,

Will

 

[WillShakespeare]

Oh, and to the stipulation that you "really need to get a user disconnected", then that is exactly what you need to do, besides physically unplugguing the user's machine, revoking their AD account, and machine account.

Will

 

[woodlee]

Hi Will

your right my understanding isn't all that good!!!!

we have a problem where someone is trying to log into the domain but it is saying user already logged or user name already in use so i wanted to see if this was the case and if so disconnect them.

thanks


lee

 

[WillShakespeare]

Lee,

Please explain EXACTLY what is happening. You see a user can log into a domain any number of times to any number of workstations (at least by default... there may be a policy setting that restricts this, especially if using roaming profiles), so what you are describing sounds implausible. What I think the problem may be is you are leaving out some key details.

You are a bit vague on the error message. Perhaps that would help. For example, if you are trying to add a user or computer to the domain, and another already exists with the same name, you will get a similar error.

Will

 

[woodlee]

Hi Will

From my understanding of it all from our it company is we have a policy where a user can only log on once. Our MD has a habbit of just pulling his network cable out of his laptop and going home. he came into the office yesterday and tried to log on it would let him into his laptop but wouldn't connect to the network drives and outlook kept saying disconnected upon trying to connect to the server it would say this user name already exist or something to that effect. he has just turned up today but all is ok now so i'm a little confused by it all really

cheers

lee

 

[WillShakespeare]

I see.

The reason it worked now is probably because the accounts handled by your it company are reset after a period of time, and your MD had tried to log in "again" before this time-out, which is why he had the error. Just a guess, really, but sounds plausible.

I'd suggest you call the it company, and explain that your MD often has work open on his laptop, and does not want to "log off", but just pull the cable out when he goes home. Let them come up with a solution. Or tell you how to handle it in future. I'm sure they have documentation for such things. You pay them to do some work after all!

Will