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Microsoft Windows NT Server White Paper
home directory (or other specified directory if the location has been modified)
on the server for the User Profile. If a profile exists in both locations, the newer
of the two is used. If the User Profile exists on the server, but does not exist on
the local machine, the profile on the server is downloaded and used. If the
User Profile only exists on the local machine, that copy is used.
If a User Profile is not found in either location, the Default User Profile from
the Windows 95 machine is used and is copied to a newly created folder for
the logged on user. At log off, any changes that the user made are written to
the user’s local profile. If the user has a roaming profile, the changes are writ-
ten to the user’s profile on the server.
User Profile Planning and Implementation
A successful implementation of User Profiles requires planning and prepara-
tion. Before creating User Profiles, consider the following:
•
How much of the user environment do you wish to control? Would System
Policies— either in conjunction with User Profiles, or by themselves— be a
better solution?
•
Will users be required to use a specific set of desktop folders and envi-
ronment settings?
•
Will users be able to make modifications to their profiles?
•
What features will you be implementing in User Profiles? Optional features
include persistent network connections, custom icons, backgrounds, and
so on.
•
For roaming profiles, will users be allowed to use the default profile from
the client workstation or will a standardized server-based default profile be
used instead?
•
Where will the profiles be stored, and is there enough drive space to store
them?
•
Where do existing user home directories reside?
•
How will shortcuts and links be displayed for the user?
•
What are the speeds of the links between the clients and the server stor-
ing the profiles?
These issues are examined more fully in the following paragraphs. For more
information, refer to the
Windows NT Server Concepts and Planning Guide
.
Setting Permissions for User Profiles
When troubleshooting or preparing for a rollout of User Profiles, you should
pay careful attention to permissions at the Windows NT File System (NTFS)
and share levels. If the profile is mandatory, the user account should have at
least Read permissions on the network share where that user’s User Profile is
stored. If the user’s profile is roaming, the user must have Change permissions
(or better) because the client will need to write the changes back to the central
profile on the shared network drive when the user logs off. If roaming profiles
are stored on an NTFS partition, you can choose to remove the Delete permis-
sion from the default Change permissions at the NTFS level.
