Classroom and Lab Computing

Map Penn State Disk Space Program

Version 2.0.4 7/16/08

Summary

The MapPsuSpace.exe program is a Windows program that makes it easier to connect to the PASS space, UDrive and UBackup file servers from a home computer.  On it's first run it will set the registry values needed for your computer to authenticate with the PSU Kerberos servers (in the "realm", dce.psu.edu), which is used to secure access to the file services.  It will tell you that you have to reboot.   After that, the program will recheck for this registry entry and just log that it was found.   The program will prompt you for your userid and password, and will use these to connect to one or all of the following: the PASS root folder, your PASS folder, the UDrive root folder, your UDrive folder.   An optional button will connect to the "UBackup" server which has copies of all the files on the UDrive. 

Installing the program does not preclude accessing the PASS or UDrive manually. 

Download/Install

Click here to download/install the program; click on the "Version: xx" link.  You may run MapPsuSpace.msi directly or save it first.

You must restart your computer after running the program if it sets the dce.psu.edu registry key.  It will tell you if the key was set.

This program works with Windows XP and Vista.  It has not been tested with other versions; it might work on Windows 2000 but it will not install on 95/98/ME because they do not support Kerberos.

Safety

You should be cautious with any program that prompts you for a userid and/or password.  A malicious programmer could slip an identical-appearing program onto your computer and steal your password.   This installer, MapPsuSpace.msi, has been digitally signed.  When downloaded with Internet Explorer, you can verify the publisher is The Pennsylvania State University, and the certificate was issued by Thawte Code Signing CA and is valid from 3/3/2008 to 3/3/2009 (if the certificate is expired continue anyway).

The program is available as MapPsuSpace.msi from our server at this URL:

    https://downloads.its.psu.edu/download.cgi?os_type=Windows&prod=PASS

Do not install the program from a different source. 

Basic Usage

After installing, run the program once to set or verify the dce.psu.edu registry key.  Reboot if the key was set.  Then, to use the program from home:

1. Make a VPN connection to PSU as you have always done.
2. Launch MapPsuSpace, enter your Access Account userid (if it wasn't remembered) and your Access Account password.
3. Click the Connect button.

Details

Purpose

It is generally easy enough for most Windows users to "map" a file share but with the change in July 2006 to use the PSU Kerberos servers (the dce.psu.edu realm) instead of passwords in the win.psu.edu domain, there are a couple extra things to do.   On July 3, the PASS space was changed to a new system that uses Kerberos too.  What you have to do now is:

• Set registry entries to define the dce.psu.edu Kerberos realm
• Reboot (for above settings to take place)
• Connect As dce.psu.edu\<userid> to map drive(s)

The first two tasks need only be done once.  Mapping a "share" to a drive letter can be done any time thereafter, and you can use "Connect As" from Windows Explorer if you wish, rather than this program.

If your computer is part of a Windows domain and you have to give a userid and password to log onto it, the realm settings will cause "dce.psu.edu (Kerberos Realm)" to be added to the choices of domains you can log into.  Do not pick that unless your network administrator has instructed you to.

(If your domain is setup for you to log onto your computer via dce.psu.edu, then you don't need this program.  You should be able to map the UDrive and UBackup without giving your userid and password, as the servers will accept your dce.psu.edu credentials.)

Features

The program will:

• remember your userid and option preferences (fixed in 1.0.7);
• will NOT remember your password;
• check for the dce.psu.edu Kerberos registry entry and add it if it is missing; if it is added, you will be advised to restart your computer;
• detect which drive letters are free and populate a list of them;
• allow you to map the "root" of the PASS or UDrive space, so you can navigate to other people's folders;
• allow you to map your own folder directly, so you do not have to navigate the folder hierarchy to get to your files;
• map network shares with the "persistent" attribute, so Windows will try to reconnect next time you log on your computer (doesn't always work);
• tell you if the network share is already mapped at the chosen letter;
• present a button to map the "UBackup" server, where you can find copies of all your files made early each morning (in case you just erased or screwed up something);
• attempt to present understandable error messages;
• open Windows Explorer pointing to the last drive just mapped;
• terminate itself after doing the above step.

Known Problems

• Network name not found -- probably a VPN connection was not made first.
• Does not install on Windows 95/98/ME -- this is on purpose.  Those versions of Windows do not support Kerberos.
• Drive already mapped -- the program attempts to detect that a drive letter is already in use before mapping it, but in some situations a drive letter can be mapped but "inactive", so there will be an error when it tries to connect.
• Bad userid or password invalid:
  • Be sure computer was rebooted after installing the program or setting the Kerberos registry entry.
  • Verify the registry key and value shown here are set; if not, create key and value and reboot.
  • Verify the date and time on your computer is correct; correct and retry if it isn't (Kerberos uses the time of day as part of its security).
  • If Windows 2000, verify the registry value for KdcNames is set; reboot after setting.
  • Try mapping drive without the program as described here.
  • Verify your userid and password here.
  • Be sure you have the current version of VPN (5.0.02.0090 as of 5/29/09); download here.

Updates

When reinstalling the program or a new version it may say you need to restart your system, but you probably don't.

Uninstall

You may uninstall the program by runing the MapPsuSpace.msi again.  The installer does not set any registry entries (as of 2.0.4) and you may also just delete the sortcuts and Program Files folder manually for the same result.

Additional Help

Please contact an ITS help desk if you need additional help.  You need to be able to tell them:

• Program version (see the caption on the top of the MapPsuSpace window).
• Operating system version (note: Windows 95, 98 and ME are not supported).
• ISP (Internet Service Provider).
• Version of the Cisco VPN client.
• Steps to reproduce the problem.
• Error messages.

Problem Determination for Advanced Users

Use the command line to verify the registry key and try connecting both UDrive and Pass from there, for example:

reg query HKLM \System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\Kerberos\Domains\dce.psu.edu

net use u: \\udrive.win.psu.edu\users /user:dce.psu.edu\xyz1234 *

net use w: \\win.pass.psu.edu\pass /user:dce.psu.edu\xyz1234 *

See if you can ping win.pass.psu.edu and/or udrive.win.psu.edu, but remember ping doesn't work over VPN and addresses outside of PSU may not pass ping packets.  Note too that udrive.win.psu.edu has an IP address not accessible outside of PSU without VPN so ping from home is not an option.

Try other accounts on the same computer.  Try your account on different computers.  Be sure the time on the computer is correct.

Possible Enhancements

Things the program might do in the future:

• Detect and launch VPN for you.
• Fold your laundry.

Changes