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Q195063: Common User ID Problem when Using Associated Printer Feature

Article: Q195063
Product(s): Microsoft SNA Server
Version(s): 3.0 SP1,3.0 SP2,3.0 SP3,4.0,4.0 SP1
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 25-OCT-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft SNA Server, versions 3.0 SP1, 3.0 SP2, 3.0 SP3, 4.0, 4.0 SP1 
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SYMPTOMS
========

A user is able to access a 3270 display logical unit (LU) from a client
workstation even though its associated printer LU is in use on a different
client workstation. This problem occurs in the following scenarios:

- Users connect to SNA Server using a common User ID.

-or-

- Users are validated using Windows NT's Guest account.

The Common User ID Scenario
---------------------------

SNA Server is configured with a 3270 LU pool. Each 3270 display LU in the pool is
configured to have an associated printer LU assigned to it.

All of the users that connect to the SNA Server for access to the 3270 LU pool
use a common user ID called SNAUSER.

When a user connects to the SNA Server using the SNAUSER ID and gets a 3270
display LU from the 3270 LU pool called DISP1 and its associated printer called
PRT1, if this user closes the DISP1 display session in the 3270 emulator but
leaves the PRT1 printer session open, another user from a different workstation
using the SNAUSER ID may get the DISP1 display session when they request a 3270
display LU even though this display LU's associated printer is still in use on
the first client workstation.

The Guest Account Scenario
--------------------------

SNA Server is configured with a 3270 LU pool. Each 3270 display LU in the pool is
configured to have an associated printer LU assigned to it. The 3270 LU pool is
assigned to the Everyone group in SNA Server Manager.

If users connect to the SNA Server system using the Guest account, or an account
that is not defined on the Windows NT Server or Domain, the user will be
validated using the Guest account if it is enabled on the Windows NT system. At
this point, all of the users are using the same user account, therefore, the
problem described in the earlier example can occur.

CAUSE
=====

Starting with SNA Server 3.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2), the SNA Server would not
allow a user to open a 3270 display LU if its associated printer was in use by
another user. However, this did not take into account cases where multiple users
connect to an SNA Server using a common user ID. SNA Server only checks the user
ID requesting access to a 3270 display LU, and not where the request was being
made from.

The change made in SNA Server 3.0 SP2 is described in the following Knowledge
Base article:

  Q172637 User Able to Open Display Session If Associated Printer in Use

Prior to SNA Server 3.0 SP2, any user could open a 3270 display LU even though
the associated printer LU was in use.

RESOLUTION
==========

SNA Server 3.0
--------------

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SNA Server version
3.0. For additional information, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q184307 How to Obtain the Latest SNA Server Version 3.0 Service Pack



SNA Server 4.0
--------------

This problem was corrected in the latest SNA Server version 4.0 U.S. Service
Pack. For information on obtaining this Service Pack, query on the following
word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

  S E R V P A C K


STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server versions 3.0, 3.0
Service Pack 1, 3.0 Service Pack 2, 3.0 Service Pack 3, 4.0 , and 4.0 Service
Pack 1. This problem was first corrected in SNA Server 3.0 Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION
================

After applying the update, SNA Server will not assign the user a 3270 display LU
from a pool with an associated printer session that is currently in use, unless
the printer session is in use by the same user, connected from the same client
workstation.

Please refer to the SNA Server documentation for more details on the Associated
Printer feature.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbSNAServSearch kbSNAServ400 kbSNAServ300SP3 kbSNAServ300SP1 kbSNAServ400SP1 kbSNAServ300SP2
Version           : :3.0 SP1,3.0 SP2,3.0 SP3,4.0,4.0 SP1
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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