Publish shares in Active Directory

Many people need to schedule Windows to take actions at specific times, even when they're not at the computer. For example, you might want to schedule a backup or update for a certain time every day or week.

Windows 2000 includes a command-line tool to schedule events: the AT command. To learn more about the AT command, open a command prompt and type HELP AT.

The AT command isn't exactly user-friendly, particularly if you're not familiar with working with the command prompt. For that reason, many people turn to the Scheduled Tasks folder to schedule events.

To open the Scheduled Tasks folder, go to Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Scheduled Tasks. You can add a scheduled task by double-clicking the Add Scheduled Task icon to begin the Scheduled Task Wizard. The wizard prompts you to select the application and the schedule frequency.

While the Scheduled Tasks folder offers a relatively simple way to schedule events automatically, it still has limitations. If you need to respond to dialog boxes presented by scheduled applications, shut down or reboot the local or a remote computer, or take other actions not offered by the Scheduled Tasks folder, a handful of third-party tools exist that provide simplified but relatively powerful event scheduling.

One example is Splinterware's System Scheduler. The free version of the program provides easy scheduling and the ability to send key presses to application dialog boxes. The Professional version offers support for additional actions as well as support.

Windows 2000 Server

Prior to Active Directory, the main way for users to locate shared resources was by browsing the network. But its introduction offered administrators the added capability to publish shares in Active Directory.

This ability enables administrators to better organize shares and make them more easily accessible to users. Users can search Active Directory for the shares, using additional search options not available when simply browsing the network.

Publishing a share in Active Directory is a simple matter. First, start by sharing the folder. After you've configured NTFS permissions on the folder you want to share, right-click the folder, choose Sharing, select the Share This Folder option, and click OK.

Next, go to the Administrative Tools folder, and open the Active Directory Users And Computers console. In Active Directory, locate the organizational unit (OU) where you want to publish the share. Or, you can create a new OU in which to publish the share.

When you've identified the OU where you want to publish the share, right-click the OU, and choose New | Shared Folder. In the New Object--Shared Folder dialog box, enter a name for the share in the Name field. Enter the UNC path to the shared folder in the Network Path field, and click OK.