SUA / Interix / SFU / NFS FAQs

The following FAQ's relate to Microsoft's Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix, Services for Unix (SFU), and Microsoft's NFS Server & Client. These questions and issues have come up in the SUA Community Forum and in e-mails sent to us. We hope you find them useful. If these answers don't do it for you, feel free to ask for clarification in the Forum. (Please quote the FAQ number in your post).
Special thanks to Rodney Ruddock for compiling this list of frequent questions and common issues.

Read First

The questions and answers apply to all versions of Interix, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA), Services for Unix (SFU) and NFS unless the question/answer specifically details it is only about a certain version.
If you are unsure where to start with the FAQ then start with entry 1.00 because it's good general information to start with.

FAQ Meta Index

1. Installation FAQ's for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix and SFU
   Including VIDEO links!
2. User FAQ's for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix and SFU
3. Administrative FAQ's for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix and SFU
4. Developer FAQ's for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix and SFU
5. Windows Interop FAQs
6. NFS Server and NFS Client FAQ's for Microsoft Windows
7. Software Availablility Questions About Interix, SUA & SFU
8. Other Questions
9. MYTHS and Incorrect Information

On-line Manual Pages

You may also be interesting in reading our on-line manual pages (aka man pages).

FAQ Index

Installation FAQs
1.00 - Version/Release Information for Interix, SUA, SFU
1.01 - SUA & SFU (Interix) installation suggestions
1.01a - Where is the download for Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2 (SUA/Interix 6.1) for the Utilities and SDK?
1.01b - Are there more detailed or VIDEO installation instructions for the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA)?
1.01b2 - Is there a command line to install Subsystem for Unix-based Applications?
1.01c - Is there a detailed overview of the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications and Interix ?
1.01d - Which versions of Windows will Interix, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA) and Services for Unix (SFU) run on?
1.01d - Is Windows XP 64-bit supported for Interix/SFU?
1.02 - Cannot connect to Interix subsystem, Interix will not start
1.02 - Terminal (ksh or csh) does not respond
1.03 - Setuid at install or after?
1.04 - Installing /Tools packages
1.04b - I'm not allow FTP access. Are the Bundles available by HTTP?
1.05 - I tried to install package XXXX and it failed
1.06 - Can't find package "env_XXX-bin.tgz" when installing another package
1.07 - I'm behind a firewall / I use an FTP Proxy
1.08 - Can I save the packages locally and install them?
1.09 - I'm not allowed to use FTP
1.10 - How can I avoid always typing "ftp://ftp.interopsystems.com/pkgs/3.5"
1.11 - Is there a GUI I can use to manage application packages instead of the shell command line?
1.12 - Don't use Windows Explorer (Win32 File Explorer) for file permissions
1.13 - How do I turn filesystem Case Sensitivity ON after installation?
1.14 - Are there updates or Hotfixes available ?
1.15 - How can I tell which version of the subsystem am I running?
1.16 - How do I tell the release or version of Interix (SFU or SUA) I'm running?

User FAQs
2.01 - Pathnames with spaces 2.02 - Can I run a BSD/Linux/AIX/etc. binary using Interix?
2.03 - Xterm "-e" not working
2.04 - Running X11 programs
2.05 - What is the "interix" terminal?
2.06 - The "interix" terminal type is not recognized when I telnet.
2.07 - I'm running on a new machine and my program core dumps (segmentation violation), but it's fine on other machines.
2.07a - Bash dumps core or does SEGV when I try to use it.
2.08 - What is this file ".netrc" about?
2.09 - What are the application packages that have been updated most recently or are new?
2.10 - How do I set tab completion with 'ksh'?
2.11 - Can I access files greater than 2G?
2.12 - How can I get 'ftp' to do proxy?
2.13 - Cpio isn't handling symbolic links
2.14 - On non-English systems csh/tcsh scripts are crashing
2.15 - Need an update of utility/library

Administrative FAQs
3.01 - Running a command without a windows opening
3.02 - What is "$$psxjunk"?
3.03 - How do I change my default shell?
3.04 - Setting the principal domain
3.05 - What shells are available with SFU/Interix?
3.06 - Using Clearcase with Interix shows some problems.
3.07 - I can't find the /etc/passwd and/or the /etc/group file. What's up?
3.08 - How can I verify what a user's home directory is in the user database?
3.09 - How do I properly set a user's home directory?
3.10 - I'm running Windows 2000 and just installed SP1 and Interix won't run now.
3.11 - Administrator doing "su <user>" can't access network drive.
3.12 - Setuid Program(s) not working
3.13 - Which Registry Entries are important?
3.14 - Which Registry Entries can I Configure or Fix?
3.15 - How can I turn the Firewall off?
3.16 - Is S/KEY (or skey) available for Interix/SUA?
3.17 - How do I login using S/Key ?
3.18 - Why do I want to use S/Key with an SSH/OpenSSH connection?

Building / Developer FAQs
4.01 - Debugging Interix processes with gdb and WinDbg
4.02 - Using GNU's configure
4.03 - Is there a GUI for looking at manual (man) pages?
4.04 - Does Interix/SUA/SFU come with a compiler?
4.05 - I can't find the 'gcc', 'cc' and/or 'c89' compilers with my SFU installation. Where are they?
4.05a - 'c89' and 'cc': Explanation of these utilities?
4.05b - 'c89' and 'cc': update available?
4.05c - Can I build Win32 or Win32 binaries?
4.06 - I have a program that verifies a user's password to the content of /etc/passwd. How do I port this to Interix?
4.07 - Where is the GNU source code for what ships with SFU?
4.08 - Can I create a software package myself like in the /Tools Warehouse?
4.09 - When linking ""__res_state"" is not found
4.10 - Which C compilers are available?
4.11 - Which C++ can be used?
4.12 - Which FORTRAN compilers are available?
4.13 - Can gcc generate 64-bit binaries?
4.14 - How can I generate 64-bit binaries?
4.15 - Getting 32-bit c89/cc binaries on 64-bit machine
4.16 - Missing 64-bit libraries ?
4.17 - Is X11R7 available ?
4.18 - Any comments about HPC on Subsystem for Unix-based Applications ?
4.19 - How do I tell if a program uses shared libraries?
4.20 - How do I list the shared libraries a program uses?
4.21 - My shared library cannot be found for loading... help?
4.22 - Are 64-bit shared libraries available?
4.23 - On my 64-bit Interix/SUA where are the 32-bit shared libraries?
4.24 - I built a program and when I run it I get "__pctype_used" undefined
4.25 - Is the poll() API available?
4.25 - The poll() API doesn't seem to be working?
4.26 - Can I speed-up group lookups?
4.26 - The getgrnam and getgrgid function take a long time
4.27 - How can I do "inline" functions with c89/cc/MSVC ?

Windows Interop FAQs
5.01 - Accessing Win32 APIs
5.02 - Running Win32 programs from Interix “on the glass”
5.03 - Running Win32 programs from Interix "via telent/rlogin/ssh” or xterm
5.04 - Creating a desktop shortcut
5.05 - Junction points

Microsoft NFS Server & Client FAQ's
6.00 - Is there a white paper on NFS I can read?
6.01 - Which version of NFS is supported?
6.02 - Is NFS version 4 supporting yet?
6.03 - Does Microsoft NFS work with Unix, Linux, AIX, HP/UX, Sun Solaris, etc.?
6.04 - Windows File Explorer isn't refreshing my view of an NFS share.
6.05 - What is Gateway for NFS?
6.06 - Is Gateway for NFS still available?
6.07 - Which socket ports does NFS Client use?
6.08 - What is UNM (User Name Mapping) ?
6.09 - Should I implement UNM (user Name Mapping) or RFC2307 with AD ?
6.10 - What if I don't implement either UNM or RFC2307/AD ?

Software Availablility Questions About Interix, SUA & SFU
7.01 - Is a up-to-date 'sendmail' available?
7.01b - Can 'sendmail' be used fully on SUA / Interix?
7.02 - Is there is ssh / sftp / scp client available ?
7.02b - Can ssh do passwordless (aka public key exchange) login ?
7.03 - Does this OpenSSH work with SUN's Grid Engine?
7.04 - Is the bash and/or zsh shells available
7.05 - Is gzip, gzgrep, zgrep, zless, et al available?
7.06 - I'm try to use cc or c89 but it's giving errors and warnings
7.07 - How do I get ls to do colours/colors ?

Other Questions
8.01 - Are monkeys and chimpanzees the same thing?
8.02 - I'm an ISV using Interix and/or SUA. Can I post in the Forum?
8.03 - Can I post a commercial message in the Forum?

Installation FAQs for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications, Interix and SFU

1.00 - Version/Release Information for Interix, SUA, SFU

Microsoft Windows currently is available for installation on 32-bit and 64-bit CPU systems. The 32-bit Windows can be installed on the 32-bit and the 64-bit CPU systems (but the 32-bit runs as 32-bit). When you install Interix/SUA/SFU you must match the Windows bit size with the bit size of the Utilities and SDK. There are a several different chip manufacturers but only a few installation package variations of the Utilities and SDK are needed.

 †  - 64-bit includes all 64-bit CPU's Windows supports*.
 ‡  - Distribution of SFU 3.5 ends in 2009 with standard support ending in 2011 and extended support ending in 2014.
 *  - Windows XP 64-bit is not supported (see entry 1.01c below).

 † - This includes "authenticamd", "genuineintel", and "EMT64". These are all the generic "x64" chips (sometimes referred to as "x86_64" in configure scripts).

1.01 - SUA & SFU 3.5 Utilities & SDK Installation Suggestions

When you are installing Subsystem for Unix-based Applications Utilities or Services for UNIX 3.5 we suggest that you select the "Custom" install choice. When presented with the additional selections to install choose the GNU Utilities. This will add a couple more useful utilities, but more importantly it will installed the shared library tools. This is helpful to get some of the packages in the "Tool Warehouse" running.
If you are a developer you should also choose to install both the Interix SDK and GNU SDK. This will also load the shared library runtime tools.
When the appropriate box appears asking if you would like "Case Sensitive Pathnames" active and "Setuid Binaries" active select both boxes. By selecting both boxes you will get the best UNIX behavior. 
Do not install SFU 3.5 under an absolute junction point; you may install under a relative junction point, but we recommend you avoid this. For SUA, don't worry, it is installed in a good location automatically and you can't change it to a bad location.
If you are installing on Windows 2003 you should use the SFU 3.5 download from November, 2004 because it has a fix.
If you have SP1 for 2003 you will need to obtain Hotfix Q899522 from MS Support/PSS (it's free, but you still have to get it from PSS). Q899522 corrects a system problem with shell scripts executing/completing. Also refer to notes below about DEP."

1.01a - Where is the download for Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2 (SUA/Interix 6.1) for the Utilities and SDK?

For Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/R2 (aka SUA/Interix 6.1) the http link to the download location for the Utilities and SDK is correctly located at:

            http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139521

1.01b - Are there more detailed or VIDEO installation instructions for the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA)?

Yes there are three excellent installation references: a white paper and two videos:

• White paper: Install Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA)
• VIDEO #1: SUA Installation VIDEO
• VIDEO #2: SUA After / Post Installation VIDEO

1.01b-2 Is there a command line to install Subsystem for Unix-based Applications?

To install just the subsystem plus the Start Menu entries you can run the command:

        servermanagercmd -install Subsystem-Unix-Apps

        start /w pkgmgr /l:suain.etw /iu:SUA

Please note that this does not install the Utilities & SDK. You still need to do that separately as the download and install. You can install the Utilieis & SDK from the command line too. The following example will install everything except Perl (you should install the update from the Tool Warehouse because it is more upo-to-date and has more functionality) and the System V utilities (most people don't want to install them). A caveat is that SetUid and case-sensitive registry entries may not get set correctly (as with the GUI).

        msiexec /i  ADDLOCAL=BaseUtils,BaseSDK,GNUUTILS,GNUSDK,VSAddin /L*v C:\my_sua_log.log

1.01c - Is there a detailed overview of the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications and Interix ?

A very large breadth-wise paper is in our SUA Articles section named Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA): Orientation for Users, Administrators and Developers. A long title but it originally covered 41 printed pages!

You will also want to watch the video SUA After / Post Installation VIDEO to provide a good overview too.

1.01d - Which versions of Windows will Interix, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA) and Services for Unix (SFU) run on?

1.01d - Is Windows XP 64-bit supported for Interix/SFU ?

There are a number of different version releases of Interix, SUA and SFU. Some of these versions are fairly old now, so this is not an exhaustive list. However, this list covers the versions that are currently supported.

• Interix/SFU 3.0: NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Interix/SFU 3.5: Windows 2000, Windows 2000-SP3, Windows 2000-SP4, Server 2003 (not R2), Windows XP -- 32 bit systems only
• Interix/SUA 5.2: Windows Server 2003/R2 (32 and 64 bit)
• Interix/SUA 6.0: Windows Vista (Ultimate & Enterprise editions), Server 2008 -- 32 and 64 bit systems
• Interix/SUA 6.1: Windows 7 (Ultimate & Enterprise Editions) and Server 2008/R2 -- 32 & 64 bit systems

Older versions of Interix will run on older versions of Windows/NT. If you are using Interix 3.0 we recommend you update to Interix/SFU 3.5 since it is a free upgrade. If you are running Interix 2.2 on the older DEC Alpha hardware you will have to stay at Interix 2.2.

Windows XP 64-bit is not supported for Interix/SFU. Windows XP 64-bit was a working concept; not everything was implemented in the kernel for supporting the Interix subsystem. For 64-bit support you will have to use one of the systems listed above.

1.02 - Cannot connect to Interix/SUA subsystem, Interix/SUA will not start

1.02 - Terminal (ksh or csh) does not respond

After an upgrade to Interix 3.5 or with a new installation you encounter a problem with Interix starting. The most common reason is that a security script has been run at some point that disallows any subsystem from starting other than the Win32 subsystem. This can be corrected by resetting the registry key:

    HKLM->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems\Posix

to "%SystemRoot%\system32\psxss.exe"
and the registry key

    HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems\Optional 

to "Posix".
Then reboot the system. If you are on Windows 2003 refer to the note in FAQ 1.01 also.

Note: Some systems have disabled the subsystem in their Security Policy.  It doesn't happen often, but can be worth checking if the suggestions above don't resolve the problem. Under "Control Panel" -> "Administrative Tools" ->"Local Security Policy" -> "Local Policies" -> Security Options" -> "System Settings: Optional Subsystems" make sure that "Posix" is listed as an optional subsystem. If it is missing then add it and reboot the system. Note: The exact naming of each of the menu items varies between Windows versions, but will be similar.

There is also a web page describing all of the Registry Entries in the SUA/Interix Articles section.

1.03 - Setuid at install or after?

We recommend that during installation you select the box of enabling "setuid behavior". There are several programs that work best with setuid behavior being active (ssh/sshd for example). If you need to change it after you have installed, then you can through the registry editor. Go to the key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Services for UNIX\EnableSetuidBinaries and set the value to 1 to turn on; set the value to 0 (zero) to it turn off.

1.04 - Installing /Tools packages

You may install the software packages in two ways: by individually selecting software packages, or by installing a Bundle that includes most packages at once.

1. To install individual packages from the /Tools Warehouse (which are available via ftp) you need to install the installer. The installer comes as a package for people upgrading to a newer version; the installer can update itself. For people who have freshly installed SFU, the installer will need to be 'bootstrapped' onto the machine. There is a special shell script to do this. Current instructions for bootstrapping the installer are located at the top of the Tool Warehouse web page.
2. Alternatively you may install one of the software Bundles that contain many of the most common packages from Main Page.

1.04b - I'm not allow FTP access. Are the Bundles available by HTTP?

Yes, you can download the bundles via HTTP by visiting our simplified web page for downloading Bundles by HTTP. Please note that the preferred method is still by FTP since the HTTP site may not always be available.

1.05 - I tried to install package XXXX and it failed

Be sure that you are using the "pkg_update" utility since it is the easiest to use. Check that you spelled the package name correctly. Also check that you provided the '-L' option. Typos happen.  Before installing the installer you must have already installed Microsoft Services for UNIX (Interix/SFU) 3.5 or Interix/SUA (Subsystem for Unix-based Applications).

You can download SFU freely from the SFU 3.5 download page then follow our suggestions in FAQ 1.01. Please note that the download will cease to be available some time in 2009.

1.06 - Can't find package "env_XXX-bin.tgz" when installing another package

You likely downloaded just the packages you wanted to install instead of letting the pkg_update utility work out the details for you. We always recommend you use pkg_update whenever possible so this error does not happen. Otherwise you need to download this "env_XXX-bin.tgz" package too into the same directory as your other packages. Then try to install again.
Packages at /Tools that need a common action to be taken during an installation depend on another package. This reduces errors and the amount of clutter on your machine.

1.07 - I'm behind a firewall / I use an FTP Proxy

The ftp utility is used to transfer packages from the ftp site to your machine. You can set ftp to work with an FTP Proxy server by setting the environment variable "ftp_proxy" to the URL of your FTP Proxy server. You will find this information on the ftp manual page.

1.08 - Can I save the packages locally and install them?

1.09 - I'm not allowed to use FTP

Some people are not allow FTP access but are allowed HTTP access. It's silly because it has little to do with security. If you are trying to download one of our Bundles then you can visit our special web page downloading Bundles by HTTP.

Some people are at secure locations and are not allowed direct access to the /Tools FTP site or allowed to download by HTTP. You may be interested in ordering the Interop Toolworks CD instead. This CD will correctly install from itself all of the packages or just the packages that you choose. This CD is regularly accepted after going through a "clean room" check so that it may enter a facility. The Toolworks CD is updated regularly. If you have a special need please let us know so that we can help you. To obtain the Toolworks CD you will have to send us e-mail ("tools@interopsystems.com").

1.10 - How can I avoid always typing "ftp://ftp.interopsystems.com/pkgs/3.5"

Most sites have a more recent version of the installer now and can use the 'pkg_update' command (as always recommended). So for many people this FAQ entry may confuse more than help. However, if you are still using an older version of the installer:
You can set the environment variable PKG_PATH to this URL. Refer to the pkg_add manual page for more information. Or instead of using pkg_add you can use pkg_update to install or update packages (refer to the manual page).

1.11 - Is there a GUI I can use to manage application packages instead of the shell command line?

Yes, there is an X11 Tcl/Tk script that is part of the 'pkg' installer. You will need to have an X11 server for the GUI to be displayed. The GUI program is named 'tkpkg' and can be started from a shell command line. You will need to have the installer package ("pkg") and the Tk package already installed of course.

1.12 - Don't use Windows Explorer (Win32 File Explorer) for file permissions

Yes, this is correct.  Don't use Windows Explorer to change file/directory permissions for Interix-created files/directories unless you really know what you are doing.  If you are reading this FAQ entry for the first time, then you likely don't know what you are doing.  Windows Explorer will incorrectly changes the ACEs in the ACL and also change the order of the ACEs in the ACL.  File Explorer also knows nothing about setuid/setgid, character/block special files or symbolic links.  Windows Explorer is a very blunt tool. So just don't.  (This message is brought to you on behalf of members who have suffered the pain!)

1.13 - How do I turn filesystem Case Sensitivity ON after installation?

We always recommend you turn filesystem case sensitivity ON during installation. If you didn't (or couldn't because of an unattended installation) you can turn it on now by editing the registry. Go to the location

        HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\kernel

Also refer to the

1.14 - Are there updates or Hotfixes available ?

1.15 - How can I tell which version of the subsystem am I running?

    /dev/fs/C/WINNT/system32/PSXSS.EXE      8.0.1969.32
    /dev/fs/C/WINNT/system32/PSXDLL.DLL     8.0.1969.32
    /dev/fs/C/WINNT/system32/POSIX.EXE      8.0.1969.32
    /dev/fs/C/WINNT/system32/PSXRUN.EXE     8.0.1969.32
    /dev/fs/C/WINNT/system32/drivers/PSXDRV.SYS     8.0.1969.1

1.16 - How do I tell the release or version of Interix (SFU or SUA) I'm running?

    Interix squirtle 3.5 SP-8.0.1969.32 x86 Intel_x86_Family15_Model2_Stepping7

    Interix ponyta 6.0 10.0.6000.0 x86 AMD_x86_Family15_Model4_Stepping10

User FAQs

2.01 - Pathnames with spaces

2.02 - Can I run a BSD/Linux/AIX/etc. binary using Interix?

2.03 - Xterm "-e" not working

2.04 - Running X11 programs

Services for UNIX comes with X11R5 and X11R6 utilities and libraries. SFU does not come with a X-server to display the graphical output of these X11 utilities. You can set your "DISPLAY" environment variable to the name of a machine on your network to display the X11 utilities. If you would like to display X11 locally then you will need to purchase an X-server. There are several X-servers available. You should look for an X-server that will handle X11R6 (X11R6.6 is preferred since this is the best match). You can purchase an X-server from Interop Systems at the Products page.

There is an updated X11R6 set of libraries available from the Tool Warehouse that has a few bugs fixes and noticeable speed improvements from what ships from Microsoft. These are available for free, drop into place easily and are backward compatabile. The package can be cleanly uninstalled later if you wish.

For questions about X11R7 refer to the entry below (4.17 - Is X11R7 available?).

2.05 - What is the "interix" terminal?

2.06 - The "interix" terminal type is not recognized when I telnet.

2.07 - I'm running on a new machine and my program core dumps, but it's fine on other machines.

2.07a - Bash dumps core or does SEGV when I try to use it.

There can be two causes of this: 1) DEP (Data Execution Prevention), or 2) the core shared libraries have not been installed.

DEP solutions

For (1) you may either:

1. turn DEP off (aka the NX flag) or
2. install hotfix KB942312

The preferred solutions are the hotfix or the newer libdl since these do not turn DEP off.

DEP background information:
There are some programs, most notably 'gcc', that place some executable code in the stack. With DEP/NX on, these programs are stopped. With Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows 2003 SP1 this flag was turned on. This affects AMD and Intel 64-bit hardware in particular, but also 32-bit machines. A good write-up of DEP and controlling it can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2mempr.mspx
With 2003 SP1, in addition to DEP, there is a system problem with running shell scripts that is corrected with Hotfix Q899522 that can be obtained for free from Microsoft PSS/Support.

Core Shared Libraries Need Installing

For (2) you have not installed the shared libraries. The fix is to install the GNU utilities at installation. If you have already installed then you can restart the installation and have this component added without needing a full re-install.

2.08 - What is this file ".netrc" about?

2.09 - What are the application packages that have been

updated most recently or are new?

2.10 - How do I set tab completion with 'ksh'?

The short answer is "set -o vi-tabcomplete" at the command line or in your ".profile" in your home directory. For a longer answer read the 'ksh' manual page and search for "tabcomplete."

2.11 - Can I access files greater than 2G?

The current limit with Interix with version 3.5 is 2G for APIs that take or report in-file locations such as lseek() and stat(). With some slight of coding you can extend this to 4G with stat(). The read() and write() API's have no size limits per se. But all of the STDIO file APIs are limited to the 2G boundary because internal STDIO structures keep track of the file pointer location. The /Tools version of 'rcp' is an example of some "slight of coding" to avoid the 2G limit. 'rcp' can send up a file up to 4G outbound and accept inbound an unlimited size.

Future versions of Interix beyond version 3.5 do support large file sizes. However, currently, it is only available with the 64-bit versions of Vista, Windows 2008/R2, WIndows 2008, Windows 7 & Windows 2003/R2 (not XP, 2000, or 2003).

2.12 - How can I get 'ftp' to do proxy?

Refer to the 'ftp' man page and look for "ftp_proxy". "Ftp_proxy" is an environment variable that you can set to have 'ftp' go through an FTP proxy server. An example is:

    export ftp_proxy=http://192.168.1.234        {with sh/ksh/bash}
or
    setenv ftp_proxy http://192.168.1.234        {with csh/tcsh}

where 192.168.1.234 is the IP Address of the proxy.

2.13 - Cpio isn't handling symbolic links

There is a minor bug in one of the system calls for Interix version 3.0 that causes symbolic links to not be handled correctly when using cpio to write or read an archive. The updated cpio in the /Tools warehouse works around this small difficulty. So we recommend you update to using this version of cpio.

More recent versions of Interix/SUA have the bug corrected and this should not be an issue.

2.14 - On non-English systems csh/tcsh scripts are crashing

Version 6.08.03 of tcsh/csh ships with SFU 3.0 and 3.5.
It has been reported several times about scripts crashing on non-English systems (that's the only relationship we can see).
If you install the current /Tools version of tcsh this will correct the problem. You can see the tcsh version by typing:

        % echo $version

2.14b - Is it safe to install your tcsh/csh?

Yes, it is safe to install our version of tcsh/csh on your system. I did the first build of tcsh for OpenNT (as Interix and SUA were called then) and was the first user. I use tcsh every day as my preferred shell (my BSD roots are firm). I also contributed the initial SJIS code of tcsh. The Microsoft version of tcsh is based on the version built here.

2.15 - Need an update of utility/library

If you need a newer version of a utility or library for Interix you may find that it is already available in the /Tools warehouse (link at top of page). Alternatively you can make a request to us about your needs. Requests are added to our great "to do" list. If an update is very important you can become a sponsor for the project. Examples of sponsored packages are gnuplot and Xview. If you prefer the package to be privately available to you only, this can be arranged.

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Administrative FAQs

3.01 - Running a command without a windows opening

3.02 - What is "$$psxjunk"?

3.03 - How do I change my default shell?

3.04 - Setting the principal domain

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Services for UNIX\PrincipalDomain

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SUA\PrincipalDomain

3.05 - What shells are available with SFU/Interix?

3.06 - Using Clearcase with Interix shows some problems.

    $ export PATH="${PATH}:/dev/fs/C/Program Files/Clearcase/bin"

3.07 - I can't find the /etc/passwd and/or the /etc/group file. What's up?

3.08 - How can I verify what a user's home directory is in the user database?

3.09 - How do I properly set a user's home directory?

The correct solution is to add a home directory for each user in the user database. Having the "HOME" environment variable is not enough for most applications for security reasons (it's too easy too spoof the user account). For using ssh you must set a home directory in the user database. The same is true for using rsh and rlogin as well as running any login or startup shells scripts on a per user basis (these shells include ksh, csh/tcsh, bash and zsh).

For users with an Domain account:
You'll need to open Active Directory (AD) for Users & Groups for a Domain. Then find the user and open the Properties Panel for that user. Go to the Profile tab and set the home directory. You set it in Win32 syntax or UNC syntax. This path will be translated by the system during the API call(s) to UNIX syntax. We recommend that you set the home directory with a UNC path. This allows for easy access by all machines across the network without the filesystem being mounted to a specific drive letter.

For local user accounts:
If you are using a stand-alone machine or an account that is only local to a particular machine (not a domain account) then from the Control Panel start the Computer Management application. Similar to the above instructions, open the property panel for the user and change the home directory on the profile tab. Enter the path in Win32 syntax. The path will have be a local path (not a network path).

3.10 - I'm running Windows 2000 and just installed SP1 and Interix won't run now.

There is a hotfix available from Microsoft for this. You need to contact Microsoft support (aka PSS, Professional Support Services) to get the hotfix. You should be able to get it without a service charge, but Microsoft likes to keep track of hotfix distribution. The most current CD image that installs SFU has been updated to include this fix. So newer installations on Windows 2000 with SP1 should not be affected.

3.11 - Administrator doing "su <user>" can't access network drive.

With Interix three user accounts have a power very similar to Unix "root": System, Domain Administrator and local administrator. These accounts have the power to create a process with a security token of any user without a password (just like Unix "root"). But the security token is limited to the local machine and the local machine's filesystems. By default if you are Administrator and do "su" to a user you will not be asked for a password and therefore will not have access to remote filesystems. If you update to the Tool Warehouse "su" you can use the "-p" option to always ask for a password. With a password a security token will be create that allows for remote filesystem access as that user.

3.12 - Setuid program(s) not working

With Interix 5.2 (SUA on W2K3/R2) sometime the installation will not properly put the information on disk for setuid files (files that execute as the owner of the file). This results in the setuid files/programs not running and an error being reported.
This does not happen with most Interix 5.2 installations.
The fix is to remove the setuid bit on the file(s) and then re-apply the setuid bit. To do this correctly you must do this as the local Administrator; no other user will do since it must run as the local Administrator to work correctly.
It should work fine after that. Sample:

        % chmod -s /bin/regpwd
        % chmod +s 
        /bin/regpwd

3.13 - Which Registry Entries are important?

3.14 - Which Registry Entries can I Configure or Fix?

The most complete information on which Registry Entries are important or can be configured are described in the article Registry Entries on Interix and Subsystem for Unix-based Applications. You will want to read this article if something has changed the behavior of Interix/SUA or the subsystem is not booting.

3.15 - How can I turn the Firewall off?

The Windows firewall can be annoying at times. It can regularly get turned on and then have the GUI grey-out the ability to turn it off. You can issue a command from the shell (CMD.EXE or a Unix shell).

    netsh.exe firewall set service mode=disable type=all
or
    /dev/fs/C/Windows/System32/netsh.exe firewall set service mode=disable type=all

3.16 - Is S/KEY (or skey) available for Interix/SUA?

Yes, an skey package has been available for several years now. It is administered the same as on BSD systems. Manual pages come with the installation. An updated login comes with the package so that telnet and other remote connection utilities can use S/Key. The openssh package is built to use S/Key too.

    ssh fred:skey@somemachine

Building / Developer FAQs

4.01 - Debugging Interix processes with gdb and WinDbg

You can also use the 'truss' command to help debug a process. The truss utility outputs a list of actions that that happen when the program requests things to be done outside of user space. Examples are opening a file, calling fork() and reading from a file. This can be a great way to narrow down where a problem is before starting the debugger. Also, since the debugger itself sometimes will correct a problem so it doesn't appear, truss may help you narrow it down.

The gdb debugger is currently only capable of working with 32-bit objects. For 64-bit objects you will have to use WinDbg after compiling with cc or c89 plus the '-g' option for creating debuggable code.

4.02 - Using GNU's configure

When using GNU's configure script to configure a build environment for an application it is suggested that you set the following environment variables before running configure.

        CFLAGS="-D_ALL_SOURCE -D_REENTRANT"
        CPPFLAGS="-D_ALL_SOURCE -D_REENTRANT -I/usr/local/include"
	LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib"

If you have the newer BIND installed (see entry 4.09) you will want to have configure use this BIND since it has more functions and seems to be faster than the subsystem calls. In this case the environment variables should be set as:

        CFLAGS="-D_ALL_SOURCE -D_REENTRANT"
        CPPFLAGS="-D_ALL_SOURCE -D_REENTRANT -I/usr/local/bind/include -I/usr/local/include"
	LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib -lbind"

Then you can run configure with the options you want active (or inactive) for that software package. Many softare packages have started using the more modern poll() API instead of the select() API (technical comparison left for entry 4.25 below). The poll() API exists but should not be used. Therefore can deactivate it getting used by configure with the "ac_cv_func_poll=no" addition:

        ./configure ac_cv_func_poll=no

If you are running configure on an Interix/SUA 64-bit system you should install the most current c89 (see FAQ entry 4.05b because to build 64-bit you need to use c89/cc. Also shared libraries cannot be built in 64-bit at this time so you should disable shared library building. An example is:

        ./configure ac_cv_func_poll=no --disable-shared

If GNU's configure complains that the type of system is not recognized then you need to update the file "config.guess." Some applications have multiple copies of "config.guess" so be sure to find all of them. You can find them using the command:

        find . -name config.guess

An updated "config.guess" can be downloaded from "ftp://ftp.interopsystems.com/pub/config.guess" if you need it.

You may also need to update your LD_LIBRARY_FLAGS if you are using shared object libraries (DSOs), but this is likely already done for you if you have installed a /Tools packaged library. Also reference the FAQ entries 4.19 to 4.21.

4.03 - Is there a GUI for looking at manual (man) pages?

Yes. You will need to have an X11 server for the GUI to be displayed. The 'tkman' program is part of the 'tkman' package available from the /Tools warehouse. It allows you to expand and collapse subsections of a man page and to follow links/references.

4.04 - Does Interix/SUA/SFU come with a compiler?

SUA/Interix comes with the ability to use MSVC and gcc/g++. The gcc compiler comes with the SUA/Interix installation when you select from the Custom install option. Note that BOTH the Interix SDK and the GNU SDK must be installed. The MSVC compiler is a separate download that is now free. It is recommended that you have MSVC installed before installing SUA/Interix, but you can do it after. You need to have at least the Interix SDK installed. The utilities cc and c89 are used to control MSVC compiling programs. You can get more information on downloading MSVC from: http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/.

Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (Interix) is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems starting from Windows 2003/R2 forward. However, at this time the gcc compiler and hence the gdb debugger are only available for creating 32-bit objects. 32-bit programs can be run on the 64-bit systems. To create 64-bit objects you will need to use the MSVC 64-bit compiler. On the 64-bit systems cc and c89 are set to use the 64-bit MSVC. See FAQ entries 4-13 to 4.15 for more information.

4.05 - I can't find the 'gcc', 'cc' and/or 'c89' compilers with my SUA/Interix/SFU installation. Where are they?

You likely just installed the default selection of components. At installation time you should have also selected both the "Interix SDK" and "Interix GNU SDK" components from the Custom Installation. Now that you have SUA/Interix installed you can add these components to the current installation by starting the SFU installation again. The SUA installer will see that you have already done an installation and ask if you want to add/remove components.
Check the boxes in the tree-like list of components for *both* the "Interix SDK" and "Interix GNU SDK." This will install all of the developer tools and manual pages including 'gcc', 'cc' and 'c89'.

4.05b - 'c89' and 'cc': update available?

The c89 and cc utilities were first written for OpenNT 2.0 (OpenNT was the original name for Interix). As new releases have happened updates have happened to match MSVC changes, to extend functionality and to extend compatability. Microsoft has contracted us to update c89 a couple of times and to make the update available for everyone.

You can install the most recent update of c89 and cc in the package named c89 with the command:

        pkg_update -L c89

We have made the c89 updates available for all currently supported versions of Interix (Services for Unix & Subsystem for Unix-based Applications). Some of the newer extensions we have added have been to accept or deal with many gcc options that many build scripts use by default.

4.05c - Can I build Win32 or Win32 binaries?

Yes, you can build Win32 or Win64 binaries using the wcc utility. This allows you to use a Unix/Linux build environment (scripts, utilities, etc.) to build Win32/Win64 programs and DLL's.

Originally the wcc utility was stand-alone. The most reccent version has been merged with the c89/cc script in the c89 package. When you read the c89, cc or wcc manual page you will see that the information for all of them is the same page.

4.06 - I have a program that verifies a user's password to the content of /etc/passwd. How do I port this to Interix?

Use the API setuser() instead. One of the flags you can pass to the setuser() API is SU_CHECK to verify a password. When you want to actually change the user we recommend you use setuser() with the SU_COMPLETE flag rather than a set of setuid(), seteuid(), setgid() and setegid() API calls because it is faster and with create a better security token.

4.07 - Where is the GNU source code for what ships with SUA / SFU?

4.08 - Can I create a software package myself like in the /Tools Warehouse?

4.09 - When linking ""__res_state"" is not found

You are compiling/linking software that has been built against a more recent version of the BIND library than what ships with SFU 3.5. You should install the BIND 9 package from the /Tools Warehouse. Then ensure that "-I/usr/local/bind/include" is part of the compile line and that "-L/usr/local/lib" and "-lbind" are part of the link line.

4.10 - Which C compilers are available?

There are four different compilers available:

• gcc - comes with the distribution
• Visual C - available from Microsoft
• PGI C - available from PGI
• Intel C - available from Intel

4.11 - Which C++ can be used?

We'd recommend you stick with using g++ which is part of the gcc suite. It keeps you portable with most Unix and Linux systems.

4.12 - Which FORTRAN compilers are available?

There are two FORTRAN compilers available. One is PGI FORTRAN and the other is Intel FORTRAN. Both will create SUA/Interix binaries.

4.13 - Can gcc generate 64-bit binaries?

The gcc compiler with all versions of Interix/SFU/SUA can only generate 32-bit binaries, even on the 64-bit machines.
The 64-bit machines can still run these 32-bit binaries without a problem. There is no plan that we currently know about for 64-bit-izing gcc with Interix though we have made proposals to Microsoft and many users have asked Microsoft as well. Go ahead and encourage Microsoft :-)

4.14 - How can I generate 64-bit binaries?

You can generate 64-bit binaries on Interix/SUA (from versions 5.2 and forward) using the c89/cc compiler which, under the covers, uses MSVC. You need to have a version of MSVC that supports 64-bit such as version 8.0 (aka 2005).

4.15 - Getting 32-bit c89/cc binaries on 64-bit machine

You have likely used the 32-bit compiler for cc rather than the 64-bit.
cc, as you know, uses MSVC. When MSVC is installed, not all versions of MSVS/MSVC install the 64-bit compiler (even if you are on a 64-bit machine). In other words, you may not have it installed. So you need to double-check.
The other thing is that the default path will find the 32-bit first.
You need to modify your PATH to have the 64-bit version of MSVC be found first. If you look in, for example, "/dev/fs/C/MSVS8/VC/bin" all of the binaries there are for 32-bit compiling. The sub-directory of "bin" named "amd64" has the 64-bit-producing binaries for the compiler for AMD64 and EM64T (aka authenticamd and genuineintel respectively). It is similar for IA64 systems.

4.16 - Missing 64-bit libraries ?

On the 64-bit release of Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (aka Interix 6.0) not all of the libraries that ship from Microsoft with the 32-bit systems are available. This can cause problems for some people (no surprise).
We do have available several of these missing 64-bit libraries such as librcplib (the RCP library) and others. Currently the X11 libs are only available in 32-bit because no one has told us they *need* them.

4.17 - Is X11R7 available ?

Currently X11R6 and X11R5 ship from Microsoft. We have available an updated release of X11R6 that has performance improvements (similar to our performance improvements for libm the math library). We did a port of X11R7.1 but it (not Interix / SUA) had problems with its locking order and was not usable except for a few applications. The X11R7.4 libraries and include files are available as a package ("x11r7") from the Tool Warehouse.

4.18 - Any comments about HPC on Subsystem for Unix-based Applications ?

Sure, I'll comment :-)
I will recommend you use SUA / Interix over some of the alternatives because it is faster; faster for reading, faster for writing, way faster for fork()s and exec()s.
I will also recommend that you use the new libm (math library) we have available because it has sigificant performance improvements (especially for 64-bit) and many new math API's currently found on other Unix-like systems.
If you are using the 'gcc' compiler be sure to use the '-O2' or '-O3' option.
You may be insterested in knowing that the Sun / Solaris Grid Engine project has a build available for Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA).
There are quite a few members of SUA Community who do HPC or related work. A few have worked at getting newer versions of 'gcc' ported to support HPC work. Search the forums for more information on this.

4.19 - How do I tell if a program uses shared libraries?

There are a few ways ways to tell if a program uses shared libraries. The easiest is to use the file utility. It will tell you the type of binary the program is plus some other useful information. There is a manual page will all the information for you to read ("man file"). Here are a couple of examples below -- the first is a static program and the second program uses shared libraries:

    % file /bin/ed
    /bin/ed: Windows NT, PE format, executable, static, stripped, Interix-CUI, no debug info, Intel x86
    %
    % file /usr/local/bin/rsync
    /usr/local/bin/rsync: Windows NT, PE format, Interix dynamic shared library, Interix-CUI, debug info, Intel x86

4.20 - How do I list the shared libraries a program uses?

If the program uses shared libraries you can get a list from the output of the objdump command with the right options. Additional information will be output at the same time so you may want to filter it with egrep to control the information volume. Here's an example:

    % objdump -p /usr/local/bin/rsync | egrep "NEEDED|RPATH"
      NEEDED      libiconv.so.2
      NEEDED      libc.so.3.5

In the example above there is no RPATH information for rsync. This means that to find the shared libraries at load-time the loader (ld.so) will use its pre-set paths plus the paths listed in the environment variable LD_LIBRARY_PATH. When RPATH is specified then these paths will be search first (and often more successfully).

4.21 - My shared library cannot be found for loading... help?

Shared libraries are loaded by the program ld.so in a specific order. The order is the list output from the objdump command. The shared libraries are found by ld.so by searching paths listed in the following order: RPATH, internal list, and LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The ld.so loader that ships from Microsoft has an internal list that of one path only: "/usr/lib". The ld.so loader that ships from here (SUA Community, aka /Tools) is an update that has an internal list of "/usr/lib", "/usr/local/lib" and "/usr/local/ssl/lib"; on the 64-bit systems even more subdirectoies are searched. Further, you can add internal paths to the new ld.so using the ldconfig utility. With no surprise, we recommend you install the newer version. The new version is in the software package "libdl".

You can set RPATH with your program using the option "-rpath {path}" when you are compiling your program. You can also add more paths to the environment variable LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The only difficulty with using LD_LIBRARY_PATH is that daemons (aka services) do not have the LD_LIBRARY_PATH available because of the way they get started. It's best to install the package libdl to get the newer ld.so and have anyone using your software do the same.

4.22 - Are 64-bit shared libraries available?

At this time only 32-bit shared libraries are available because there is not currently a 64-bit generating version of gcc (or to be more precise the linker). Static 64-bit libraries are available.

4.23 - On my 64-bit Interix/SUA where are the 32-bit shared libraries?

On 64-bit Interix and Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA) 64-bit static libraries will be found in the tradtional locations (/usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, etc.). Both 32-bit shared and static libraries can be found in subdirectoies of the traditional locations named "x86". So "/usr/lib/x86" contains many of the 32-bit libraries on a 64-bit system.

32-bit programs (and their 32-bit libraries) can be used to run or build 32-bit programs on a 64-bit system. The library packages available from here (SUA Community, aka /Tools) for 64-bit systems contain the 64-bit libraries and the 32-bit libraries. Unfortunately not all packages have 64-bit versions yet (various reasons) so you may have to use a 32-bit package. Those 32-bit packages will place shared libraries in the traditional location rather than the subdir 'x86'. This is not a problem or an error. You should have the newer ld.so loader installed from the updated libdl package (in the Tool Warehouse) that handles all the different locations that shared libraries can be found. If the newer ld.so doesn't handle one of your locations you can configure it using ldconfig.

4.24 - I built a program and when I run it I get "__pctype_used" undefined

There is a patch that can be applied before you do the final link for your program to help clear this up. If you install the package gcc_3.3_patch it will modify the gcc 3.3 files for you to link with the "libcompat30" library.

The "__pctype_used" is an older reference from the Interix 3.0 days. To maintain "backward compatability" it is an unresolved reference in a few of the shared libraries still. It seems the Microsoft build of 'curses' still references __pctype_used. The best thing to do is install the newer 'curses' library from here since it is clear of this problem (pkg_update -L ncurse).

4.25 - Is the poll() API available?

4.25 - The poll() API doesn't seem to be working?

You should not use the poll() API with Interix for the currently released versions. The poll() API is available but is only correctly functional for the process file system. You should not use it in with your programs or libraries. If you are building a program using 'configure' (see FAQ entry 4.02) you should disable it using the poll() API.

If you do try to use the poll() API your program will block on the API call forever. You must direct your program to build using the select() API.

During the development of the version Interix code named "Firebrand" the poll() API was implemented to support only the process file system. This was to support the gdb debugger specifically. The intension (by the developer) was to complete poll() system-wide for the next minor release. This work was done at Softway Systems in 1998. In 1999 Microsoft acquired Interix but not all of the developers. Microsoft released Firebrand 3 years later (with some minor changes) as Interix 3.0 (a component of Service for Unix; SFU). Additional functionality has been added by Microsoft over the years since then (such as Pthreads), but poll() has not been completed. We have poll() on the "list of things" we'd like enhanced by Microsoft and we send this in regularly to Microsoft. You are encouraged to let Microsoft know of your enhancement requests too (more voices!).

4.26 - Can I speed-up group lookups?

4.26 - The getgrnam, getgrgid & getgrent functions take a long time

When your machine is part of a domain that has tens of thousands of users a lookup for a group may take a very long time when you ask for information about a group that has many users. Typically this happens with the API's getgrnam, getgrgid and getgrent. The POSIX and SUS Standards, and traditional Unix behavior, has these API's returning the name and GID for the group as well as every user that is a member of this group.

Many programs do not require a list of every user in a group. Many programs only require that the name or GID matching the GID or name provided. The extra overhead of obtaining every user in the group is unneeded. On Interix this is addressed with the "_nomember" (pronounced "bar-no-member") function extensions: getgrnam_nomember, getgrgid_nomember and getgrent_nomember. There is a manual page for these API's. The performance improvement can be notable on systems with only a few dozens users. The _nomember API's have been available since OpenNT/Interix 2.0.

4.27 - How can I do "inline" functions with c89/cc/MSVC ?

With existing source that you have that is gcc friendly you already specify inline functions with the syntax "inline". If you are trying to use or must use (on 64-bit builds) c89 or cc which use MSVC (Microsoft Visual C) then you need to change to use the syntax "__inline". That's two (2) leading underscores. To keep your code portable it's best to conditionalize the source code with #ifdef or similar guards. This code snippet is a good example:

    static
    #ifdef _MSC_VER
    __inline
    #else /* _MSC_VER */
    inline
    #endif /* _MSC_VER */
    int myspecial(char *alpha, int beta)

Windows Interop FAQs

5.01 - Accessing Win32 API's

5.02 - Running Win32 programs from Interix "on the glass"

5.03 - Running Win32 programs from Interix via telnet, rlogin, ssh or xterm

5.04 - Creating a desktop shortcut

5.05 - Junction points

Yes, there are a couple of white papers you can read. We recommend you visit our Learning Center to read them all. The key paper is "Implmenting and Configuring NFS on WIndows Server". There are several papers on directory and authentication services with AD and LDAP that will be informative there too.

6.02 - Is NFS version 4 supporting yet?

6.03 - Does Microsoft NFS work with Unix, Linux, AIX, HP/UX, Sun Solaris, etc.?

6.04 - Windows File Explorer isn't refreshing my view of an NFS share.

6.05 - What is Gateway for NFS?

6.06 - Is Gateway for NFS still available?

6.07 - Which socket ports does NFS Client use?

By default the Windows NFS client just uses sockets that are available. You must understand that WinSock is different from Unix (or Linux) sockets in that port 0 through 1024 are not reserved for "root" or secure types of communication. However, you can specify that a "secure range" of port numbers be used to interoperate with Unix / Linux machines better. Refer to the registry key:

    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Client for NFS\CurrentVersion\Default\UseReservedPorts

6.08 - What is UNM (User Name Mapping) ?

User Name Mapping (UNM) is method and tool used to map NFS UID's and GID's to Windows SID's. This is the implementation of Identity Management (IdMU) mentioned in FAQ 6.03 above. Recall that NFS sends Unix a Unix UID and/or GID with each NFS communications package for identification and permission purposes. The UID's and GID's are usually maintained by the system administrator to be unique within the network that the NFS fileystems are being served. Windows uses a SID (Security IDentifier) which is much larger (more bits) than a UID/GID and is unique by machine/domain. To mesh these two ID methods together UNM is used to map UID/GID's to SID's and the reverse.

UNM is available as part of Service for Unix (SFU) 3.0 and 3.5 which can run on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003 and Server 2003/R2. Server 2003/R2 is the last Windows release to support UNM. Replacing UNM starting with Server 2003/R2 is RFC2307 in Active Directory (AD).

6.09 - Should I implement UNM (user Name Mapping) or RFC2307 with AD ?

The answer is: it depends or both.

If you have NFS clients that are Windows 2000 and/or Windows XP systems then you will need to have a server that uses UNM.

If you have NFS Clients that are Windows Vista and/or Windows 7 systems then you will need to have a server that uses RFC2307 with Active Directory (AD).

Windows Server 2003/R2 allows you to implement either UNM or RFC2307, but not both at the same time. You can implement just UNM with Server 2003 or Windows XP using SFU 3.5. With Server 2008 and Server 2008/R2 you can implement just RFC2307.

6.10 - What if I don't implement either UNM or RFC2307/AD ?

If you do not implement UNM or RFC2307/AD then you will be reduced to anonymous access only. This usually results in access difficulties for which the recommended fix is to implement UNM or RFC2307/AD.

Software Availablility Questions About Interix, SUA & SFU

7.01 - Is an up-to-date 'sendmail' available?

Yes, the version available in the software bundles or by individual package is up-to-date for security fixes . There is a hotfix available from Microsoft, but it is now out-of-date (time march on). Our update also unifies the same version across all releases of Interix / SUA / SFU the same as 99% of our other software.

7.01b - Can 'sendmail' be used fully on SUA / Interix?

Absolutely! You can do everything with 'sendmail' on Interix / SUA that you can on any other Unix system. This gives you full 'sendmail' capabilities with the same behavior on a Windows system. This provides sendmail on Windows identical to Unix/Linux.

7.02 - Is there is ssh / sftp / scp client available ?

Yes, we have OpenSSH (and OpenSSL) ported to work with Interix and Subsystem for Unix-based Applications. We have been making this available for almost seven years now. The OpenSSH bundle is included in all of our bundles and can be installed individually. This provides OpenSSH on Windows.

Yes you can. Refer to our White Paper which has the details:
Configuring OpenSSH for Passwordless Login on Interix

You should do a test of logging-in using a password first to make sure the account is set-up correctly (i.e. you have created a home directory of this user specifically (x-ref: FAQ entry 3.09).

7.03 - Does this OpenSSH work with SUN's Grid Engine?

Yes it does. If you have specific questions about OpenSSH running on Interix and SUA post them in our Forum. If it's a Grid Engine question you best ask those folks :-)

7.04 - Is the bash and/or zsh shells available

Yes, both the 'bash' and 'zsh' shells are available. Both are included in all of the software bundles as well as being available for separate download as packages. This provides bash and zsh on Windows.

7.05 - Is gzip, gzgrep, zgrep, zless, et al available?

All of these compression / decompression utilities are available in the software Bundles. The gzip package includes gzip, gunzip and zcat. The gzgrep utility is available as zgrep. Also available are zdiff, zmore, znew, zforce and zless (instead of gzdiffm gzmore, gzless, etc.).

7.06 - I'm try to use cc or c89 but it's giving errors and warnings

Both cc and c89 are scripts to use Microsoft Visual C/C++ (aka MSVC). A lot of peoples already existing scripts, makefiles or other build tools have a lot of gcc-isms. This trips up the script that shipped with your version of Interix, SUA or SFU. An update is available for all releases from our Tool Warehouse to better handle more options and work better with newer versions of MSVC including the 64-bit releases.

7.07 - How do I get ls to do colours/colors ?

Install the ls package from the Tools Warehouse to start. If you have installed, or are going to install one of the software Bundles, the ls package is included.

When you use ls you can use the '-v' or '--colour' or '--color' option to cause. If you want to change the default colours used then you can set the environment variable LS_COLOURS or LS_COLOR with specific colour directives. The directives and an example are given on the ls manual page in the "ENVIRONMENT" section.

Other Questions

8.01 - Are monkeys and chimpanzees the same thing?

An interesting question that popular media has helped befuddle. But it has nothing to do with Interix, SFU, NFS, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA), IdMU. So you will have to consult the Jane Goodall Institue or Wikipedia. Sorry, but we try to keep the site focused.

8.02 - I'm an ISV using Interix and/or SUA. Can I post in the Forum?

We answer everyone's questions (or more correctly, we try). The better your knowledge, the better your product and the more people that use Interix and SUA. The more the better.

8.03 - Can I post a commercial message in the Forum?

If your commercial message has nothing to do with Interix, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA) or Services for Unix (SFU) then the answer is a straight "no".

If you are an ISV or a software project using Interix, SUA and/or SFU then a "qualified yes" -- do post release announcements and bug patches but please no posting price lists and no statements that are "over the top". If you have a white paper about your product we can likely publish it in our Articles section after a brief review.

There are several Myths and other incorrect information that some web sites publish and other materials about Interix and the Subsystem for Unix-base Applications (SUA). Some of these are a result of the information being old and not updated. Others are up-to-date and appear to be publishing incorrect information for their advantage.

9.01 MYTH - Win32 API's cannot be used by Interix / SUA

Starting with Windows Server 2003/R2 Interix/SUA programs can link with Win32 libraries. This is called "mixed-mode" programming because it mixes two paradigms together. This means you can link to Win32 API's to use Oracle API's calls and other Win32 libraries.

9.02 MYTH - Win32 and Interix/SUA applications cannot communicate

Interix/SUA and Win32 programs can communicate to each other in variety of ways: files, sockets, shared memory, etc. They are not isolated from each other as much as some people attempt to claim -- the mixed-mode programming further emphasizes this point. You can run Win32 programs from Interix/SUA and the reverse. Programs do run in their own memory space as virtually all modern OS's have their program execute. Information is not shared through a common process running in user-space. Security information is handled with the same control and access mechanisms that Win32 uses.

9.03 MYTH - Interix / SUA subsytem is a Security Risk

There is no security risk. Microsoft does not recommend removing the Interix/SUA subsystem.

People attempting to scare-monger will make reference to very old list for the IIS web-server. This list applied to Windows 2000 only and was not Microsoft Corporate or security policy. It made reference to the older Posix subsysem from the NT 3.5 days. The Interix/SUA subsystem available since NT 4.0 is a competely different subsystem. The inclusion in the IIS web-server list was also technically baseless. Which means any reference to it is technically baseless.

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