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Automating the Startup of Internet Exchange Version 2.1x Under Windows NT

Please note: This paper describes methods by which Internet Exchange 2.1x (or earlier versions) can be set up to start automatically when running in a Windows NT environment. Any Internet Exchange version 3.x (or later) does not require such measures, because it is capable of running as a native Windows NT service; this document applies only to versions 2.1x or earlier.

It is possible to automate the startup process of Internet Exchange 2.1x (or earlier) on Windows NT. This means that an administrator does not have to be present at all times and that the system may be smoothly rebooted remotely with the assurance that Internet Exchange will be started up. There are two ways in which Internet Exchange 2.1x may be started up automatically after a reboot under Windows NT (3.1, 3.51 or 4.0):

1. Automatic Login
2. Running Internet Exchange 2.1 as a Windows NT Service

The first method consists of setting up the administrator?s account in such a manner that it automatically logs itself in, and putting System Manager in the startup group. It is the easier method to set up, but involves a security risk: because the login procedure is saved in the registry, the username and password are revealed to anyone who should look therein; also, anyone is able to access the Internet Exchange directly (i.e. by physically being at the machine it is running on), since the login procedures are automated and no password verification is asked of the user.

The second method involves running Internet Exchange as a pseudo-service using the SRVANY service available in the Windows NT Resource Kit, which is part of the standard NT distribution. This involves a more difficult setup than Automatic Login, but offers better security because the user has to go through ordinary login procedure (and therefore provide a correct password).

Automatic Logon
To automate the logon process for Windows NT, place the Internet Exchange System Manager (SYSMAN) in the Startup group of the particular Logon ID being used. The Startup group is the collections of programs that are set up to start automatically whenever the machine boots up and a user logs in; different users will have set up their Windows environment in different ways (assuming that there is more than one user/Windows environment on a machine). The Startup group may be accessed by clicking on the Start icon and then on programs. Once SYSMAN is placed in the Startup group it will start Internet Exchange every time the system is booted; although it is no longer necessary to manually start the gateway, the user must remain logged on in order for Internet Exchange to run.

Automating the logon of the administrator can be accomplished in either of two ways: the "Autologon" tool found in the Windows NT Resource Kit may be used, or the necessary entries in the NT system registry may be made manually

1. Start REGEDT32.EXE and locate the following Registry subkey:
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
3. Establish a domain name, account name and password, using the values normally typed when logging on. The following values should be assigned:
• DefaultDomainName
• DefaultUserName
• DefaultPassword

Note: The DefaultPassword value may not exist. To remedy, choose Add Value from the Edit menu. In the Value Name field, enter "DefaultPassword" (without the quotation marks). Select REG_SZ for Data Type. Type your password in the string field and save the changes.

If no DefaultPassword is specified, Windows NT automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key from 1 (true) to 0 (false), thereby disabling the AutoAdminLogon feature.

4. Choose Add Value from the Edit menu and enter "AutoAdminLogon" in the Value Name field; select REG_SZ for the Data Type; enter 1 in the string field; save the changes.
5. Exit REGEDT32.
6. Exit Windows NT and turn off your computer.
7. Restart the computer and Windows NT. Logon should now be automatic.

Note: In order to temporarily bypass the automatic logon and bring up the Windows NT dialog box, do the following:

• Hold down the SHIFT key while Windows NT is starting

-or-

• If currently logged on, press CTRL+ALT+DEL, choose Logoff and immediately hold down the SHIFT key.

Now simply place a shortcut to the SYSMAN executable file in the Startup menu, and the gateway will start every time that the system does.

Running Internet Exchange 2.1x as a Windows NT Service
The SRVANY.EXE utility allows one to run Windows NT applications as services; this allows applications to survive logon/logoff sequences, to start up services even when no user is logged on, and to run and perform a task in a specific logon account different from the currently logged-on user.

The following instructions are guidelines on running Internet Exchange 2.1x as a System Service under Windows NT (3.51 and 4.0, any language version).

1. Create a new folder and call it SRVANY (e.g. C:\SRVANY); copy the files SRVANY.EXE, SRVANY.HLP (or SRVANY.WRI) and INSTSRV.EXE into the folder (these files are all to be found in the Windows NT Resource Kit). Open a DOS shell and type: INSTSRV Internet Exchange for cc:Mail c:\srvany.exe. Confirmation of a successful service installation should appear.
2. Enter the registry and go to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Services / Internet Exchange for cc:Mail

Internet Exchange for cc:Mail should be your newly installed system service

3. Add a key in Internet Exchange for cc:Mail and call it Parameters, leaving everything else as it is.
4. Click on Parameters and give it a value of "Application" with Data Type REG_SZ. A dialog box called String Editor will appear; enter the path of your Internet Exchange administration program in it and exit.
5. Start the service applet in the Control Panel, scroll down to find IECM, select it and change these attributes: set Startup Type to Automatic; set Log On As to System Account and click on the option to allow service to interact with desktop.
6. Reboot the machine

To test if this method is successful click on the start icon of the service applet at Internet Exchange for cc:Mail and you should see Internet Exchange start up. Reboot the system and telnet into your MTA port 25 and see if the IMA gateway is operational.

cc:Mail Post Offices on Novell Gateways:
In order to automatically connect to a Novell Netware System using Windows NT the Novell Gateway service should be installed and enabled.

Warning: Because Internet Exchange 2.1x was not designed explicitly as a service, some operations may cause unexpected results. For example, in order to shut down the gateway it is insufficient to stop the service via the Control panel; the "Quit" button on SYSMAN?s window must be clicked as well.