Map network drive for user using VB/ASP.NET

[=?Utf-8?B?QnJpYW4gTmljaG9sc29u?=]

Hello,

I'm trying to create an admin page that can run miscellaneous scripts for
our IT department. Currently, I'm trying to create a script that can map a
network drive for a user (e.g. a form where I can input \\path\folder, drive
letter, and domain\user). Is this possible? If so, can someone point me in
the right direction?

Thank you,
Brian Nicholson

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

"Brian Nicholson" <Br************ @discussions.mi crosoft.comwrot e in
message news:3A******** *************** ***********@mic rosoft.com...

I'm trying to create an admin page that can run miscellaneous scripts for
our IT department. Currently, I'm trying to create a script that can map a
network drive for a user (e.g. a form where I can input \\path\folder,
drive
letter, and domain\user). Is this possible? If so, can someone point me in
the right direction?

Not natively through ASP.NET, for fairly obvious security reasons - remember
that web app cannot have any direct interaction with client machines due to
the disconnected architecture of the web...

To achieve this you'd need to look at something like a custom ActiveX
control - can't recommend it...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

[Junior]

If you get to Technet as well as elsewhere you will learn about PowerShell
which has become the optimal way to use the framework for administrative
tasks.
"Brian Nicholson" <Br************ @discussions.mi crosoft.comwrot e in
message news:3A******** *************** ***********@mic rosoft.com...

Hello,

I'm trying to create an admin page that can run miscellaneous scripts for
our IT department. Currently, I'm trying to create a script that can map a
network drive for a user (e.g. a form where I can input \\path\folder,
drive
letter, and domain\user). Is this possible? If so, can someone point me in
the right direction?

Thank you,
Brian Nicholson

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

"Junior" <so******@somew here.comwrote in message
news:O0******** ******@TK2MSFTN GP05.phx.gbl...

[top-posting corrected]

>I'm trying to create an admin page that can run miscellaneous scripts for
our IT department. Currently, I'm trying to create a script that can map
a
network drive for a user (e.g. a form where I can input \\path\folder,
drive letter, and domain\user). Is this possible? If so, can someone
point me in the right direction?

If you get to Technet as well as elsewhere you will learn about PowerShell
which has become the optimal way to use the framework for administrative
tasks.

PowerShell won't allow a web app map a network drive via a client browser
without using ActiveX and seriously ramping down the security level - at
that point, you may as well not bother...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

[=?Utf-8?B?QnJpYW4gTmljaG9sc29u?=]

"Mark Rae [MVP]" wrote:

>
Not natively through ASP.NET, for fairly obvious security reasons - remember
that web app cannot have any direct interaction with client machines due to
the disconnected architecture of the web...

To achieve this you'd need to look at something like a custom ActiveX
control - can't recommend it...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

Forgive my ignorance as I am very new to ASP.NET, but what would be the
security problems of a web app that uses IIS with Integrated Windows
Authentication? Also, I thought that mapping network drives was a
user-specific task (not machine-specific) -- if that even makes a difference.

Thank you for your help.

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

"Brian Nicholson" <Br************ @discussions.mi crosoft.comwrot e in
message news:B0******** *************** ***********@mic rosoft.com...

>Not natively through ASP.NET, for fairly obvious security reasons -
remember
that web app cannot have any direct interaction with client machines due
to
the disconnected architecture of the web...

Forgive my ignorance as I am very new to ASP.NET, but what would be the
security problems of a web app that uses IIS with Integrated Windows
Authentication? Also, I thought that mapping network drives was a
user-specific task (not machine-specific) -- if that even makes a
difference.

It's not the web app per se - it's the browser. All modern browsers are
specifically designed to prevent *any* direct interaction with the user's
hardware other than for things like cookies etc. The fact that you're using
Windows authentication in an intranet environment is of no concern to the
browser, which is the same browser that you use to go out onto the public
Internet and do your on-line banking etc - the browser itself doesn't
understand the difference. All it knows how to do is send an HttpRequest to
a webserver and then process and display the HttpResponse which the
webserver streams back to it - makes no difference whether that webserver is
in your comms room or half-way round the world.

To give you a rather extreme example, imagine a web app which could stream
down an instruction to the client browser to run the equivalent of "format
c:" on the client machine...

Mapping a network drive involves direct interaction with the client machine
as far as the browser is concerned, so it's not permitted.
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

[Junior]

So you are the kind of guy who makes excuses rather than finding an
acceptable way to get things done?
"Mark Rae [MVP]" <ma**@markNOSPA Mrae.netwrote in message
news:ue******** ******@TK2MSFTN GP06.phx.gbl...

"Junior" <so******@somew here.comwrote in message
news:O0******** ******@TK2MSFTN GP05.phx.gbl...

[top-posting corrected]

>>I'm trying to create an admin page that can run miscellaneous scripts
for
our IT department. Currently, I'm trying to create a script that can map
a
network drive for a user (e.g. a form where I can input \\path\folder,
drive letter, and domain\user). Is this possible? If so, can someone
point me in the right direction?

If you get to Technet as well as elsewhere you will learn about
PowerShell which has become the optimal way to use the framework for
administrati ve tasks.

PowerShell won't allow a web app map a network drive via a client browser
without using ActiveX and seriously ramping down the security level - at
that point, you may as well not bother...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

[=?Utf-8?B?QnJpYW4gTmljaG9sc29u?=]

"Mark Rae [MVP]" wrote:

>
It's not the web app per se - it's the browser. All modern browsers are
specifically designed to prevent *any* direct interaction with the user's
hardware other than for things like cookies etc. The fact that you're using
Windows authentication in an intranet environment is of no concern to the
browser, which is the same browser that you use to go out onto the public
Internet and do your on-line banking etc - the browser itself doesn't
understand the difference. All it knows how to do is send an HttpRequest to
a webserver and then process and display the HttpResponse which the
webserver streams back to it - makes no difference whether that webserver is
in your comms room or half-way round the world.

To give you a rather extreme example, imagine a web app which could stream
down an instruction to the client browser to run the equivalent of "format
c:" on the client machine...

Mapping a network drive involves direct interaction with the client machine
as far as the browser is concerned, so it's not permitted.
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

I kind of understand what you're saying, but I didn't think I was using the
browser itself as a means to perform the task -- I don't want the drive to be
mapped on the client computer that's actually going to the web app. I was
considering something like an admin page where the admin could enter certain
things like a network path, username, etc., and the app would use these
values in a VB script which could then perform the function (as if we weren't
using a web app to begin with), e.g. using something similar to VBScript's
MapNetworkDrive .

I apologize if you knew this already and I misunderstood your post.

[Junior]

PowerShell
"Brian Nicholson" <Br************ @discussions.mi crosoft.comwrot e in
message news:E6******** *************** ***********@mic rosoft.com...

"Mark Rae [MVP]" wrote:

>>
It's not the web app per se - it's the browser. All modern browsers are
specifically designed to prevent *any* direct interaction with the user's
hardware other than for things like cookies etc. The fact that you're
using
Windows authentication in an intranet environment is of no concern to the
browser, which is the same browser that you use to go out onto the public
Internet and do your on-line banking etc - the browser itself doesn't
understand the difference. All it knows how to do is send an HttpRequest
to
a webserver and then process and display the HttpResponse which the
webserver streams back to it - makes no difference whether that webserver
is
in your comms room or half-way round the world.

To give you a rather extreme example, imagine a web app which could
stream
down an instruction to the client browser to run the equivalent of
"format
c:" on the client machine...

Mapping a network drive involves direct interaction with the client
machine
as far as the browser is concerned, so it's not permitted.
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

I kind of understand what you're saying, but I didn't think I was using
the
browser itself as a means to perform the task -- I don't want the drive to
be
mapped on the client computer that's actually going to the web app. I was
considering something like an admin page where the admin could enter
certain
things like a network path, username, etc., and the app would use these
values in a VB script which could then perform the function (as if we
weren't
using a web app to begin with), e.g. using something similar to VBScript's
MapNetworkDrive .

I apologize if you knew this already and I misunderstood your post.

[=?Utf-8?B?QnJpYW4gTmljaG9sc29u?=]

"Junior" wrote:

>
PowerShell

I have no experience at all with PowerShell (I have very little experience
with ASP.NET as it is), but if it's able to do this through ASP.NET then I'm
interested. Do you happen to know how it can be done? After a quick search,
I found articles mentioning the same MapNetworkDrive that exists in VBScript
-- the problem with this method is that it requires the password of the user
I'm mapping a drive to.