Explanation of the num_logons Variable (99165)

SUMMARY

NetWkstaSetUID2, NetUserGetInfo, and NetUserValidate2 reference the variable usrlog1_num_logons. This article explains the meaning supplied for the value of this variable and what conditions cause the value to be reset.

Page 669 of the "Microsoft LAN Manager Programmer's Reference" states that this value is for the "number of times this user user is logged on." A clearer statement is:

   [num_logons is a cumulative historical record of logons ]

    num_lo

Specifies the total number of times this user has logged on. A value of -1 means the number of logons is UNKNOWN or that the user's account is set to logon to "any server".

MORE INFORMATION

As stated above, the "number of times this user is logged on" is not the number of concurrent logons but the number of cumulative logons for a given user.

The user option shown in /Net Admin/Accounts/Users/Zoom/Paths must be set for a specific server to handle logon requests:

( ) Domain controller
( ) Any Server
(*) Servername [.....................] <-Set to specific servername

The usrlog1_num_logons value is changed to zero if the user preference noted above is changed (for example, to Domain controller, Any Server, and so on).

The value is zero when the user account is created, and it is incremented for each logon to a specified "named" server. Otherwise, the value remains -1 (UNKNOWN)--the "Any Server" options do not allow a consistent updating of the num_logons variable.