Allow domain user to remotely manage SMB shares on a file server without making them administrator

Question

Hello,
I have a situation where I would like a user to be able to remotely manage the shared folders of another computer through the Shared Folders MMC snap in, to do things like close open SMB sessions. However, I do not want to make this user an administrator. How can I assign them the rights to do this, if it is possible? Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello @James Early ,

Thank you so much for posting here.

Based on my research, the user should be administrator to manage the shared folder MMC snap in. If the user is not an admin, they need to be in the Data Administrators role to successfully connect.

Reference: https://care.qumulo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043419473-Manage-File-Shares-with-Shared-Folders-MMC-Snap-in

Please note: Information posted in the given link is hosted by a third party. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy and effectiveness of information.

Best regards,
Hannah Xiong

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Answer 2

I had a few instances where non-admin accounts needed to perform some function that required administrator rights. One example was application developers who needed to stop and restart their services so that they could update the executable without getting me involved. My solution was to install IIS and then build a web page that performed that specific function. The site was set to authenticate the user but not impersonate them. The IIS worker process for the site was set to run as the SYSTEM account. The code in the ASPX page checked to see if the user was a member of the local group that was designated as the support team and then presented a "not authorized" message or the buttons to allow stop/start. Since the worker process ran as system, the page could do anything on the server.

I know it's not the answer that you were hoping for, but once you get the first page working, you'll find that you can use it as a base for other tasks.