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1992-08-10
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From ucivax!suvm.acs.syr.edu!novelerr
To: Multiple recipients of list NOVELL <NOVELL@SUVM.SYR.EDU>
Frequently Asked Questions for NOVELL@SUVM Mailing List
=======================================================
The guidelines for when to answer questions directly to the list,
and when to answer in private email (found in question 9) have been
changed, as a result of much recent discussion both on the list, and
among the sysops.
The bibliography of Novell and Novell related books should be ready
before the next posting of the FAQ, which was not as soon as I had
hoped. Suggestions are still welcome.
As always, I appreciate feedback on the contents. If you have
comments, suggestions, flames, errata, or new question/answers to offer,
please email me at sjenkins@info.umd.edu.
If you have a program or file of general interest that you would
like to have made publicly available on info.umd.edu, please contact me
at sjenkins@info.umd.edu
Contents
========
New questions are marked with (**); questions which have been materially
revised or added to are marked with (*):
1. What is this "FAQ" List?
2. Where does this FAQ list come from--how are questions added?
3. Can this FAQ list be had via anonymous FTP?
4. How do I subscribe to the mailing list?
5. How do I unsubscribe?
6. How do I post a message?
7. How do I get the list to echo copies of mail I post to me?
8. Who are the sysops of the NOVELL@suvm mailing list?
9. (*) What rules of etiquette apply on this list?
10. What other mailing lists may be of interest?
11. How can I login *without* running the system/user login script?
12. How can I boot my server without running
STARTUP.NCF/AUTOEXEC.NCF?
13. Is there a TELNET compatible program for remotely controlling a
PC?
14. (*) What is BOOTP and where can I get it?
15. What is Pegasus Mail and where can I get it?
16. What is Charon and where can I get it?
17. Where can I get an Internet gateway for Pegasus Mail?
18. How can I print from Novell to Unix and vice versa?
19. How can I get user-ids (and other information) into programs?
20. What are Packet, ODI and NDIS drivers?
21. What is Splicer?
22. Is there an official Novell FTP site for patches and updates?
23. Where can I FTP Netware utilities, programs, etc?
24. How do I set up my server as an FTP site?
25. What are Novell's phone numbers?
26. How do I install ODI?
27. Why can't multiple TCP/IP applications run on a workstation?
In Search Of
============
Suggestions of new questions and answers are always welcome.
Questions and Answers
=====================
1. What is this "FAQ" List?
---------------------------
This FAQ list is a list of Frequently Asked Questions, both
administrative (how do I use this list?) and informational (where do a
find this, how can I use this correctly?) that are asked often enough
that it would be of general interest to post the answers to them
periodically.
2. Where does this FAQ list come from--how are questions added?
---------------------------------------------------------------
I compose this FAQ list as a service to the group, and for the
benefit of my user's group, the University of Maryland System Novell
Users Group. All editorial opinions are mine; if you disagree or spot
an inaccuracy, or have a new question *with* answer (I will edit answers
to make the style consistent, but I cannot research answers) that you
would like included in the FAQ list, please email me directly at
sjenkins@info.umd.edu and I will attempt to include it in the next
edition.
This FAQ list is mailed by an automated script every other Monday;
on alternate Mondays, a reminder note explaining how to get this FAQ via
anonymous FTP is mailed instead.
3. Can this FAQ list be had via anonymous FTP?
----------------------------------------------
Yes, this FAQ list is available on info.umd.edu (128.8.10.29) in
the info/Computers/Novell/Information directory, as either faq.wp which
is a WordPerfect 5.1 version (this document is created with table of
contents and cross reference markers, so if you intend to edit it, you
may find the WordPerfect version helpful), and faq.txt which is a text
file version. See question 23 for further details on info.umd.edu.
4. How do I subscribe to the mailing list?
------------------------------------------
This list is run with a LISTSERV whose address is
Internet: LISTSERV@suvm.acs.syr.edu
Bitnet: LISTSERV@suvm
To subscribe (and later unsubscribe), you *must* send mail to the
LISTSERV, *not* to NOVELL@suvm--sending mail to the mailing list
address, as opposed to the LISTSERV address will not only not get you
subscribed, it will annoy over 1000 people world-wide, and use
inordinate amounts of computer time around the world for no reason. To
subscribe, send the following mail to the above address (pick either
internet or bitnet as appropriate--if you are not sure, consult the
computer support staff at your site):
To: LISTSERV@suvm[.acs.syr.edu]
Subject: Doesn't matter
subscribe NOVELL Your Full Name
5. How do I unsubscribe?
------------------------
This list is run with a LISTSERV whose address is
Internet: LISTSERV@suvm.acs.syr.edu
Bitnet: LISTSERV@suvm
To unsubscribe, you *must* send mail to the LISTSERV, *not* to
NOVELL@suvm--sending mail to the mailing list address, as opposed to the
LISTSERV address will not only not get you unsubscribed, it will annoy
over 1000 people world-wide, and use inordinate amounts of computer time
around the world for no reason. To unsubscribe, send the following mail
to the above address (pick either internet or bitnet as appropriate--if
you are not sure, consult the computer support staff at your site):
To: LISTSERV@suvm[.acs.syr.edu]
Subject: Doesn't matter
unsubscribe NOVELL
6. How do I post a message?
---------------------------
The address of this list is:
Internet: NOVELL@suvm.acs.syr.edu
Bitnet: NOVELL@suvm
To post a message, all you need to do is send it as a mail note to
the above address. If you are not sure whether to use the internet or
bitnet address, consult the computer support staff at your site.
Please see the etiquette rules (Question 9) before you post a
message.
7. How do I get the list to echo copies of mail I post to me?
-------------------------------------------------------------
See the subscribe/unsubscribe questions (4 and 5 above) for the
LISTSERV address, and the format of mail messages it should receive.
Send it the line
set novell repro
at the appropriate bitnet or internet address.
8. Who are the sysops of the NOVELL@suvm mailing list?
------------------------------------------------------
(06/24/92)
The sysops of the NOVELL@suvm mailing list include:
Larry Bradley larry.h.bradley@nrc.ca
Joe Doupnik jrd@cc.usu.edu
Glenn Fund fund@relay.proteon.com
David Harris david@otago.ac.nz
Dave Molta djmolta@sunrise.syr.edu
Janet Perry janetp@novell.com
Art Whittman wittman@engr.wisc.edu
Scott Jenkins sjenkins@info.umd.edu
[Thanks to Joe Doupnik for forwarding me this list, and to all of the
sysops for allowing me to join their ranks.]
9. (*) What rules of etiquette apply on this list?
--------------------------------------------------
(7/12/9)
Remember, over one thousand people around the world read this list,
and all of us think our time is valuable, as do you. Also, every
message posted uses a great deal of computer and transmission time,
because it is propagating around the world. Therefore, the polite user
of this list will try to follow these guidelines:
* Do not post subscribe/unsubscribe requests to the list. See
how do to these tasks above, questions 4 and 5.
* Do not post test messages to the list. The first time you
have a substantial post, let that be your test. If you keep
the file, you won't have to retype it in the event that for
some reason it doesn't go through the first time.
* Consult Novell, system, and application documentation before
you post a question. Also, if you site has a computer support
staff that deals with Novell issues (many universities do),
consult with them before posting a question.
* When you post to the list, please include an informative and
accurate Subject: line. The traffic on this list is very
high; this helps those people who have time only to read posts
they may be able to help with, or that apply to their
networks. Additionally, in our post, make sure to include all
of the information people will need to respond.
* If you post a question, and receive no response, please don't
repost it. The people who read this list are very helpful--
someone will answer the question if they can. If you don't
receive an answer, you need to find professional consultants
for your specific problem. Reposting will not get an answer,
and will only waste the time and bandwidth mentioned above.
* The purpose of this mailing list is to serve as a resource
from which all participants can learn. Therefore, if you
think an answer to a question will be of wider interest than
the just the asker, please post it to the list (the default
reply-to address).
* Don't flame people. If some information is presented that is
incorrect or incomplete, please do post a message offering the
correction. But don't make personal attacks on the list
members. That has no place on this list.
* Include your email address (both internet *and* bitnet if you
have them, please) at the bottom of your postings. This will
allow people to correspond directly with you, since most mail
systems, by default, will reply to the entire list.
* If you use a signature, please make it no longer than four
lines, and don't include "graphics" composed of ASCII
characters. Remember, everyone's time is valuable, and some
people read this mailing list at a very slow baud rate. Long
signatures, and frivolous graphics just frustrate them; they
may take to deleting your messages unread.
* When you reply to a message, include just enough of the
previous message for readers to remember what the issues were.
It is not necessary to include the whole message again.
* When you post a message, use proper upper *and* lower case.
All uppercase messages are hard to read, and you will find
that people start summarily deleting your messages without
even giving them a chance.
* Please post to the list *only* in English. If you are posting
in any other language, obviously you did not intend to
communicate with the entire list, as this is an English
language list. Therefore, private email would be more
appropriate.
10. What other mailing lists may be of interest?
-----------------------------------------------
(6/2/92)
Other mailing lists you may want to try are include:
BIG-LAN@suvm (internet BIG-LAN@suvm.acs.syr.edu), send
subscriptions to the LISTSERV@suvm[.acs.syr.edu].
CUTCP@omnigate.clarkson for a discussion of Charon and CUTCP Telnet
issues. This is a hand-managed list, so send your
subscription requests and other administrative inquiries to
cutcp-request@omnigate.clarkson.edu. Replies may take a week,
but the list traffic is low and you will not miss very much.
There is also an announcements only list; send subscription
requests to cutcp-announce-request@omnigate.clarkson.edu.
INFO-IBMPC@wsmr-simtel20.army.mil (send subscription requests to
INFO-IBMPC-REQUEST@wsmr-simtel20.army.mil).
PMAIL-UPDATES@splicer.cba.hawaii.edu for discussion of Pegasus
Mail. The author, David Harris, is active on this list. Send
subscription and other administrative requests to
pmail-request@splicer.cba.hawaii.edu.
BANYAN-L@akronvm (internet BANYAN@vm1.cc.uakron.edu), send
subscriptions to the LISTSERV. This is for discussion of
Banyan networks.
Additionally, if you have access to usenet news, you may want to
subscribe to the newsgroup comp.sys.novell, which has essentially the
same purpose as this mailing list, although there does seem to be a good
amount of traffic which is both sent to this list and posted to
comp.sys.novell.
For more comprehensive sources of mailing lists on all subjects, on
info.umd.edu (128.8.10.29) you can find a list of listserv bitnet lists
under Computers/NetInfo/Bitnet/listserv-lists and the complete List of
Lists is available as Computers/NetInfo/Internet/interest-groups. As
always, with info.umd.edu, if you use anonymous ftp, these directories
will be found under /info.
Lastly, sending any listserv the command "list global" will get you
a *large* file of all public listserv lists.
11. How can I login *without* running the system/user login script?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To avoid running the user login scripts:
* Put "EXIT" as the last line in the system login script. This
stops the system from running either a custom or default user
login script.
To avoid running any login scripts at all:
* Instead of using LOGIN, which will attempt to run login
scripts, use ATTACH, which will not. You will either need to
first login to another file server which has the attach
command available, or copy the ATTACH.EXE file to the
workstation's disk.
* Enter the login command as "LOGIN /S nul <username>" which
will attempt to read the script from the DOS nul device, which
always returns end of file, effectively avoiding reading a
script.
12. How can I boot my server without running STARTUP.NCF/AUTOEXEC.NCF?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(6/2/92)
With NetWare 3.xx, when you issue the SERVER command, include the
parameter
-NS To not execute the STARTUP.NCF
-NA To not execute the AUTOEXEC.NCF
Under NetWare 2.x all of the configuration information is
incorporated into the NET$OS.EXE file so the question doesn't really
apply; you would have to regenerate the operating system with NETGEN to
change it.
[Thanks to Jay Sissom for clarifying the 2.x issues.]
13. Is there a TELNET compatible program for remotely controlling a PC?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes. Get pub/wattcp/telnetd.zip via anonymous FTP from
sunnee.uwaterloo.ca (129.97.128.196). It works really well with CUTCP
TELNET, and also works fine with MacTCP TELNET and most other TELNETs as
well.
14. (*) What is BOOTP and where can I get it?
---------------------------------------------
Bootp is a method by which a workstation can determine what ip
number it should use and to find out what its nameservers and gateways
are. If a workstation [using NCSA or CUTCP] runs telnet or ftp and has
the myip variable in its config.tel file set to bootp, it will send out
a broadcast on the network. A bootp server somewhere will see this
broadcast, and respond to it with the ip number the workstation should
use and what its nameserver and gateways are. The advantage is that all
ip numbers, nameserver, and gateway information are kept in one file on
the bootp server.
On tacky.cs.olemiss.edu under /pub/lpd/ncsa there is a lpd.exe
program that will do bootp as well as lpd. You do not need a state of
the art workstation to run this program. BOOTP is also available on
lancaster.andrew.cmu.edu.
[Thanks to Dan Abts for the substance of this answer.]
Jocelyn Nadeau has informed me that the documentation for lpd
doesn't indicate that it performs BOOTP; however, on (142.17.2.244)
[which hasn't yet received a name] in public/network are BOOTP.ZIP and
BOOTPNOS.ZIP which are BOOTP servers.
15. What is Pegasus Mail and where can I get it?
------------------------------------------------
(6/2/92)
Pegasus mail is a free mail program written by David Harris. It
has almost every feature your could wish for in a mail program, and is
supported well. Pegasus supports MHS. It is available by anonymous ftp
from info.umd.edu as info/Computers/Novell/Utilities/pmail232.exe, a
self extracting file. If you also get Charon (same directory--see
question 16 for details) you will be able to setup a Novell/Internet
gateway.
There is also a Macintosh version of Pegasus mail, available on
info.umd.edu as info/Computers/Novell/Utilities/pmmac110.hqx.
16. What is Charon and where can I get it?
------------------------------------------
(6/3/92)
There are two separate versions of Charon, which are actually
separate products: Charon 2.x is a bi-directional Novell print queue to
Unix LPD gateway; Charon 3.x is an Internet/Novell mail gateway program
which works in combination with Pegasus mail. Both Charon incarnations
are free. Both types of Charon require a dedicated workstation to run
on (and if you need both types of Charon, you would need two dedicated
workstations); Charon 3.x also requires an SMTP mail server be available
as its mailing agent.
Both versions of Charon are available on many ftp sites, including
info.umd.edu (128.8.10.29) under info/Computers/Novell/Utilities as
charon20.zip and charon34.zip (see question 23 for details on using
info.umd.edu).
17. Where can I get an Internet gateway for Pegasus Mail?
---------------------------------------------------------
(6/3/92)
See above, question 16 for information on Charon 3.x.
18. How can I print from Novell to Unix and vice versa?
-------------------------------------------------------
(6/3/92)
The Novell solution is to purchase the NetWare Flex/IP package
which includes a bi-directional print gateway. According to Novell's
press release, it "allows Unix users to access printers attached to
NetWare systems and NetWare users to access printers that are attached
to UNIX systems. The UNIX printer will appear to the user as a normal
NetWare print queue, while the NetWare queues will appear as UNIX print
queues to the UNIX user. In addition, the UNIX print filter mechanism
is supported enabling print jobs to be preprocessed before submission to
the printer device."
For a free solution, see above, question 16 for information on
Charon 2.x.
19. How can I get user-ids (and other information) into programs?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There are essentially four ways to import Novell information into
programs you have written, each of which is appropriate for some
solutions:
(A) Environment variables
Use the login script command
dos set VARIABLE="Value"
to put the user-id (%LOGIN_NAME), station number, etc. (consult the
Novell documentation for the list of available values), into an
environment variable. Now, you will be able to retrieve the environment
variable, both in batch files, and in programs. In Turbo Pascal as well
as most varieties of C and C++ use the expression GetEnv("VARIABLE") to
retrieve an environment variable.
This technique is good for simple programs which only need a few
Novell values, and for batch files.
(B) Piping in information from WHOAMI
Write your program to read its input in the form that WHOAMI types,
and then pipe in the output from WHOAMI:
WHOAMI [/a] | YOURPROGRAM
You will have to program to ignore lines that contain only / - \ because
these still appear at the head of the file while the program is scanning
the bindery information.
This is inefficient, but it is the only way to get group arbitrary
group memberships if you cannot use the third option, below.
(C) Novell API's
Purchase the Novell API's, available in both C (which work with
several versions of C and C++, including all Borland products) and
assembly language (which you could also use in any high level language
with an interrupt command). With these you can retrieve directly almost
any information that the account running the program has access to. The
API's provide not only basic services like user-names and connection
number, but advanced ones like print queues and IPX/SPX communications,
among others.
This is the best and most efficient solution, but requires
investment in the API's as well as programming knowledge.
(D) Third Party Utilities
Obtain a commercial or shareware utility to enhance batch files
with Novell information. You could also write your own (see
solution C).
20. What are Packet, ODI and NDIS drivers?
------------------------------------------
(6/2/92)
Packet Drivers, ODI drivers, and NDIS drivers share a common
purpose of recognizing packets coming in and distributing them to the
appropriate piece of networking software as well as sending pre-built
packets. Packet Driver was first on the block once FTP Software
realized the difficulty of writing complete drivers for every Ethernet
board on the market. It's a short specification that does little more
than hand out packets; consequently a Packet Driver is very small (about
2.5K in memory) but highly effective.
3Com/Microsoft came out with the NDIS specification to accomplish
the same goal, but with many enhancements. The specification itself is
very large and difficult to understand, and the code was the same way.
NDIS is most commonly seen on Lan Manager systems (3Com, Microsoft, DEC,
AT&T, and so on).
Then, most recently, Novell decided to tackle the board variety
problem, but by starting from the top and looking down toward the
hardware. Their ODI specification is the largest and most elaborate, and
yet in many ways is the "best" of the bunch.
Both NDIS and ODI drivers are commercial endeavors, but their
specifications are public. However, neither NDIS or ODI makes any
effort to accommodate alternate ("competing") protocol stacks. This is
changing with the appearance of small software converter "shims" which
have a Packet Driver interface as the common denominator. Novell's Lan
WorkPlace for DOS is a shining example of providing an ODI driver
supporting both NetWare and TCP/IP. You can see the pressures here:
software vendors want a cheap way of using many boards because drivers
are expensive to write, and users want everything, including the ability
to run things requiring dual protocol stacks on a single board.
The commercial NDIS and ODI drivers should be more solid than the
volunteer effort Packet Drivers, and correspondingly harder to get
changed when bugs are found. NDIS and ODI drivers need to come from
board vendors; Packet Drivers come, normally, from individuals and are
distributed via Clarkson University (you may get them by anonymous ftp
from omnigate.clarkson.edu).
Currently, Packet Drivers have the widest acceptance and support
base. NDIS is probably next and ODI is too new to be counted. It takes
considerable time to fully understand a specification and produce an
acceptable quality driver.
Packet drivers are available on many ftp sites, including
info.umd.edu, as Computers/PC/Communication/driver*.zip (the *
represents the packet driver version number; at the time of this
writing, the current version was 10). See question 23 for details on
using info.umd.edu.
[Thanks to Joe Doupnik for the substance of this answer.]
21. What is Splicer?
--------------------
(6/2/92)
Splicer is an anonymous ftp server at splicer.cba.hawaii.edu
(128.171.17.7) that is a site where many Novell utilities are found (in
the directory /files/novell). Consult your local site's computer
support staff for details on using ftp servers. (See questions 22 and
23 for information on other ftp sites.)
22. Is there an official Novell FTP site for patches and updates?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Novell now has an FTP file server at ftp.novell.com (137.65.12.2).
You will need to change directory to NOVLIB, where you will have access
to the following directories:
01 Novell new uploads
02 General Information (General Information, Press Releases,
Education)
03 NetWare 2.x specific files
04 NetWare 3.x specific files
05 Client/shell drivers (workstation shells, drivers, Windows
files, etc)
06 NetWare utilities
07 Btrieve/XQL Novell
08 Mac/UNIX/LANalyzer
09 Communications Products
10 NetWare Lite
11 Tech Info/IMSP (Tech Bulletins, IMSP, APNotes)
Janet Perry has pointed out that "while CompuServe libraries allow
the posting of third party information, Novell does not hold the
copyright to that information and it will not be found on Novell's FTP
server."
23. Where can I FTP Netware utilities, programs, etc?
-----------------------------------------------------
(6/2/92)
Official Novell patches, updates, and information are available on
their ftp server. See question 22 for details.
Additionally, you can obtain many useful utilities, including the
latest versions of Pegasus, Charon, Trumpet and packet drivers from
info.umd.edu (128.8.10.29), which is also the master site of this FAQ
list. This server has a user-friendly front end, accessable by telnet
(login as info) which will allow you to view contents descriptions and
read text files on line, as well as transfer files back to you via FTP,
TFTP or KERMIT. Novell utilities are found under
Computers/Novell/Utilities, and general PC utilities may be found under
Computers/PC/Utilities; communications utilities such as packet drivers,
NCSA telnet and so forth may be found under Computers/PC/Communication;
this FAQ list is found under Computers/Novell/Information. We encourage
you to explore this site, as many exciting and useful files are
available.
You may also ftp in as anonymous, in which case the directories
mentioned above are all under /info.
Additional ftp sites, along with their Novell related directories
include:
splicer.cba.hawaii.edu 128.171.17.7 files/novell
files/pegasus
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil 192.88.110.29 pd1:<msdos.lan>
pd1:<msdos.pktdrvr>
cc.usu.edu 129.123.1.1 novell
risc.ua.edu 130.160.4.7 pub/network/novlib
pub/network/pegasus
pub/network/misc
pub/network/tcpip
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 etc/system/novell
topaz.rutgers.edu 128.252.135.4 tcp-ip-docs
ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 pub/pc/novell
monk.proteon.com 128.185.123.16 pub/novell
netlab.usu.edu 129.123.1.11 novell
netwatch
chaos.cc.ncsu.edu 152.1.19.23 pc/novell
pc/utils
pc/email
pc/net
pc/manage
[Thanks to Mark Burgess for the initial ftp site summary included in
this answer, and to David Silverstein for compiling the dot addresses
for people without Domain Name Server Access.]
24. How do I set up my server as an FTP site?
---------------------------------------------
(6/3/92)
Novell's FTP server is bundled in both their Novell NFS package and
in their NetWare Flex/IP package. According to the May 11, 1992 press
release when Novell announced NetWare Flex/IP, the "high performance FTP
server allows UNIX users to transfer files to and from NetWare v3.11
servers on the network. It also enables FTP clients to use the NetWare
v3.11 server as an FTP gateway to access any other NetWare server on the
network, including those that do not support TCP/IP. The FTP server
provides full support of both UNIX/NFS and DOS name spaces...."
An alternate--and less expensive--solution is to run NCSA telnet in
FTP server mode on a dedicated workstation--an old 8088 machine is
perfectly suitable. (NCSA is available on many sites, including
info.umd.edu under Computers/PC/Communication/ncsa*.zip. See Question
23 for details on info.) The people ftp'ing into the workstation will
have access to anything the account logged in on the workstation has
access to. You can set up "accounts" and passwords, but the only thing
this controls is who can ftp into the workstation. Additionally, only
one ftp connection at a time is possible. In many cases, however, these
restrictions will not be a problem.
25. What are Novell's phone numbers?
------------------------------------
The following list of numbers was extracted from a list send by
Sarah Peterson of Novell to Larry Bradly, which he kindly posted to our
mailing list. I have included in the FAQ because I believe it is of
general interest. These numbers were accurate as of November 18, 1991.
Department/Group Toll-Free Regular
After Market Products (AMP) 800-346-7177 801-568-8856
Anthem/Eagle (Ethernet) 800-733-2453 408-453-1200
API Development/Austin 800-RED-WORD 512-794-1795
Authorized Reseller Information 800-828-3362
Contract Inquires/AMP 800-346-7177 801-568-8856
Contract (for those who have them) 800-51-3184
Corporate Headquarters 800-453-1267 801-429-7000
Customer Success Portfolios 800-UPDATE1 801-429-5155
Developer Assistance 800-729-4357
Reseller Authorization 800-828-3362
LANalyzer Products 800-243-8526 408-473-8324
Literature Orders 800-UPDATE1 801-429-5155
NetWare Users International 800-228-4NUI
OURS Program 800-237-OURS
Professional Developers Program(PDP) 800-RED-WORD 512-794-1795
Piracy 800-PIRATES 801-429-7600
Product Information 800-NETWARE 801-429-5155
Promotional Products 800-526-4483
RMA 800-NETWARE
Technical Marketing Support 800-733-9673
Technical Support 800-NETWARE 801-429-5588
Technical Support/PDP 800-SAY-HELP 512-794-1795
Upgrades/Updates 800-UPDATE1 801-429-5155
Warranty Registration 800-458-7773
26. How do I install ODI?
-------------------------
(6/2/92)
ODI drivers, like packet drivers, are a method for allowing
software to access the network independent of the particular network
interface card in the PC.
The instructions on how to install ODI are a bit too long to
include directly in the FAQ mailing; however Jay Sissom has written a
file explaining this is some detail, which he has kindly allowed me to
make available on info.umd.edu (128.8.10.29) as
Computers/Novell/Information/odidoc.txt. See question 23 for details on
accessing info.umd.edu.
27. Why can't multiple TCP/IP applications run on a workstation?
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(6/3/92)
In order to understand this problem, assume that two TCP/IP
applications *are* running on a workstation: when an IP packet arrives
at a board with two or more TCP/IP stacks are active, the packet is
delivered to each. Each stack now has a valid TCP or UDP (and maybe
ICMP, ARP, or whatever) packet, and decodes the protocol type (TCP
etc.), the operation kind, sequence number, and so on to fairly great
detail. If the numbers happen to overlap with what another stack is
doing then chaos will probably result--and if not the stack will likely
send an error report back to the host and the connection will be
aborted. The several parallel stacks are uncoordinated and thus
fratricidal.
In order to have multiple applications running in parallel, its
necessary that they be perfectly coordinated. How to do this? Simple:
have one stack serving many applications. Each application gets a
separate session identity within the stack and no conflicts can occur in
properly written code; TCP/IP is designed for this. [Editor's note:
unfortunately, there is no generally accepted sharable TCP/IP stack for
PC workstations.]
This argument applies to every method of delivering packets to
stacks: PD, ODI, NDIS, even carrier pigeon (there's a famous RFC for
avian carriers). For readers with a technical interest in these things
there are now three excellent books on TCP/IP: _Unix Network
Programming_ by Stevens, and _Internetworking with TCP/IP_, volumes I
and II, by Comer.
Recently, a program named PKTMUX was written in the UK, which
attempts to follow the detailed conversation between applications and
their host; when multiple TCP programs are run over the same packet
driver, it attempts to renumber the packet internals to avoid the
conflicts noted above. It's a neat effort, but it cannot do the whole
job. Under some conditions, it will work ok; under others we still get
the effects described, so use it with caution.
[Thanks to Joe Doupnik for the substance of this answer.]