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1991-10-29
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FYI
Note: The origin of this information may be internal or external
to Novell. Novell makes every effort within its means to verirfy
this information. However, the information provided in this
document is FOR YOUR INFORMATION only. Novell makes no explicit
or implied claims to the validity of this information.
TITLE: Before Begining Installation
DOCUMENT ID#: FYI.P.6018
DATE: October 29, 1991
PRODUCT: NetWare Lite
PRODUCT VERSION: All versions
SUPERSEDES: NA
SYMPTOM: NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
Before Begining Installation
NetWare Lite is designed to allow multiple computers (nodes) in a
physical LAN segment (network) to share resources like printers
and disk space. Computers which make resources available to the
network are called servers. Computers which access resources are
called clients. In NetWare Lite's peer-to-peer environment,
almost any computer on the network can be a server, a client, or
both. The only limitation is that a server must have a hard
disk. However, there are other things to think about when
deciding which computers will be servers, clients, or both.
Before you begin installing NetWare Lite take a few minutes to
consider the following.
Which computers have printers, applications, or data
that need to be shared?
How big/fast are the hard disks and cpu's in the
computers which will be part of the network?
Where will the computers and printers be located? Are they
close enough together for the cabling system we plan to use?
What kind of network interface cards (NIC) will we use?
Can one of the computers be made a dedicated server in
order to increase network performance?
Will any of the computers be connected to another
network at the same time?
Which computers can be made physically secure?
How sensitve will information on this network be?
Who will be responsible for network administration?
All of these items will effect whether you decide to make a
computer a server, a client, or both. In general, the machines
with the fastest hard disk/cpu combinations should be made
servers. Installing applications on the computer with the
greatest disk capacity will facilitate centralized administration
and maintenance but may not be the best choice from a performance
standpoint. For example, suppose everyone on the network uses
the same word processor which is installed on computer A, but
only one person uses the spreadsheet application managing a large
database. Since the spreadsheet application can demand large
amounts of processing capacity it would probably be better to
install the spreadsheet and database on a server other than
computer A. That way the spreadsheet and word processor will not
have to compete for processing time.
A major consideration in setting up any network if what type of
cabling system (topology) will be used. The most important
factor is distance between computers. Another factor is how
cabling can be routed through your your office or building.
There are several widely used systems to choose from, each with
its own advantages and disadvantages. For information on cabling
and other hardware issues see the series of fax documents on
"Hardware".
If there is only one server in your network or a particular
server does not require access to other servers' resources, then
you should consider making it a dedicated server. See fax
document "Dedicated Servers" for more information on setting up a
dedicated server.
For information on installing NetWare Lite in a pre-existing
network see the series of fax documents on "NetWare and NetWare
Lite".
Security requirments will also determine which computers should
be servers/clients. NetWare Lite provides three levels of
security to protect your sensitive data. However, it is best to
physically protect computers containing sensitive material as
well. This may mean having to place such computers behind locked
doors.
How your network is administered will contribute significantly to
user satisfaction. NetWare Lite greatly simplifies network
administration by decentralizing the databases used to keep track
of who can login, who has priviledges to what, etc.. A major
feature of NetWare Lite is the ability to administer the network
from any computer on the network. This means that the person(s)
who administer the network do not have to use "the" server to
perform administrative tasks. For more information on
administration and security see the series of fax documents on
"Network Administration".