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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? ---------------------------------------------------------------- (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.]