home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Software Vault: The Gold Collection
/
Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO
/
cdr28
/
tbp150.zip
/
TBP170.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-03-01
|
14KB
|
307 lines
Tech Bulletin: NONDEDICATED ADV NetWare 286 V2.0A INFORMATION.
NOVELL TECHNICAL BULLETIN
TITLE: NONDEDICATED ADV NetWare 286 V2.0A INFORMATION.
DOCUMENT ID: TB.P.170
DATE: 1/9/87
PRODUCT: NetWare
PRODUCT VERSION: Advanced NetWare 286 Version 2.0 Revision A
SUPERSEDES: NA
SYMPTOM: NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
Nondedicated Advanced Netware 286 Configuration Requirements
SOFTWARE
DOS 2.1 or greater
HARDWARE
IBM AT, IBM XT 286, or IBM compatible AT clone.
IMPORTANT FOR CLONE MANUFACTURERS
Nondedicated Advanced NetWare 286 (ND286) requires an extremely high
degree of IBM AT firmware and hardware compatibility. For information
concerning specific compatibility requirements, write to: Third Party
Product Administrator, NetWare Services Division, 122 East 1700 South,
Provo, Utah 84601 (no phone calls please).
MEMORY REQUIREMENTS
Memory Requirements for Minimal Configuration:
The following are the memory requirements for a minimal configuration
consisting of an AT running ND286 software with the default installation
parameters, one internal 20 megabyte AT hard drive, and one IBM PC
workstation connected to the file server by the appropriate cabling and
network boards:
1. Minimum of 384K of base or conventional memory. (This memory is
available for DOS, the nondedicated workstation shell, and
application software. Approximately 8K of this memory is required
for the nondedicated server capability.)
2. Minimum of 512K of extended memory (memory starting at the one
megabyte address) for the file server software.
Memory Requirements for Enlarging Configurations:
Memory may be increased in the following ways:
1. A total of 640K of base or conventional memory may be used by the
nondedicated workstation's DOS applications. Also, the Lotus/Intel
EMS (Expanded Memory Specification) may be used in conjunction with
base memory for RAM disks and applications using EMS. (Expanded
memory is memory below the 1 megabyte address that is bank switched.
Expanded memory is controlled by the 80286 processor's real mode.
Expanded memory is not the same thing as extended memory. Consult
the Lotus/Intel EMS board manuals for more information about EMS and
expanded memory.)
2. ND286 will support the full 15 megabytes of extended memory that the
IBM AT is capable of addressing. (Extended memory requirements for
the ND286 operating system increase when NetWare configuration
values such as buffer sizes, volumes, open files, directory sizes,
etc. are increased to accommodate more workstations, users, and
disk storage. (Refer to technical bulletins TB.P.50, TB.P.117,
TB.P.136, and TB.P.136A for more information about enlarging NetWare
configurations.))
ND286 CAPABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES
General
Internal Hard Disk Sharing: Because the hard disk is transparently
semaphored between DOS and the file server software, internal AT hard
disks running off the AT controller can be shared between the file server
software and the DOS applications.
In order to configure ND286 to do this, a NetWare partition and a DOS
partition must be set up on the internal disk using the INSTALL utility.
The NetWare partition must be set up as the first partition and the total
size of the NetWare partition and the DOS partition together may not be
larger than 32 megabytes; the reason for the 32 megabyte limit is DOS
does not support disk storage beyond 32 megabytes.
IBM PC Cluster and 5Ch NETBIOS Interface Network Drivers: ND286 has
special IBM PC Cluster network drivers and 5Ch NetBIOS compatible network
drivers which function in real mode; these ND286 drivers are different
than previously released Advanced NetWare 86 drivers and are NOT
interchangeable. (IBM PC Cluster drivers and 5Ch NETBIOS drivers require
approximately 18K of the real mode memory.)
With 5Ch NetBIOS networks NetBIOS must be resident on the board or loaded
from diskette prior to executing the ND286 operating system.
Polled LAN Drivers: Several of the ND286 operating system network LAN
drivers are polled rather than interrupt driven. If an application
running under DOS is CPU processing intensive, the LAN drivers will only
be polled 18 times a second. The slower polling could cause
communications problems for other workstations accessing the server. In
particular, the non-interrupt Omninet driver may experience this problem.
Hard Drives Supported: Hard drives supported by ND286 include only those
drives which are supported with Advanced NetWare 286 (NetWare disk
subsystems and AT supported internal drives).
IPX and NetBIOS Capabilities: All IPX and NetBIOS capabilities previously
available with Advanced NetWare 286 are supported. However, NetBIOS
application software will not function in the nondedicated workstation.
This limitation is explained under heading "Issues Associated with
application Software:"
Operating System File: The ND286 operating system is a DOS executable
file and must be run by executing it at the DOS prompt. It cannot be
booted from a NetWare drive.
Nondedicated File Server Only:
ND286 File Server Performance: The ND286 file server functions like a
dedicated file server when running in console mode and performs within 5
percent of a dedicated file server.
The performance of the ND286 file server decreases when the nondedicated
workstation is active; because, additional time (about one millisecond
per switch) is required to switch between real mode and protected mode.
Failure Resilience: In comparison to a real mode only nondedicated file
server, the ND286 file server is less vulnerable to a failure by a
workstation hang, because the file server software is running in
protected mode and is isolated from DOS applications running in real
mode.
Nondedicated Workstation Only:
Nondedicated Workstation Hanging and File Server Not Effected: Because
the file server is running in protected mode and the nondedicated
workstation is running in real mode, it is most probable that if the
nondedicated workstation hangs, the file server will continue to run.
Nondedicated Workstation Hanging and Causing the File Server to Hang: It
is, however, possible for the nondedicated ND286 workstation to hang and
also hang the server. Some Pop- up menu "terminate-and-stay-resident
type" programs may cause this problem.
Memory-to-Memory Moves to Increase Workstation Performance: The
nondedicated workstation is able to utilize memory to memory moves to
transfer data packets to and from the file server, thus eliminating
network interaction. This may increase performance.
Nondedicated DOS Environment: The DOS environment (LAN E) is assigned a
user definable unique network address number during the GENOS
installation process. (The physical node address is set to two and the
logical address is set to one automatically.)
IPX Support:
IPX is fully supported.
Issues Associated with Application Software:
Interpretive BASIC and Interrupt 3 Interpretive BASIC can conflict with
drivers selected to run network boards using interrupt 3. (The
nondedicated workstation should not be used to run an interpretive BASIC
program, if the ND286 selected configuration options include interrupt
3.)
INDOS Support: Terminate-and-stay-resident programs which support the
INDOS Int 21h call are supported.
Time Slicing Applications: Any application that does time slicing of its
own (such as an IBM PC Network Program file server) will not work.
NetBIOS Application Software Support: Like Advanced NetWare 286, ND286
supports NetBIOS application software in workstations attached to the
file server with network interface boards and the appropriate cabling.
However, NetBIOS application software is not supported in the ND286
nondedicated workstation; this is because the DOS environment is handled
like a bridge by the operating system and NetBIOS will not function
across a bridge.
Add-on boards and Hardware Interrupts: DOS applications that access
add-on boards or use hardware interrupts should work correctly. If a
hardware interrupt occurs while the file server AT is running the DOS
application in real mode and the interrupt handler is in protected mode,
a switch is made so that the protected mode handler gets the interrupt.
If a hardware interrupt occurs while the file server AT is running in
protected mode, and the interrupt handler is a real mode handler, the
correct switch is also made and the real mode interrupt handler is given
the interrupt to service. Note that because of the slow switch time from
protected to real mode and visa versa, hardware interrupts should not be
very time critical.
DOS Prevented from Accessing Extended Memory: To prevent access to the
extended memory by DOS's INT 15h AH = 88h function, "Get Extended Memory
Size", the function is altered so that it will return zero bytes when
called by DOS. DOS applications are then effectively prevented from
accessing the file server memory space. DOS applications which use
extended memory (such as virtual disks or disk caches) will not function.
(This does not apply to applications running in expanded memory, for more
information see "Memory Requirements for Enlarging Configurations:".)
IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS
We have described four situations which might provide a better
perspective of possible uses for the ND286 software. Each situation also
has a suggested implementation.
SITUATION 1: IBM PC CLUSTER OR NETBIOS 5Ch COMPATIBLE NETWORK
1. You have an IBM PC Cluster network or a NetBIOS 5Ch compatible
network, which requires the execution of firmware or a NetBIOS
emulator that works only in real mode.
IMPLEMENTATION 1
1. Generate the operating system with the special nondedicated CLUSTER
or GENBIOS (Generic NetBIOS 5Ch) network driver(s).
2. Configure the AT so that you have at least 384K of base or
conventional memory, and as much memory as you need for your
configuration in the extended memory. (See "Memory Requirements for
Enlarging Configurations.")
3. Boot the AT with DOS.
4. Make sure that the firmware or NetBIOS emulation is loaded.
5. Execute the operating system from DOS. (The operating system is an
executable file and must be run by loading it at the DOS prompt.)
6. If you decide to use ND286 as a dedicated server only, simply
execute the CONSOLE program.
SITUATION 2: SMALL NETWORK
1. You have a very small network (two or three workstations)
2. You want to use your file server both as a file server and as a
workstation to save the expense of buying another PC and another
network interface card.
IMPLEMENTATION 2
1. Establish the ND286 workstation as the least-used workstation, to
minimize the performance impact and to increase the error resilience
of the server for other workstations.
2. Configure the AT with enough base memory to support the applications
you intend to run with the nondedicated workstation.
3. Install at least 512K of extended memory. (See "Memory
Requirements.")
4. Avoid using any software in the ND286 workstation that may cause the
nondedicated workstation to hang.
SITUATION 3: CENTRAL DATABASE SERVER
1. You have purchased a database management system that uses a PC as a
central database server.
The database application may run faster and more efficiently using
an ND286 file server; however, improved performance will depend on
how the database application software works and on the speed of the
network.
2. The database server software is very file I/O intensive and does
minimal CPU intensive tasks.
Because the database server and the file server are sharing the same
CPU, there is the added overhead of switching between real mode and
protected mode. Because of this sharing, using an ND286 file server
may not lead to an overall performance increase.
IMPLEMENTATION 3
1. Establish the ND286 file server as the central server for the
database management system so that memory to memory file I/O
transfers can be made.
SITUATION 4: UPGRADING FROM NetWare 86
1. You are running a nondedicated NetWare 86 file server.
2. You have an AT available to use as the file server.
3. You want to add more disk storage; however, you are reaching the
limits of how much disk storage can be supported in NetWare 86 real
mode.
4. You want more memory for DOS applications.
IMPLEMENTATION 4
1. Install the added disk drives.
2. Increase base memory to 640K if necessary.
3. Install Nondedicated Advanced NetWare 286 in an AT and configure the
new drives and volumes.