home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Network Support Library
/
RoseWare - Network Support Library.iso
/
nwlite
/
faxdoc.exe
/
2909.TXT
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-05-14
|
11KB
|
211 lines
FYI
(Note: The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell.
Novell makes every effort within its means to verify 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: NetWare Lite Prerelease White Paper
DOCUMENT ID#: FYI.P.6026
DATE: 01OCT92
PRODUCT: NetWare Lite
PRODUCT VERSION: All versions
SUPERSEDES: NA
LITE FAX DOC #: 2909
SYMPTOM
NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
NetWare Lite Prerelease White Paper
Overview
NetWare Lite(tm) is Novell's new peer-to-peer operating system. Its
client/server architecture provides networking features for small LANs.
NetWare Lite is designed to be easy to install and use. It supports disk
and printer sharing for up to 25 nodes on a single physical LAN segment.
Each node in the network can be configured as either a client, a server,
or both. Both client and server are DOS terminate-and-stay-resident
(TSR) programs. Therefore, the server operates in a nondedicated mode
with DOS as the underlying operating system.
Program Details
NetWare Lite consists of three TSR software pieces and a single utility.
The client supports the Microsoft interrupt 2fh redirector interface and
occupies approximately 12 KB of workstation memory.
The server is another DOS TSR that uses DOS networking server hooks. The
average configuration requires 45 KB of workstation memory. The server
runs in real mode on an IBM PC, XT, AT or compatible computer with a hard
disk. The server uses DOS and the DOS file system to share files with
network clients.
Both programs use Novell's IPX protocol. IPX is provided by a trio of
TSRs that implement Novell's ODI protocol interface and MLID LAN board
interface. The group of programs providing the IPX protocol requires
approximately 15 KB of workstation memory depending on the LAN driver
used. NetWare Lite provides a group of Multiple Link Interface Drivers
(MLID) drivers with the product to support a large number of LAN boards.
NetWare Lite also runs with other LAN boards if an MLID compliant driver
is provided. NetWare Lite also runs over the older "linked" version of
IPX if it is already present.
Network operations and administration are performed using a single
utility that functions in either command-line or menu-driven mode. The
utility incorporates extensive online user help.
The client and server communicate using a request/response protocol
similar to that used by the dedicated NetWare operating system. The
server can support up to 25 simultaneous client connections. All nodes
on a NetWare Lite network, both clients and servers, exist on a single
physical LAN segment or on LAN segments connected through Media Access
Control (MAC) layer bridges. The underlying operating system for the
server and client is DOS version 3.x (3.1 and above), 4.x, 5.0, or DR DOS
6.0. Disk redirection, file attributes, and file sharing are supported
including enforcement of DOS sharing modes and record locking through
DOS' SHARE.EXE. Printer redirection is supported through both DOS device
I/O and BIOS printer services.
Network Features
The server provides network directories that can be shared by a client as
a redirected disk. A network directory associates a logical name to a
subdirectory on a physical drive at the server. More than one network
directory can be defined within the same subdirectory tree on a server's
physical disk. Both hard drives and floppy drives can be shared as
network directories. The server can also provide network printers that
can be shared by a client as a redirected printer port. A network
printer associates a logical name to a printer attached to the server.
Network security is enforced through user accounts. Access to network
resources can be controlled on a per-user basis using a simplified rights
scheme implemented through access control lists. A user's identity is
verified using password authentication. Passwords are encrypted both in
the user database and during transmission on the network. A full range
of user account restrictions and password requirements is enforced by the
operating system.
Network directories can be manipulated dynamically. For instance, a new
network directory can be created and used without rebooting the server on
which it exists.
Print jobs are spooled and can be manipulated (held, deleted, or other)
while in the print queue at the server. The server supports both
parallel and serial print devices and can spool simultaneously to
multiple printers. Print jobs can be controlled by a variety of printing
options such as the following:
■ printing a banner
■ number of copies
■ tab expansion
■ printer setup strings
■ holding a job
Also supported is direct printing whereby a job can begin despooling
(printing) before it has finished being submitted to the print queue.
A variety of statistics is reported for servers that can be monitored and
used to reconfigure a server for enhanced memory utilization or
performance. The network maintains an audit log so that activities on
the network can be tracked. An error log is also kept to aid in
isolating and resolving problems with the network. The installation
program includes verification that LAN boards, cables, and IPX software
are installed correctly and are operational.
Additional miscellaneous features include the following:
■ Messages can be sent to other users' video displays.
■ It is possible to disable the reception and display of messages on
your terminal.
■ Time for all or part of the machines on the network can be
synchronized.
■ The server has a pop-up window that displays printer errors and
necessary operator actions and another window that requests
confirmation when the user reboots the machine.
Operational Details (Advanced Features)
NetWare Lite's implementation of advanced networking techniques achieves
simplicity of operation as well as network performance and robustness.
Shared directories and printers and users are presented in a network-wide
view. Network directories and printers can be used without reference to
(or user's awareness of) the location of their physical component.
Furthermore, client access to a resource is unaffected by moving the
resource from one server to another. Although resources are presented to
the user in a conglomerate view, servers operate independently of each
other. Also, a single server or group of servers can go down without
disrupting the rest of the network.
The user database is a distributed, replicated database. Therefore, user
accounts are administered on a network-wide rather than on a per-server
basis. A user logs into the network rather than into specific servers.
The password is required only once (the client software, not the user,
handles authentication with new servers as their resources are used).
Only one account exists on the network for each user. This greatly
simplifies user administration. If user accounts are administered when a
portion of the network is down, the user database is resynchronized when
that portion again becomes operational. Because the database is
distributed, network operation continues even if only one server is
functional.
The client can reconnect (transparently to the user) with a server and
continue most operations even after a server has gone down and is brought
back up. In such a case, drives do not need to be remapped nor must
printer ports be recaptured. However, information for open DOS files
cannot be retained through a server reboot.
NetWare Lite supports decentralized network administration. Network
resources and server configurations can be manipulated from any machine
(running the client software) on the network. Remote administration of
servers can be optionally disallowed per server.
The server implements a read-ahead cache for enhanced performance.
NetWare Lite is also compatible with third-party DOS-based disk caches.
Several third-party caches have been tested and found to enhance network
performance by the same amount that they enhance local DOS disk
performance.
NetWare Compatibility
NetWare Lite is compatible with NetWare. NetWare Lite software (both
client and server) can use either the ODI implementation of IPX or the
original linked implementation of IPX. The client and server both
coexist with the NetWare DOS shell. Thus, a client may have drives
mapped to volumes on dedicated NetWare 286 or 386 servers while
simultaneously having other drives mapped to NetWare Lite network
directories. Also, dedicated NetWare volumes can be chained into a
NetWare Lite network by mapping a drive to the volume using the shell and
then providing a network directory, based on that drive, to Lite clients
through the nondedicated NetWare Lite server. The same holds true for
simultaneous port captures and chained printer ports.
Applications Compatibility
NetWare Lite is compatible with application software that uses
single-machine DOS calls. Also, NetWare Lite supports network
applications that use only DOS networking APIs. This includes all DOS
networking APIs. The NetWare application programming interface is not
supported.
Peer-to-peer network level APIs are also supported. This includes IPX,
SPX, and NetBIOS. To use the NetBIOS API with NetWare Lite, you must
load Novell's NetBIOS emulator software (available separately).
SOLUTION
NA