Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-05/snlvi.zip/READ.ME

Text File | 1992-03-25 | 8KB | 141 lines

                   SoftStone Network Library (tm)
                            Volume I

SoftStone Network Library is a powerful network management tool
for users of Novell NetWare.  SNL is four programs in one package,
and in addition to providing the means for changing, testing and
backing up a network configuration, each program has a built-in
report feature to help document your network before and after
you change it.


SNL Configuration Manager
-------------------------
SoftStone Network Library's Configuration Manager is exactly what its
name suggests.  Unlike network management packages which only provide
reporting capabilities, Configuration Manager lets you manage your
network configuration by changing it and documenting it.  By letting
you add and delete users, groups and queues, and modify file server
information such as system files and login scripts, Configuration
Manager effectively replaces SYSCON.  It not only provides the means
to make such changes, but more importantly provides you with
indispensable, concise information about your network configuration
before and after it has been changed - all in one program.

Few utilities exist outside SYSCON to change a NetWare configuration.
SNL's Configuration Manager provides SYSCON functionality with its
look and feel, but presents that data in a more intuitive, easy to use
format, eliminating many of the keystrokes needed to maneuver through
SYSCON.  For example, Configuration Manager lets you view and change
all your users' trustee rights from one screen - without having to
move back and forth between different menus.

Configuration Manager also provides features not found in SYSCON.
The Supervisor Equivalents function locates all users with supervisor
privileges in one window, enhancing network security and letting you
delete unauthorized users.  If you are connected to multiple file
servers and run SNL on each, Configuration Manager lets you scroll
between them, quickly locating or printing a report of supervisor
equivalents for all your networks.  And Configuration Manager's pop-up
Info Box makes it possible to obtain information immediately about
any object on your network, such as cryptic user names or unfamiliar
group definitions.


SNL Monitor
-----------
SoftStone Network Library's Monitor provides access to network
performance and statistics, but does so in an easy to understand
format.  Monitor provides a summary screen of four important file
server statistics - server up time, server utilization, percentage of
disk space used and percentage of directory entries used.  Its graphic
display lets you quickly view your server's resources, and by using it
on a regular basis monitor those resources as they change.

One of Monitor's interesting features is its Bindery Viewer, which
provides a revealing look at the NetWare bindery.  The Bindery Viewer
is not only an informative tool but an educational one, providing you
with a look at the relationship between bindery objects, properties and
property values.  Monitor's report feature lets you see everything
defined in your NetWare bindery on paper and save it for later use.

SNL Monitor also provides standard FCONSOLE information such as
connections, statistics and status, and allows you to purge and salvage
files, down the file server and clear connections.  Monitor differs from
FCONSOLE, however, with its report capabilities.  After selecting the
information you want to see, a report can be created with a single
keystroke.  Monitor lets you save this information, making it possible
to see the changes in your network performance over time.

SNL Backup&Restore
------------------
Network backups are an integral part of network management.  Ideally,
backup devices copy user and application data on a regular basis, making
it possible to rebuild a network if the file server's hard drive fails.
Unfortunately these backup procedures and devices do not always account
for the data which makes up a network - its users, groups, print queues
and trustee rights.  And even though some backup devices record this
important information, few ensure its quick and complete restoration.
SoftStone Network Library's Backup&Restore utility lets you quickly save
the NetWare bindery and other essential network information, and restore
that data in the event it is corrupted or deleted.  (The backup files can
be stored to a floppy disk, hard drive or network drive).  The bindery is
a special-purpose database which stores vital network information, such as
users, groups and queues.  Backup&Restore also captures system files,
trustee rights, login scripts and printer configuration data files.  This
information is not part of the bindery, but is stored by NetWare on the
file server.

One of Backup&Restore's additional features is its report option.  Each
time you use BACKUP a report of your configuration data is created.
This report can be printed and saved, and details the specifics of your
network configuration.  And if you have to restore your network
configuration, Backup&Restore automatically gives you the option to
view exactly what the program will restore before you run it.

Backup&Restore also lets you restore a network configuration to a
different file server than the one it was backed up from.  With this
feature you can replicate a file server as part of a disaster recovery
plan, or create a new server which matches the configuration of an
existing one.

In addition to its interactive mode, Backup&Restore has a command line
switch allowing BACKUP to be executed from a DOS prompt or within a
batch file.  For example, the command line option can be executed as
part of a nightly backup, capturing the network configuration to a
network drive, which can then be copied by a backup device.

SNL QuikStat
------------
Network management is too often characterized by problem chasing.
Solving problems is part of the job, but should not be the entire job.
Effective network management is impossible if your time is consumed
with fixing problems - especially the preventable ones.

SoftStone Network Library's QuikStat was designed to help you to test
network performance and help identify potential problems before your
users experience them.  Preventive network management is made easier
with QuikStat's extensive list of over 100 tests, each of which you
select the value or condition beyond which its performance might become
troublesome.  For example, you can test file server disk space
utilization and set a performance threshold of 90%, a value you decide
is the allowable limit before you reevaluate your disk storage needs.

QuikStat functions like a camera and gives you an instant picture of
your network performance.  Each `snapshot' you take with QuikStat
quickly shows you the current value for each test in your list, and
also warns you if the test has exceeded the threshold set for it.
By using QuikStat on a regular basis you can compare these `photographs'
of network performance over time, and anticipate performance changes
which might become problems or plan your network's growth.

QuikStat also has a command line option which allows you to run the
program from a DOS prompt or within a batch file.  For instance, you
can run QuikStat from a batch file at a certain time of the day to look
for performance problems.  You can also make QuikStat part of your login
procedure and set it to display warning messages for failed tests.


** SoftStone Systems can be reached at [phone].