Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-06/dosup5.zip/HISTORY.TXT

Text File | 1992-04-16 | 14KB | 351 lines

History for the NetWare DOS Shell
April 16, 1992

The following is a history of the major changes that have
occurred in the NetWare DOS shell v3.01 and higher.  This
document is updated with each additional release of the
NetWare DOS shell.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. A              5-8-90
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. A              5-8-90
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. A              5-8-90
     ■  Initial Release of the 3.01 shell.  Beginning of the
     DOS Shell History file.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. B              6-6-90
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. B              6-6-90
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. B              6-6-90
     ■  Loading SiteLock by Briteworks would fail,
     causing the DOS workstation to hang.  This problem
     was corrected with the 3.01 rev B shell.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. C              * Not released
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. C              * Not released
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. C              * Not released
     ■  Using the Preferred Server option caused the
     network response time to be functionally slower than
     if the user did not use this option.  The 3.01 rev C
     shell corrected this problem.

     ■  When using DOS 4.0 with EMSNETx and
     XMSNETx shells the DOS directories would not
     display correctly under Windows.  This was
     corrected with the 3.01 rev C shell.

     ■  The enhanced memory shells were not sending
     header information when using job configurations
     that included escape codes.  For example, a job that
     should print landscape would print using the default
     mode (portrait).

     ■  When printing to a captured LPT device an error
     message "Device not ready" would appear.  A retry
     would allow the job to continue.  The 3.01 rev C
     shell corrected this problem.

     ■  Fake roots were being deleted on paths with
     volume names before the path was determined valid.
     ie. CD PRN: would delete the fake root.  This was
     fixed with the 3.01 rev C shell.

     ■  On 286-based servers the Dynamic Memory Pool
     (DMP) 1 was not being released properly with the
     XMSNETx and EMSNETx shells causing the server to
     hang eventually.  With the 3.01 rev C shell the
     memory is released when exiting the Windows DOS
     Prompt.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. D              9-7-90
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. D              9-7-90
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. D              9-7-90
     * The NetWare DOS Shells Rev. C was made
     available to NetWare Developers only.  The NetWare
     DOS shells v3.01 rev D was released to all users and
     contains all the 3.01 rev C changes.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. D              9-18-90
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. D              9-18-90
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. D              9-18-90
     ■  When running the 3.01 rev D shell on a NetWare
     V2.15 or less operating system, external program
     execution (using the #) from the login script does not
     work unless the user has open privileges at the
     volume root.  This has been corrected in the shells
     dated 9/18/90 or later.

     ■  Nver will return Rev. C instead of Rev. D.  This
     has been corrected in the shells dated 9/18/90 or
     later.


Netx.COM            3.01 Rev. E              11-27-90
XMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. E              11-27-90
EMSNetx.EXE         3.01 Rev. E              11-27-90
     ■ When using the DOS 4.0 "TrueName"
     (undocumented DOS command) command invalid
     data was returned to the shell. This invalid data
     causes Emerald's System's backup to not
     function properly.  The 3.01 rev E shell corrects this
     problem.

     ■ Microsoft Link was reporting a scratched file error
     when linking a large number of files.  This was
     corrected in 3.01 rev E of the NetWare DOS shell.

     ■ Added support for Version.exe utility.  This
     support was not present in earlier releases of the
     shell.

     ■ Corrected a problem with the rename function
     where the wrong error code would be returned to
     applications such as Platinum Accounting by
     Advanced Business Microsystems.  This error was
     also exhibited with the NETGEN message: Cannot
     find DRVRDATA.DAT.

     ■ Corrected a problem where the shell was not
     correctly maintaining the default server after logout
     when an X.25 bridge is used.

     ■ On ELS NetWare servers you would get one less
     connection than the maximum when using remote
     boot.  The 3.01 rev E shell corrected this problem
     allowing the user to get all connections to the server.

     ■ Enabled file caching in EMSNETx and XMSNETx
     shells.  File caching was not enabled in earlier
     releases of the enhanced memory shells.

     ■ Added the /? option to the command line which
     displays version and usage information.

     ■ Added a feature in the 3.01 rev E shell that tells
     the user that a TSR is loaded when trying to unload
     the shell.


Netx.COM            3.02                    2-06-91
XMSNetx.EXE         3.02                    2-06-91
EMSNetx.EXE         3.02                    2-06-91
     ■ Corrected a problem with file caching that was
     introduced with the NetWare Shell v3.01E.  Users
     were experiencing problems when running Paradox,
     Quattro, and Lotus 123 with the extended memory
     shells.

     ■ Enhanced the speed of file caching which
     improves the speed of file read and writes.

     ■ Some applications such as DESQview, NetRemote,
     etc. that use EMS, or XMS would occasionally hang
     when using the enhanced memory shells.  This was
     corrected in the 3.02 shells.

     ■ Unloading the shell now relinquishes all
     connections (previously retained one connection.)

     ■ When setting parameter Cache Buffers = 0 in
     NET.CFG the shell caching is turned off.

     ■ Corrected a problem where capturing to a file
     would result in truncated print files.  These files are
     now created and printed correctly.

     ■ Added two new NET.CFG parameters, DOS NAME and
     ENVIRONMENT PAD:

DOS NAME = name

                   This option specifies the name of the DOS
                   version used by the workstation.

                   This should correspond to the %OS name
                   in the login script and the name of the
                   DOS directory.

                   This could be MSDOS, PCDOS, DRDOS, etc.,
                   and cannot be longer than 5 characters.


ENVIRONMENT PAD = number

                   This option specifies the number of bytes
                   that can be added to the environment space
                   for storing search drive path names.

                   If you are specifying many long path names
                   for search drives with the MAP command,
                   you may need to add extra environment
                   space to hold those names.

                   This can be any number from 17 to 512;
                   17 is the default.

                   We recommend that you leave this option
                   at the default value unless you are
                   encountering environment space problems.


NetX.COM                      3.21                    7-18-91
XMSNetX.EXE                   3.21                    7-18-91
EMSNetX.EXE                   3.21                    7-18-91
     ■ Generic Shell--NETX.COM works with DOS 3.x,
     4.x, and 5.x.

     ■ Using the Preferred Server function caused some
     machines to hang randomly.  This problem was fixed
     with the release of the NETX shell.

     ■ The /c = option was added to allow flexible
     naming of the shell configuration file (ie. NET.CFG).

     ■ Added a date code to the shell.  When you run
     "NETX i" the shell will display the shell version, date
     of creation, and copyright information.

     ■ The shell was enhanced to be able to locate the
     Master environment regardless of its location.
     ■ The /f option was added to allow the shell to be
     unloaded after it had been loaded high.

     ■ Added support for EMS memory handle names.

     ■ Added support for international date and time
     formats.

     ■ Fixed a problem with being denied simultaneous
     access to a shared file.

     ■ Corrected "call 5" functions for programs ported
     from CPM to DOS.

     ■ Added feature to display the version of DOS that
     is currently running when the shell is loaded.

     ■ Resolved a problem where Btrieve files were being
     corrupted when the server was downed improperly.

     ■ Fixed cache problem which was causing a
     WordPerfect diskfull error.

     ■ Fixed the DOS NAME parameter problem with the
     EMS and XMS shell.  The EMS and XMS shells
     would hang when loading if the DOS NAME was
     used.

     ■ Fixed the problem with "P_STATION" returning
     bad information in the Login script.  This problem
     only occurred with the v3.2 shell.)

     ■ DOS 5.0 "Load High" was not working properly
     with NET5.COM.  NETX.COM v3.21 will work with
     the DOS 5.0 "Load High" command.

     ■ DOS 5.0 MEM program was not displaying
     program names properly after the shell was loaded.
     This functionality works with this release of the
     shell.

     ■ DOS ATTRIB command was unable to find hidden
     directories on network drives.  This functionality
     works with this release of the shell.

     ■ Fixed a problem with remote boot on workstations
     with hard drives.


NetX.COM                      3.22                    7-31-91
XMSNetX.EXE                   3.22                    7-31-91
EMSNetX.EXE                   3.22                    7-31-91
     ■ Corrected a problem with remote boot and DOS 5.0.
     Previously, the shell would look to the F: drive rather
     then the A: (virtual) drive.


NetX.COM                 3.26                   2-11-92
BNetX.COM                3.26                   2-11-92
XMSNetX.EXE              3.26                   2-11-92
EMSNetX.EXE              3.26                   2-11-92
     ■ Corrected a problem with certain database applications which issue
     the commit file command, the file was not properly updated on the
     file server disk.

     ■ Corrected a problem with the MS-DOS DOSNAME function not working
     properly with EMSNETX.EXE and XMSNETX.EXE.

     ■ Enhanced the shell such that memory display applications such as the
     MS-DOS MEM program display the name of the shell as well as its size and
     location.

     ■ Corrected a problem where Capture would return "garbage" characters to
     the screen when capturing without specifying a queue name.

     ■ Corrected a problem when the shell was unloaded with COMSPEC set to a
     network drive, the COMSPEC was not being reset to the local drive.

     ■ Corrected network errors due to packet size negotiation problem when
     using the Preferred Server option on a workstation with a packet size
     greater than that of the preferred server when the initial server also
     had a packet size greater than the preferred server.

     ■ Added a procedure to check if the total of FILE HANDLES= in the
     NET.CFG and FILES= in the CONFIG.SYS exceeds 254.  If so, an error is
     returned and the shell is not loaded.

     ■ Added two new NET.CFG parameters, SEARCH DIR FIRST and NCP TIMEOUT FLAG:

SEARCH DIR FIRST=ON/OFF

                   This option deterimines the order in which the shell
                   searches files and directories on a NetWare file server.
                   This only applies to handle-oriented directory searches
                   such as Windows File Manager, not FCB directory searches,
                   such as DOS's DIR command.  If SEARCH DIR FIRST=ON, then
                   the shell searches for directories first.  If SEARCH DIR
                   FIRST=OFF, then the shell searches for files first.  The
                   default is OFF.

NCP TIMEOUT FLAG=ON/OFF

    NOTE:  This option was added for unusual circumstances and may
               cause unpredictable results when used incorrectly!

                   This option adds the ability to change the default timeout
                   value of the shell.  To enable this option, three options
                   need to be set:  NCP TIMEOUT FLAG=ON, NCP TIMEOUT BASE=n
                   where n=some value, NCP TIMEOUT MULTIPLIER=n where n=some
                   value. The default is:

                   NCP TIMEOUT FLAG=OFF

                   The values equivalent to the default are:

                   NCP TIMEOUT FLAG=ON
                   NCP TIMEOUT BASE=10
                   NCP TIMEOUT MULTIPLIER=4

                  If only the NCP TIMEOUT FLAG=ON is set, the shell uses the
                  default values for NCP TIMEOUT BASE and NCP TIMEOUT
                  MULTIPLIER.  Setting the NCP TIMEOUT BASE and NCP TIMEOUT
                  MULTIPLIER lower than these numbers reduces the shell's
                  timeout.  Increasing the BASE by increments of 1 increases
                  the timeout by 1 tick.  The NCP TIMEOUT MULTIPLIER multiplies
                  the NCP TIMEOUT BASE number by the value set for NCP TIMEOUT
                  MULTIPLIER.

                  OPTION                         DEFAULT  MINIMUM   MAXIMUM

                  NCP TIMEOUT BASE                 10        1        255
                  NCP TIMEOUT BASE MULTIPLIER       4        1        255

                  The NCP TIMEOUT BASE multiplied by the NCP TIMEOUT
                  MULTIPLIER should NOT exceed 255.  Setting the values too
                  low will cause an excessive number of network errors.
                  It is recommended that these values not be changed from
                  the default except in special circumstances.