"NetWare for DEC Access"; Questions & Answers TID251111 DOCUMENT REVISION: C JUNE 27, 1995 NOVELL PRODUCT and VERSION: NetWare for DEC Access 1.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Q1. How does the "NetWare for DEC Access" (NWDA) server physically connect to the DEC network/segment? A1. A LAT segment operates as an ETHERNET segment, which can be thin or thick ethernet, or 10BaseXX. A "NetWare for DEC Access" server attaches to this segment using network adapter cards that support the ETHERNET_II frame type. Generally, terminal servers that attach to these segments use either thin ethernet or 10BaseT. "NetWare for DEC Access", which acts as a terminal server, interfaces with the LAT segment in a similar fashion. Q2. How many sessions can NetWare for DEC Access support? A2. NetWare for DEC Access supports up to 128 users, or ports. Each port can support up 4 sessions. Therefore, a NetWare for DEC Access server can support a maximum of 512 sessions. The connection between one NetWare for DEC Access server and one host, called a circuit, can support up to 256 sessions. In order to support 512 sessions, but they must be connected to more than one host. If you need more than 256 sessions to a single host, you will need more than one NetWare for DEC Access server. Q3. Do bridges and routers work with NetWare for DEC Access? A3. By placing the NWDA server next to the LAT host(s), you can bridge or route IPX or TCP/IP to the clients. This is one of the best selling points of NWDA. You can use your existing WAN to provide connectivity to the DEC network, simplifying the administration of the WAN. Q4. Does "NetWare for DEC Access" provide file services to and from the DEC host(s)? A4. Most emulators provide some kind of file transfer capability. You cannot directly access DEC files like you would with Pathworks. Note: Reflection from WRQ has the following feature. If the VAX host(s) does not have file transfer software, Reflection has the ability to create a simple transfer program on the VAX via a Reflection script file using DEC Command Language. After that, it will transfer a comprehensive VAX file transfer program to the VAX. Q5. Does "NetWare for DEC Access" use up NCP connections while connecting via an IPX/SPX client? A5. "NetWare for DEC Access" does not use NCP connections. "NetWare for DEC Access" uses a SPX socket to connect from NetWare clients to the NWDA server. "NetWare for DEC Access" does not even require a NetWare shell (NETX or VLM) to be running on the client. It does require the following to be loaded at the client workstation: LSL Network adapter card drive IPXODI NOTE: Some emulators look at user information on the server to see if multiple connections are allowed to the server. This is only a concern if one user is going to open multiple sessions. If the user has only been granted one NetWare connection under NetWare user information, some emulators will refuse to open another session and display an error message. NOTE: "NetWare for DEC Access" DOES look at bindery information. On the NetWare 4.10 server, the SET parameter "SET BINDERY CONTEXT " must be configured properly! Q6. Do I need to load any extra software on the VAX? A6. No - just run the LAT protocol. Q7. What kind of configuration changes must I make on the VAX? A7. Normally, none. Almost every host from Digital comes with the LAT protocol. If you are using LAT already, then no changes need to be made on the VAX (or DEC host). If you are not currently using LAT, you will need to activate the LAT protocol. Your DEC administrator will normally be the one to do this. Q8. How many sessions are supported per user? A8. "NetWare for DEC Access" is licensed by the number of concurrent "users" or clients that attach to the "NetWare for DEC Access" server. Each user can open up to 4 sessions, if the emulator supports that many. If the emulator supports more than 4 sessions, it will open a second attachment (which is transparent to the user) to support up to 4 more sessions, etc. Note that users need not log into the server and therefore don't use an NCP connection and don't use up the number of licensed users for NetWare. Q9. I currently have an emulator that will support NetWare for LAT. Do I need an updated version, to use it with "NetWare for DEC Access"? A9. Emulators that support "NetWare for LAT" will support "NetWare for DEC Access" unchanged. However, to take advantage of some of the new features of NetWare for DEC Access, namely, NDS support and the enhanced IPX/SPX advertising, you will need to update your emulator. Q10. Does NetWare for DEC Access provide print services between the DEC host and the NetWare server? A10. Print services NLMs are available from several of our third party partners which provide bidirectional printing between the DEC host and a NetWare LAN. Namely, Meridian Technology and Firefox provide printing products for NetWare for DEC Access. Q11. Where would the "NetWare for DEC Access" server be installed? A11. Since the communication between the server and the DEC host uses the LAT protocol, they must be on the same Ethernet segment, but the NetWare users can be anywhere on the NetWare network. Q12. Are two network interface cards required? A12. No. With only one Ethernet card, both the LAT sessions to the DEC host and the NetWare sessions (IPX/SPX, TCP/IP or AppleTalk) to the clients would go through the same card. For improved performance though, Novell recommends 2 cards on separate segments, one for LAT communications and one for NetWare communications. Q13. How does "NetWare for DEC Access" compare to Pathworks for DOS (NetWare Coexistence) from Digital? A13. For emulation to a DEC host, Pathworks loads either LAT, DECnet or TCP/IP protocol software on the client workstation, in addition to IPX/SPX for NetWare. Emulators that support "NetWare for DEC Access" can use the protocol running at the client workstation, either IPX/SPX, TCP/IP or AppleTalk. There is no need to load LAT or DECnet on every workstation. Pathworks does provide some services, such as file services, that "NetWare for DEC Access" does not directly provide. If you want to use VAX disk drives as network drives, Pathworks as well as other software products (such as InterConnections or TGV) can provide that type of service. These products require IPX/SPX or TCP/IP on the VAX in addition to the extra protocol stack at the client. To use NetWare based servers as network drives, but still provide terminal and print access to DEC hosts from NetWare client workstations, "NetWare for DEC Access" provides a simpler, more economical solution. Q14. Is "NetWare for DEC Access" compatible with NetWare/IP? A14. Yes. NetWare/IP and "NetWare for DEC Access" can be used together to provide TCP/IP connectivity from NetWare clients to DEC hosts without loading TCP/IP on the DEC host. Q15. Is "NetWare for DEC Access" compatible with VLMs as well as NETX? A15. Yes. Since emulators using the IPX protocol communicate using the standard NetWare client software, either VLM or NETX can be used. If all that is required is connectivity to the DEC host, then only IPXODI needs to loaded at the client. Q16. Can I run "NetWare for DEC Access" and "NetWare for SAA" on the same server? A16. Yes, and because NetWare for DEC Access 1.1 and NetWare for SAA 2.0 use the same Communication Executive, you can cost-effectively run both products from the same server. Q17. Can I run "NetWare for DEC Access" and "NetWare Connect" on the same server? A17. Yes, both NetWare for DEC Access and NetWare Connect can be run from the same server. Q18. Won't the LAT protocol time out in a WAN configuration? A18. No. Since the "NetWare for DEC Access" server is normally located on the same segment as the VAX, the LAT connection between the server and the VAX is maintained. On the client side, Telenet, IPX/SPX, TCP/IP or AppleTalk is used over the WAN. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information. -----------------------------------------------------------------