James B. MacLean (jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca) reported
(11/28/94) that
Dosemu now supports pdipx (an IPX over pktdrvr) and pdether (uses Novell's MLID spec) to access Novell LAN's via the built in packet driver. The packet driver sits at interrupt 0x60, and abids by the normal paket driver rules. That said, beware of trying any DOS TCP/IP just yet. Single access can be made by:
1) cd ./net 2) cp libpacket.c.single libpacket.c 3) cp pktnew.c.single pktnew.c 4) recompile DOSEMU 5) run dosemu 6) load pdether as described by its docs (pdipx is another method) 7) load netx 8) enjoy netware access :-)If you need special access to your NIC, read on. By default dosemu will not get interrupts from the kernel. That said, if you'd like to give your NIC to dosemu for it to control, maybe for access to Netware on the network through a NETX client, I do have a driver (Silly Interrupt Generator) to put in the kernel that any program, like dosemu can use to get at the interrupt for your NIC. I use it in DOSEMU to access a Novell Lite network in the past until the packet driver existed.
Any interested parties should E-mail me
(jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca) and I'll pass along some
directions.
Want multiple DOSEMU's access to Novell?
1) compile current [pre-release] DOSEMU 2) follow directions in ./v-net/dosnet.README 3) carry on from 5) above.
Lauri Tischler (ltischler@fipower.pp.fi) has authored this
section of the HOWTO (Thanks Lauri!!!). This is Rev. 0.1, 26 Nov
1994.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This information applies to the pre-release versions of dosemu (pre0.53_??) only!
This is my first attempt to write some kind of advice on how to connect to a Netware server from your Linux box.
Due to the first attempt and the scope of this note, it is not a real HOWTO, not even a 'mini-HOWTO'. You might call it a 'nano-HOWTO' if you like.
As in most sites the Netware is really just an extension to PC's running DOS and DOS applications (Windows is JUST another DOS-application), the Netware providing fileserver and printing support, I will concentrate on getting the connection via DOSEMU only.
It is possible to access Netware server via NFS from Linux directly,
but that requires the Novell NFS nlm-module for the server. Unless
you have $x000 of extra dough around you better forget it.
Besides all the applications are DOS programs anyway, so you can't run
them in Linux native mode. Also, if there is filenamelength
limitations in Novell NFS it is quite useless in *nix environment. (I
really don't know NFS, never seen the beast).
So, how to get the connection to the Netware server, that is the question.
We have a Netware network with 3 servers and appr. 110 PC's connected to it. It is TOTALLY Dos/Windows environment, running 'Novell standard' Ethernet_802.3 frames, really very ordinary commercial REAL LIFE setup.
I use in my PC (in addition to DOS) Linux 1.1.65 and Dosemu pre0.53_35 and it works in my machine with my hardware and our network. The following may or may not work on Your pile of iron.
1) Linux kernel requirements (NONE). There is a config parameter 'IPX-SUPPORT'. It makes no difference to use it or not to use it. It is provided for future hooks to kernel. There are no working hooks which use it, not at least in dosemu, not in various configurations I have tested.
2) dosemu requirements (FEW) Here is a fragment of dosemu.conf file. Comment out ipxsupport on and pktdriver novell_hack
#************************* NETWORKING SUPPORT ***************************** # # Turn the following option 'on' if you require IPX/SPX emulation. # Therefore, there is no need to load IPX.COM within the DOS session. # The following option does not emulate LSL.COM, IPXODI.COM, etc. # NOTE: MUST HAVE IPX PROTOCOL ENABLED IN KERNEL !! #ipxsupport on # # Enable Novell 8137->raw 802.3 translation hack in new packet driver. #pktdriver novell_hackThe ipx support does not work yet in dosemu and the novell_hack has been disabled in the latest dosemu (pl35). There is a gallant effort for better support, look at directory v-net for info, but we are not there yet.
In stock dosemu release (at least in pre0.53_35) in directory net the two files pktnew.c and libpacket.c are the experimental multi-version. They do not work yet. You need to copy the single-versions over the original multi-versions.
cp pktnew.c.single pktnew.c
cp libpacket.c.single libpacket.c
Remake your dosemu, normally 'make most' and we are almost there.
Test your newly made dosemu and when you are convinced that everything is on order, continue..
3) The shell.
To connect to Netware server you need the driver (ipx) and the shell (netx or vlm).
As a driver you can use either PDIPX, which is really an ipx-to-packet driver shim, or PDETHER which is also ipx-to-packet driver shim, but masquerading as an ODI compliant driver. Which one to use depends really on what frametypes is your Netware server using.
a) If the Netware runs on Ethernet_802.3 use PDIPX
b) If the Netware runs on Ethernet_II use PDETHER
If you use PDIPX, you just load
PDIPX
NETX
and voila there You are, connected...
You can use PDIPX on Ethernet_II frame but then you need to run program called econfig against PDIPX, see Novell docs for info.
If you use PDETHER, because PDETHER is an ODI driver, you load..
LSL
PDETHER
IPXODI
NETX
and again You should be connected...
Because PDETHER is an ODI driver, there must be corresponding section in
Your net.cfg file. Read the PDETHER.DOC for info.
There is NO WAY to use PDETHER on Ethernet_802.3 frames. If your Netware runs on 802.3 and you MUST use ODI drivers then you need to run both frametypes on Netware server. You need to load the NIC-driver second time in your server. This time specifying Ethernet_II frame, like I do..
load SMCE32 port=6810 Name=Nv Frame=Ethernet_802.3 ; 'novell' frame
load SMCE32 port=6810 Name=Nl Frame=Ethernet_II ; 'normal' frame
bind ipx to Nv Net=E1
bind ipx to Nl Net=E2
Both nets E1 and E2 are really the same net. If I use original PDIPX I connect to E1 with PDETHER I connect to E2.
Some people might want to use VLM drivers, because in DOS environment they are much faster. Don't bother, for reasons unknown, in DOSEMU the VLM drivers are dogs.
With above mentioned setup it IS POSSIBLE to connect to Netware server and even do some usefull work, but slowly.
Here is some benchmarking I did using NETX and VLM shells, with and without packetburst. The testprogram was TESTNET.EXE, available somewhere in NetWire. It tests the network transfer speed. I can saturate my ethernet with two stations running at full tilt. Maximum aggregate speed is appr. 900 kilobytes/sec. I'm using SMC Elite 32 EISA board in Server and SMC Elite Ultra in workstation.
NETX VLM(0) VLM(3) Dos6.2 620 560 760 DosEmu 107 111 60
The figures denote transferspeed in kilobytes/second. VLM(0) means packetburst disabled, VLM(3) packetburst enabled. You can see that the connection with dosemu is not very fast, barely usable.
Few months ago I had a NE2000 clone in my box, with DOS6.2/NETX it would run to appr. 460 kbs. I could live with that. There is still work to be done.
I am well aware that I'm missing a lot of things in here, like
- multiuser dos-session, I don't think it works yet, anyway the speed would be comparable to dead snail.
- tcp-connections from dosemu, I havn't the faintest idea, the only *nix machine in our net is my Linuxbox.
Also I may have totally mixed the working and not working things. As the Dosemu as well as the Kernel are evolving, living things it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the beasts. I do apologize for any mistakes and will gratefully accept and include any corrections and additions to this note.
We all know that the DOSEMU is still ALPHA but it is not really far from BETA. There is some interesting work going on by Vinod G Kulkarni and others, read the relevant pieces in dosemu release (READMEs and such).
Regards, Lauri Tischler ltischler@fipower.pp.fi
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