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TITLE: Before Begining Installation
DOCUMENT ID#: FYI.P.6018
DATE: December 4, 1992
PRODUCT: NetWare Lite
PRODUCT VERSION: All versions
SUPERSEDES: NA
SYMPTOM: NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
Before Begining Installation
NetWare Lite is designed to allow multiple computers (nodes) in a physical LAN segment (network) to share resources like printers and disk space. Computers which make resources available to the network are called servers. Computers which access resources are called clients. In NetWare Lite's peer-to-peer environment, almost any computer on the network can be a server, a client, or both. The only limitation is that a server must have a hard disk. However, there are other things to think about when deciding which computers will be servers, clients, or both. Before you begin installing NetWare Lite take a few minutes to consider the following.
Which computers have printers, applications, or data that need to be shared?
How big/fast are the hard disks and cpu's in the computers which will be part of the network?
Where will the computers and printers be located? Are they close enough together for the cabling system we plan to use?
What kind of network interface cards (NIC) will we use?
Can one of the computers be made a dedicated server in order to increase network performance?
Will any of the computers be connected to another network at the same time?
Which computers can be made physically secure?
How sensitve will information on this network be?
Who will be responsible for network administration?
All of these items will effect whether you decide to make a computer a server, a client, or both. In general, the machines with the fastest hard disk/cpu combinations should be made servers. Installing applications on the computer with the greatest disk capacity will facilitate centralized administration and maintenance but may not be the best choice from a performance standpoint. For example, suppose everyone on the network uses the same word processor which is installed on computer A, but only one person uses the spreadsheet application managing a large database. Since the spreadsheet application can demand large amounts of processing capacity it would probably be better to install the spreadsheet and database on a server other than computer A. That way the spreadsheet and word processor will not have to compete for processing time.
A major consideration in setting up any network is what type of cabling system (topology) will be used. The most important factor is distance between computers. Another factor is how cabling can be routed through your office or building. There are several widely used systems to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. For information on cabling and other hardware issues see the series of fax documents on "Hardware".
If there is only one server in your network or a particular server does not require access to other servers' resources, then you should consider making it a dedicated server. See fax document "Dedicated Servers" for more information on setting up a dedicated server.
For information on installing NetWare Lite in a pre-existing network see the series of fax documents on "NetWare and NetWare Lite".
Security requirments will also determine which computers should be servers/clients. NetWare Lite provides three levels of security to protect your sensitive data. However, it is best to physically protect computers containing sensitive material as well. This may mean having to place such computers behind locked doors.
How your network is administered will contribute significantly to user satisfaction. NetWare Lite greatly simplifies network administration by decentralizing the databases used to keep track of who can login, who has priviledges to what, etc.. A major feature of NetWare Lite is the ability to administer the network from any computer on the network. This means that the person(s) who administer the network do not have to use "the" server to perform administrative tasks. For more information on administration and security see the series of fax documents on "Network Administration".
