Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/network/nwl004.zip/110.ASC

Text File | 1991-10-29 | 9KB | 180 lines

                               FYI

Note: The origin of this information may be internal or external
to Novell.  Novell makes every effort within its means to verirfy
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.

            TITLE:  Top Support Issues
     DOCUMENT ID#:  FYI.P.6002
             DATE:  October 29, 1991
          PRODUCT:  NetWare Lite
  PRODUCT VERSION:  All versions
       SUPERSEDES:  NA

          SYMPTOM:  NA

ISSUE/PROBLEM

Top Support Issues

SHARE.EXE: Status Report 5
When loading the server, you may get "Status Report 5", which
talks about SHARE.EXE not being loaded when the SERVER.EXE was
executed.  SHARE.EXE is a program that comes with DOS 3.1 or
above.  SHARE is the mechanism that allows files to be accessed
simultaneously from multiple clients.  If you get Status Report
5, you do not have SHARE.EXE in your PATH.  Either add the
appropriate directory to your PATH (where SHARE.EXE is located)
or copy SHARE.EXE to the directory where NetWare Lite is
installed.  Although loading SHARE is not required for the server
to run, it is strongly recommended.  SHARE should be loaded
before SERVER.  SHARE should be tuned for proper performance.
You may need to increase the values for locks (/L) and files (/F)
if you run database applications or if you have more than 4 users
accessing the server.  See your DOS documentation for more
information on configuring SHARE.  You do not need to load SHARE
before loading CLIENT.

Loading SERVER Only Instead of SERVER and CLIENT
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.  If a particular server does not require access
to other servers' resources, then you should consider making it a
server only.  A server which does not run simultaneously as a
client is called a "dedicated" server.  Network performance can
be improved by running servers as dedicated.  Also, the less the
server is used as a workstation the better it will perform as a
server.  Note that a workstation must be running as a client to
use the NET utility, which is the interface for managing the
network.  This means that a computer which is configured as a
server only must be managed from another network workstation
which is a client.  See fax document "Before Beginning
Installation" for more information on deciding how to set up your
network.

Setting LASTDRIVE
LASTDRIVE is a DOS command which is executed at boot time from
the CONFIG.SYS file.  The NetWare Lite NET utility uses LASTDRIVE
to identify valid drives and provide compatibilty with other
NetWare products.  The installation programs default value of
LASTDRIVE=M: should work for most situations.  If you wish to use
a value other than M: be aware that LASTDRIVE should be set to G:
or greater for NET to run.  LASTDRIVE is set by including a
command such as "LASTDRIVE=G:" in CONFIG.SYS.  If you attempt to
run NET with LASTDRIVE set lower than G:, or not set, you will
have to increase the value of LASTDRIVE and reboot before any NET
command can be executed.

Network Applications
Installing applications on NetWare Lite may be different than
installing applications on NetWare.  NetWare is, as you know, a
very popular LAN.  Many applications have NetWare specific
installation options.  These installation options DO NOT apply to
NetWare Lite networks.  NetWare Lite is a DOS peer-to-peer
network.  If the application being installed has network specific
installations then "Other networks.." or "DOS peer-to-peer
network" or the like, should be selected.  DO NOT select NetWare
or Novell installation options.  See Appendix B in the
documentation for more details about using NetWare Lite with
NetWare.

Capturing Ports
The term "capturing ports" refers to redirecting print jobs from
the normal printing device to someplace else, in this case, a
network printer.  To capture a port in the NetWare Lite
environment you must have first loaded CLIENT and be logged in to
the network.  The NET CAPTURE command has the following format:

            NET CAPTURE port printer server settings

where port, printer, server, and settings are replaced by your
port name, server name, etc..  The following example captures
print jobs sent to parallel port LPT1 and redirects then to the
network printer named "LASER" on server "GEORGE" with banner
printing turned off.

                NET CAPTURE LPT1 LASER GEORGE b=n

See the user's manual or use the NET HELP CAPTURE command for a
complete list of options to NET CAPTURE.

PostScript Printers
Because of the nature of postscript printers, special care must
be taken when sending print jobs.  You should make sure your
capture has the following set:

     BANNER=No
     TABS=0
     FORMFEED=No

You may also want to set the WAIT parameter to a value higher
than 10 seconds.  If your print job gets split to multiple jobs
when printing to a postscript printer, you will want to increase
the WAIT value.  Increase it until your print job comes out all
in one job.

Installing "other" Network Interface Card Drivers
When loading NetWare Lite you are prompted to select a network
interface card driver.  Unfortunately, the installation program
fails to complete properly if "other" is selected.  If you need
to use a card driver not supplied on the original installation
diskettes, you can avoid this problem by making a backup copy of
the original diskettes and copying the card driver to the backup.
Use the backup to install NetWare Lite.  Note: If you make a
seperate backup of the "driver" diskette you must copy your card
driver to the "driver" backup.  See fax document "Selecting Other
Card Driver During Installation" for a step-by-step procedure on
how to do this.

The IPXODI Driver
The IPX shipped with NetWare Lite (IPXODI) is not new and is not
special to NetWare Lite.  Novell has made a general decision to
convert from "linked" IPX to IPXODI.  IPXODI is shipped with the
LAN Workplace for DOS product, and with DOS/Windows shell kit.
Novell will convert from linked IPX to IPXODI for red-box NetWare
in the near future.  IPXODI is functionally identical to the
linked version of IPX, although the LSL offers multiple-prtocol
and MLID capabilities.  NetWare Lite can be run on top of either
(but not both) linked IPX or IPXODI.  STARTNET.BAT, which is
created as part of the NetWare Lite installation, should be
modified to NOT load LSL (the odi driver) and IPXODI if linked
IPX is already being loaded elsewhere (like in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT).

Loading CLIENT and SERVER into Upper Memory
Memory managers which load terminate-stay-resident programs
(TSR's) such as CLIENT.EXE and SERVER.EXE into upper memory
reserve a fixed length block of memory to load the program into.
As long as the program is the same size in memory as it is on
disk, there will be no memory conflict.  However, SERVER.EXE is
actually larger when it is loaded than it is on disk.  Since
SERVER.EXE is larger, memory managers that do not account for
such growth may load SERVER into too small of a memory block.
This can cause memory corruption and the computer to hang.  To
avoid this type of problem do not load SERVER into upper memory.
CLIENT does not grow when loaded so it can be loaded "high".

Installing to a 360K Floppy Drive
Your computer must have a hard drive to be configured as a
server.  Therefore, installing to a floppy drive implies you are
configuring your computer as a client only.  All the files
required to run as a client will fit on one 360K floppy diskette.
The procedure for installing NetWare Lite to a floppy drive is
essentially the same as installing to a hard drive.  When the
installation program prompts for the path to the directory where
NetWare Lite will be installed, enter a: (or b:) and press
return.  The installation program will read files from the
installation diskettes and then copy them to your diskette
prompting you periodically
to switch diskettes.  Make sure that the diskette you are
installing to is bootable by entering "sys a:" (or "sys b:") at
the DOS command prompt.  To run your computer as a NetWare Lite
client, insert the new boot diskette into the a: drive and
reboot.  When the computer has finished booting, type "startnet"
at the DOS command prompt and press enter.  Running off a floppy
drive can be slow.  To improve your workstaion performance, see
fax document "Assisting Floppy-Based Clients".