(Note: 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.)
TITLE: EVOLUTION/2 Compatabilitity
DOCUMENT ID#: FYI.P.6045
DATE: 04Dec92
PRODUCT: NetWare Lite
PRODUCT VERSION: All versions
SUPERSEDES: NA
SYMPTOM: NA
ISSUE/PROBLEM
MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 Compatability (Fax Document #208)
The following is a technical bulletin, reproduced with permission from State of the Art, Inc. It discusses NetWare Lite's compatability with MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2.
MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 Technical Bulletin
Bulletin No.: 91008 Date: November 22, 1991
Application: Library Master Level: 1.2x
Subject: NetWare Lite Compatibility Issues
State of the Art, Inc. has evaluated the Novell NetWare Lite Network Operating System and found it to be fully compatible with MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2. NetWare Lite is a low-cost, peer-to-peer network solution that does not require a dedicated file server and offers compatibility to most NETBIOS networking adapters.
The evaluation performed by Sate Of The Art, Inc., consisted of an 80386 non-dedicated file server, 80386 workstation, MS-DOS Level 3.30 and MS-DOS Level 5.0, and Western Digital Ethernet network interface cards. We also configured NetWare Lite using ARCNET network interface cards. Both methods of connecting workstations were found to be compatible with MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 products. Because of the inherently slower nature of a peer-to-peer topology, it is recommended that 80386- or 80486-based systems be used for both file servers and workstations.
To use NetWare Lite as a network environment with your MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 installation, a Network version of the Library Master is required. The Network Library Master must be Level 1.2x or above and should be installed on the designated file server of the NetWare Lite Network using the network installation procedure described in Section 7 of the Library Master documentation.
It appears that MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2, used in conjunction with NetWare Lite version 1.0, is incompatible with DOS partitions that are larger than 32MB. System freezes and intermittent lock-ups may occur when drive partitions larger than 32MB in DOS 4.0x, or other methods of increasing drive sizes, are used. If these conditions persist, either shrink your DOS 4.0x partitions to less than 32MB or reformat your hard drives with DOS version 3.30 or DOS version 5.0. Both methods have been found to eliminate the problem.
Because of the size of the NetWare Lite shell, the amount of memory available to the MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 software may not be sufficient for some applications under MS-DOS 3.3x. Under MS-DOS 5.0 this issue can be addressed by loading various network drivers into high memory, gaining approximately 40KB of additional RAM. However, even when using MS-DOS 5.0 with NetWare Lite, you may experience memory limitations because the remaining available memory can be limited by DOS configuration issues.
Because it is impossible to predict the actual amount of available RAM you may have on your system at any one time, we suggest that you establish a minimum of 530KB to 550KB of available RAM before entering the MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 software. This amount of available RAM should be sufficient to run the software in a multi-user mode under most circumstances for all applications.
In order to ensure that the MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 software functions properly in the NetWare Lite environment, you must check the following minimum configuration issues.
To configure your system for NetWare Lite:
1. The file server disk drive and each workstation should be configured and operational before installing MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2. You should configure and test printers and have supervisor access rights before application installation.
2. The CONFIG.SYS file for file servers and workstations must contain the following commands:
FILES=50
BUFFERS=32
LASTDRIVE=M
3. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file for the file server with MAS 90 EVOLUTION/2 installed must contain the following commands:
SET BBTERM=TO Sets the file server identifier to TO.
SHARE/F:4096/L:500 Invokes SHARE with file buffers set to 4096, number of file locks set to 500.
4. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file for each workstation must contain the following commands:
SET BBTERM=T1 Sets the workstation identifier to T1. Each workstation must have a unique identifier (e.g., T1..T9, T10, T11, TA, TB, etc.).
SHARE/F:4096/L:500 Invokes SHARE with file buffers set to 4096, number of file locks set to 500.
5. Make sure that each workstation and the file server are all running with the exact same version of DOS. This is necessary because the SHARE command is used for File and Record locking, and consistent implementations of SHARE are a requirement for NetWare Lite to function properly.
6. The drive letter for the server should be higher than the highest drive letter for any workstation. For example, if each local workstation has a C and D drive, the server should be designated as an E drive, relative to the workstations. Otherwise, data corruption may occur.
IMPORTANT
While NerWare Lite is designed as a peer-to-peer drive-sharing network, the M*A*S 90 EVOLUTION/2 programs and data files require a server and workstation configuration. All programs must be loaded onto the same server drive and in the same directory. All data files are accessed through Library Master programs and their location as known to M*A*S 90 EVOLUTION/2 is relative to the drive where Library Master was installed. It is recommended that all data files be located in the same directory where the application programs were installed. However, if you choose to distribute data files among other drives on the network, do not assign each workstation a different drive designator for the server drive. Each workstation must access the server drive using a simialr drive letter, or M*A*S EVOLUTION/2 may not be able to access those data files.
