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NOVELL TECHNICAL INFORMATION DOCUMENT
TITLE: NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1 & 2.11 Update
DOCUMENT ID: TID200053
DOCUMENT REVISION: A
DATE: 15JUL94
ALERT STATUS: Yellow
INFORMATION TYPE: Symptom Solution
README FOR: MPR199.EXE
NOVELL PRODUCT and VERSION:
NetWare MultiProtocol Router PLUS 2.1
NetWare MultiProtocol Router PLUS 2.11
ABSTRACT:
This update provides NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1x with
software-based data compression over a PPP connection without using additional
hardware. This update also corrects a problem with the PPP.LAN found in
PPPCMP.EXE, and FRELAY.EXE releases placed on NetWire, and the NetWare
MultiProtocol Router 2.11 Plus. The compression is proprietary and only works
when used with other NetWare MultiProtocol Router 2.1 or 2.11 Plus routers
that have PPP data compression installed.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SYMPTOM
NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1 provides no data compression support for
NetWare/Link PPP WAN connections. This update provides PPP data compression
that is compatible with other NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1 routers
running this update and NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.11 routers with
compression enabled.
NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.11 with PPP.LAN dated 12-21-93 and NetWare
MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1 routers running the previous version of this
update with PPP.LAN dated 11-1-93 could experience unnecessary compression
resets, which could degrade the performance of the PPP Data Compression.
SOLUTION
Installing this update corrects this problem for all versions of NetWare
MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1X supporting PPP data compression.
Self-Extracting File Name: MPR199.EXE Revision: A
Files Included Size Date Time
\
MPR199.TXT (This File)
PIN.DAT 76978 04-28-94 2:15p
PPPCMP2.TXT 21028 07-15-94 9:25a
FILEDATA.DAT 2129 04-28-94 3:04p
PINSTALL.HLP 4286 10-28-93 11:13a
PINSTALL.NLM 22511 04-28-94 2:15p
PRODUCTS.515 5120 05-21-93 8:22a
PRODUCTS.610 8192 05-21-93 8:53a
\UTILS\
PPP_UPD.NLM 1530 11-29-93 12:24p
\WANNM\
PPPCFG.NLM 34611 11-29-93 12:16p
\WAN\
PPP.LAN 115226 01-28-94 9:13a
Before you read the Installation Instructions below, please extract the file
using the following procedure:
1. Make a new directory on a hard disk.
2. Copy PPPCMP.EXE into that directory.
3. Run PPPCMP to extract the files listed above from them.
4. Label a blank diskette PPPCOMP with the DOS Label command.
5. Xcopy these files to the diskette, including subdirectories(use Xcopy
/s).
Installation Instructions:
Before installing the NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression product, you must
first have the NetWare 3.1X or NetWare Runtime(TM) 3.1X software installed on
your server or router. You must also have the NetWare MultiProtocol Router
Plus 2.1X software installed. Refer to the NetWare documentation for
installation instructions. If you are also installing any other Novell(R)
products, do so before installing the NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression
product.
Use the following procedure to install the software on your machine:
1. Insert the NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression diskette (that you made
from the NetWire(R) electronic bulletin board) into the disk drive.
2. At the server or router console prompt, type:
LOAD INSTALL <Enter>
The Installation Options menu appears.
3. Select Product Options and press <Enter>.
A new window displays the currently installed products.
4. Press <Ins> to insert a new product.
A new window displays a prompt with drive A: as the default.
5. If you are installing the software from drive A:, just press <Enter>.
If you are installing the software from drive B:, replace "A:" with "B:," then
press <Enter>.
The Installed Product menu appears after a few moments.
6. Select Install on this Server and press <Enter>.
7. When the installation is complete, select No to return to the Product
Options menu; or select Yes to view the INSTALL.LOG file.
If you chose to view the INSTALL.LOG file, press <Esc> to continue.
8. Press <Esc> until you exit INSTALL.
The software is installed.
9. Type the following command at the server prompt:
LOAD INETCFG <Enter>
10. Enable your NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression software by configuring
the appropriate Enable/Disable parameter in the NetWare Link/PPP Expert Port
Configuration screen of INETCFG.
Enabling the data compression option allows negotiation of compression with
the remote peer. Data compression is used only if both the local and remote
peers support a common technique appropriate for the link speed. You can
disable compression on a given link if the data to be transferred is not of a
compressible nature, such as previously compressed archive files or encrypted
data.
For information about configuring the other parameters for PPP WAN
connections, see the NetWare WAN Connectivity Supervisor's Guide Version 2.1.
Common installation and configuration problems, plus solutions:
* If you have difficulty installing this update, check the following list
of common problems and their solutions:
The diskette is not recognized or accepted during installation.
- Make sure that the diskette has been properly labeled (check the label
with the DOS LABEL command) when it was formatted: PPPCOMP is the proper
label.
- Make sure that there are no TSRs or other memory resident programs
loaded on the server before you run SERVER.EXE. The best way to do this is
to make sure that they are not in the server's CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT
files and then boot the server before running SERVER.EXE.
- Check your floppy drive to make sure that it can recognize when
diskettes are removed and inserted.
Patch History:
* NetWare/Link PPP Data Compression:
- Provides a proprietary, software-based solution for data compression over
a NetWare/Link PPP connection without additional hardware.
- Compression algorithm allows compression up to T1/E1 line speeds.
- Depending on the type of data, the PC system speed, and the line speed,
compression ratios can be expected to be 2:1, on average.
- Recognizes NetWare/Link PPP connections to other PPP nodes that are
unable to provide compression and reverts to a PPP connection without data
compression.
WARNING: This update is applicable to NetWare MultiProtocol Router Plus 2.1
and 2.11. It is incompatible with WAN Links 2.0. DO NOT INSTALL THIS UPDATE
ON WAN LINKS 2.0
Solution Specifics
NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression
Support for data compression is provided in the NetWare Link/PPP Data
Compression software as a user-configurable option of the NetWare Link/PPP
component. Data compression reduces the amount of information transferred over
a communications link by replacing previously observed data sequences with
more compact sequences. This increases the apparent speed of the link, at the
cost of some additional NetWare MultiProtocol Router CPU load.
This support allows more effective PPP link utilization when routing or
bridging between remote LANs. Note that data compression is only necessary
over the PPP link connecting two LANs, because this is the slowest portion of
the end-to-end network traffic.
Proper operation of most data compression algorithms requires that no data
corruption be permitted on the communications link, because each bit of the
compressed data is much more significant than the uncompressed data. One
incorrect bit can result in thousands of bytes of incorrect output. This, in
turn, results in retransmission requests and lower overall throughput.
NetWare Link/PPP is, by default, an unreliable or "best effort" data link that
does not guarantee data integrity. Retransmission of lost or corrupted data is
the responsibility of higher-level protocols. Therefore, when data compression
is successfully negotiated by the PPP Link Control Protocol, the unreliable
PPP data link is replaced with a reliable data-link protocol to ensure data
integrity of the compressed data exchange. This reliable data-link protocol is
CCITT Link Access Protocol-Balanced (LAPB). LAPB significantly increases the
reliability of the communications link when used in conjunction with rigorous
error checking after the receive data is uncompressed.
Data compression is performed on network data only. NetWare Link/PPP Link
Control Protocol and Network Control Protocol data is passed uncompressed.
Link Control Protocol and Network Control Protocol data exchanges are used for
connection management and configuration negotiation. They are typically only
used during the connection establishment and termination operations. These
protocol exchanges have their own error recovery mechanisms and, as such, do
not benefit from the LAPB reliable data-link services.
The current NetWare Link/PPP data compression implementation supports a
pattern prediction algorithm. This implementation is proprietary to Novell and
does not interoperate with other vendors' data compression implementations.
This compression algorithm provides useful data compression over a wide range
of interface speeds, from 1,200 baud through E1 data rates. Future versions of
the NetWare Link/PPP product might include additional compression algorithms
tailored to provide higher compression at specific interface speeds.
As currently implemented in NetWare Link/PPP, the data compression capability
permits a "best case" 8:1 compression ratio with highly compressible data. A
realistic figure for a typical mix of graphic, text, and binary data is on the
order of a 2:1 compression ratio. This increases the apparent throughput of a
56 Kbps link, for example, to almost 112 Kbps.
Generally, as the communications link speed increases, the percentage of
throughput improvement provided by data compression decreases, due to the
additional CPU overhead of the compression processing. So, although data
compression provides some benefit at speeds up to E1 (2.048 Mbps), the
performance improvement is not as great as on a lower speed 56 Kbps link.
Refer to Tables 4 and 5 for a comparison of typical compression improvements
at 56 Kbps and T1 (1.536 Mbps).
Actual results, of course, vary depending on a number of factors, including
the type of data being transferred, the type of PC systems NetWare Link/PPP
runs on, and the speed of the communications link.
Maximizing Performance
NetWare Link/PPP data compression works best when a constant supply of
transmit data is available at the interface. This allows the compression logic
to maximize the replacement of data sequences with the more compact sequences.
Therefore, when using IPX with NetWare Link/PPP data compression, the IPX
Packet Burst(TM) protocol and the Large Internet Packet (LIP) protocol should
also be used. The Packet Burst protocol enhances IPX by allowing larger data
transactions, composed of multiple IPX packets, to be transmitted as a single
burst (or logical operation). Acknowledgments are issued for the complete
burst rather than for individual IPX packets. For best results, the Packet
Burst protocol and the LIP protocol can be enabled on each client and server
end node system. Although the LIP protocol is included in the Packet Burst
software for NetWare servers, it can be independently enabled or disabled on
each client.
Packet Burst protocol support is provided for IPX client workstations by the
latest version of the Virtual Loadable Module(TM) (VLM(TM)) update. Packet
Burst protocol support is provided for NetWare 3.11 servers by PBURST.NLM.
In NetWare 3.12 and NetWare 4.01, Packet Burst protocol support is included in
SERVER.EXE.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Packet burst protocol support should be enabled on all client and server
systems. Enabling the packet burst protocol on intermediate systems such as
MPRs that do not also function as servers is not necessary, but does no harm.
Novell recommends that you use PBURST.NLM 2.02 (or higher) for NetWare 3.11,
PBWANFIX 1.0 or higher for NetWare 3.12, and PBWANFIX 1.0 or higher for
NetWare 4.01. OS/2 users should use the NetWare Client for OS/2 2.1 or later.
Please note that BNETX.COM must never be used. NetWare Clients using NETX.COM
will not utilize PBURST functionality and will adversely affect PPP data
compression efficiency. Earlier versions of PBURST.NLM or the client VLMs can
be used; however, when operating over PPP with data compression connections at
less than 56 Kbps, client workstations may experience network time-outs. If a
time-out occurs, a message similar to the following will be displayed on the
IPX client workstation:
Error receiving from network.
Abort, Retry, Fail?
The user should select the R (retry) option after the time-out notification.
This will reestablish the connection if the session is still active. Multiple
consecutive time-out messages indicates that the client session is lost. In
this case the user must login again. If you are experiencing network
time-outs, refer to the NetWare 3.12 or 4.0 Workstation for DOS and Windows
manual. This manual contains information on configurable NET.CFG parameters
that may be used to minimize time-out errors.
Both the NetWare 3.11 PBURST.NLM and the NetWare 3.12 PBWANFIX.NLM and NetWare
4.01 PBWANFIX.NLM and the client VLMs are available on NetWire on CompuServe.
The current version of PBURST.NLM and PBWANFIX.NLM are packaged in the
PBURST.EXE package in the NOVLIB 05 forum. The 1.1 version of the VLMs are
packaged in the DOSUP9.EXE package in the NOVFILES forum.
To download DOSUP9.EXE log onto CompuServe and issue the GO NOVFILES command
to go to the NOVFILES library. From there, a menu of prompts will guide you
through the download process. WINUP9.EXE should also be used to insure
matched DOS and Windows components are used. To download PBURST.EXE, log onto
CompuServe and issue the GO NOVLIB command to go to the NOVLIB library. From
there, a menu of prompts will guide you through the download process.
The DOSUP9.EXE file and PBURST.EXE file is also available on Novell's FTP
server, FTP.NOVELL.COM (137.65.1.1) in the files \NETWIRE\NOVFILES\DOSUP9.EXE
and \NETWIRE\NOVLIB\05\PBURST.EXE. Login in as ANONYMOUS and give your
e-mail address as a password.
Statistics
The NetWare Monitor NLM provides real-time statistics indicating the Interface
Speed, Send Compression Throughput, Send Compression Ratio, LAPB
Retransmissions, and Compression Resets, as shown next:
Line 1 Interface Speed (bits/second): 56,000
Line 1 Send Comp Throughput (bits/second): 128,500
Line 1 Send Comp Ratio (1000 * uncomp/comp): 2,295
Line 1 LAPB Retransmissions: 0
Line 1 Compress Resets: 0
o Interface Speed-is the actual bits-per-second speed of the interface
measured during initialization. This is the maximum physical bandwidth of the
interface. If the interface speed changes after initialization, for example by
changing the speed of a fractional T1 DSU/CSU, the Interface Speed statistic
does not reflect the speed change until the interface is reinitialized.
Changes to interface speed also affect Send Comp Throughput.
o Send Comp Throughput-is an eight-second running average of the
bits-per-second speed at which uncompressed transmit data, excluding the
reliable data-link overhead, is being transmitted on this interface. When
compression is operational, Send Comp Throughput might exceed the interface
speed. In the preceding example, Send Comp Throughput is twice the interface
speed (the maximum physical bandwidth of the interface). When no data is being
transmitted, or compression is disabled, Send Comp Throughput reads zero.
o Send Comp Ratio-is an eight-second running average of send characters
input to the compressor versus characters output by the compressor. The
compression ratio is displayed with four significant figures, and should be
read as if the comma were a decimal separator. In the preceding example, the
compression ratio is 5.743:1, or for every 5,743 bytes of input data, 1,000
bytes of compressed data are sent over the link. When no data is being
transmitted, or compression is disabled, Send Comp Ratio reads zero.
o LAPB Retransmissions-is the number of information frames the LAPB
reliable data link has re-sent since interface initialization. Excessive
LAPB Retransmissions are an indication of poor line quality, and affect the
overall Send Comp Throughput.
o Compress Resets-is the number of times the data compression subsystem
lost synchronization with the remote peer. This can be caused by LAPB failures
resulting in data-link reinitialization or receive data decompression
failures. Regular LAPB Compression Resets are an indication of poor line
quality.
To access these statistics:
1. At the server prompt, type:
Load MONITOR <Enter>
2. Select LAN Information from the main Monitor menu.
3. Select the desired PPP interface from the LAN Driver Information list.
4. Scroll to the desired PPP line group in the Custom Statistics area.
Typical Performance
The values of Send Comp Throughput and Send Comp Ratio vary depending on the
amount and type of data being sent. For example, encrypted data does not
compress at all (and might even increase the amount of data sent), while ASCII
text documents might compress significantly.
Data compression can significantly increase the apparent link speed of all
protocols supported by the NetWare Link/PPP Data Compression software,
including the Novell IPX protocol. Data compression is of greater value if the
link is already busy; for example, when many workstations are using a remote
server.
Table 2 and Table 3 graph the performance of NetWare Link/PPP Data
Compression, as tested with the PERFORM3 network test program using AST*
486/33E servers and workstations running the IPX Packet Burst protocol and the
Large Internet Packet protocol. The test program was run using the following
command:
PERFORM3 <filename> 12 128 4096 1024
The typical performance data shown in Table 4 and Table 5 is expressed in
Kbps. Actual performance will vary depending on interface speed, PC hardware
type, and data content.
Table 2
Compression Performance for 56 Kbps Links
------------------------------------------------------------------
Scenario Performance (Kbps)
One workstation, without compression 47.76
One workstation, with compression 147.68
Five workstations, without compression 50.56
Five workstations, with compression 173.92
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3
Compression Performance for T1 (1.5 Mbps) Links
------------------------------------------------------------------
Scenario Performance (Kbps)
One workstation, without compression 888.64
One workstation, with compression 1123.68
Five workstations, without compression 1309.44
Five workstations, with compression 2335.68
------------------------------------------------------------------
Novell is not responsible for any data loss that may result from implementing
this program. Novell strongly recommends a backup be made before any program
is applied. Technical support for this program is provided at the discretion
of Novell.
NetWare, the N-Design, and Novell are registered trademarks, and IPX NetWare
Link/Frame Relay, NetWare MultiProtocol Router, and NetWare MultiProtocol
Router Plus are trademarks of Novell, Inc. NetWire is a registered service
mark of Novell, Inc.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Inc. CompuServe is a
registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their
respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark
information.
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