Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/textinfo/drtips.arj/1402.TXT

Text File | 1991-11-26 | 17.3 KB | 377 lines

Document 1402
Novell Netware

Initials:
        11/26/91
    DRDOS 6.0

Keywords:
         NOVELL
         NETWARE
         NETWORK
         TASKMAX
         MEMORYMAX

Description:

 The Novell NetWare Program

The DR DOS 6.0 operating system has been thoroughly tested on the
Novell NetWare program from version 2.15 and above.

The vast majority of questions about the NetWare program deal with:

*Installation/Compatibility considerations of the DR DOS
6.0 operating system on a Novell network.

*Using TaskMAX with NetWare.

*Using MemoryMAX with NetWare, or maximizing the amount of
conventional memory for applications.

*Installation/Compatibility Considerations

The DR DOS 6.0 operating system is internally compatible with DOS
3.31 data structures.  As a result, when programs like the Novell
NetWare shell programs ask the DR DOS 6.0 operating system for a version
number, the DR DOS 6.0 operating system reports 3.31.  It is important
to understand this when installing the DR DOS 6.0 operating
system onto NetWare workstations and onto NetWare servers.  If you
have a mix of different DOS versions, follow the manufacturer's suggestions
in regard to configuring the network for COMPAQ DOS 3.31 workstations.

 Server Installation

If you choose to install the DR DOS 6.0 operating system onto a non-dedicated
server, consult the Novell NetWare reference manuals or your network
administrator for information on installing and configuring a non-dedicated
server.  The DR DOS 6.0 operating system requires no unique consideration
in this case.

When configuring a network so that all the system utilities are loaded
on the server, the NetWare server should contain copies of all the
required DOS files used at each workstation.  If certain workstations
are running DOS 4.x, then a particular directory on the server will
hold a copy of the set of all DOS 4.x system files used by the workstation
when it is running independent of the network.  When a DR DOS 6.0
workstation is logged onto the network, at least one of the workstation's
network drives will be mapped to the directory on the server
holding the DR DOS 6.0 system files.

Refer to the DR DOS 6.0 User Guide, Appendix F, for information
on configuring a NetWare server to properly load the DR DOS 6.0 operating
system on remote diskless workstations.

 Workstation Installation

When installing the DR DOS 6.0 operating system on a network workstation
that is part of an existing network, you will usually not have to
make any changes to the workstation; simply install the DR DOS 6.0
operating system once the NetWare server has been updated
with the DR DOS 6.0 operating system.  If you are upgrading from DOS
3.x to the DR DOS 6.0 operating system, it should not be necessary
to upgrade your existing NetWare shells.  However, if you are upgrading
from DOS 4.x or MS-DOS 5, you will have to use NetWare shells intended
for use with DOS 3.x.  You can use the proper set of NetWare shell
programs obtained from your network administrator or Novell, or you
can use the set provided in the NETWARE directory on the DR DOS 6.0
ViewMAX installation diskette.

If you have to change shell programs, you might need to generate a
new IPX.COM program to accompany the new shell version.  Consult the
Novell NetWare reference manuals or your network administrator for
information on how to accomplish this.

 Using TaskMAX with NetWare

Before using TaskMAX on a NetWare workstation, you must update your
NetWare shell programs.  The necessary files are provided in the NETWARE
directory on the last DR DOS 6.0 operating system diskette (typically
labelled ViewMAX).  This update should be done by your Network System
Administrator.

Under most circumstances, no further adjustments will be necessary
to run TaskMAX on a NetWare workstation.

Load the NetWare shell programs and all drives and printers mapped
before loading TaskMAX.  If NetWare utilities like MAP, LOGIN, and
SESSION are run from more than one DR DOS command prompt via TaskMAX,
the resulting drive and printer mappings might not work as expected.

If within one or more tasks under TaskMAX, you choose to run an application
that makes direct calls to the Novell IPX or SPX TSR program (sometimes
called a peer-to-peer application), you might need to load the IPX
data buffering program called TBMI2.COM before loading TaskMAX.  This
program will handle the buffering of information from IPX or SPX so
that data is not lost after switching away from one of these peer-to-peer
applications.  Further information on TBMI2.COM can be found in a
file called TBMI2.DOC on the DR DOS 6.0 ViewMAX diskette.

 Using MemoryMAX with NetWare

When using the DR DOS 6.0 operating system on a NetWare workstation
that supports upper memory, you can move both of the required NetWare
programs outside conventional memory and into upper memory to maximize
the amount of memory available to applications running after the NetWare
programs have been loaded.  (See Appendix C in the DR DOS 6.0
User Guide for a description of the various regions of memory within
a computer, and Chapter 12 for information on what regions will be
available on your particular computer.)

When upper memory is available, the NetWare programs IPX.COM and NETX.COM
or NET3.COM (NETX is hereafter used to describe either program), can
be loaded into upper memory using the HILOAD command from the autoexec.bat
file or from the DR DOS command line.

 Memory Usage

To determine if IPX and NETX programs will fit into upper memory, do the
following:

1.Determine the memory size requirements of these programs
by examining the output of the MEM /A /P command after the programs
have been loaded into conventional memory or loaded without MemoryMAX. (See
the DR DOS 6.0 User Guide, Chapter 10, for more information on the MEM
command.)

2.Disable any and all upper memory used by device drivers, TSRs, and/or
applications by inserting a REM statement or a "?" command at the beginning
of each line containing HIDEVICE, HIINSTALL, and HILOAD commands in your
config.sys and autoexec.bat files. Use the DR DOS Editor program.

3.Make upper memory available on your machine by inserting
the appropriate MemoryMAX device driver line into your config.sys
file or by running SETUP, and then reboot your computer by typing
Ctrl-Alt-Del.

4.Without having loaded any of the NetWare programs, examine
the size of areas in upper memory that are marked as FREE in the TYPE
column of the MEM /U /P command output.

As a general rule, when the size of one or more of these upper memory
areas marked as FREE exceeds the size of a program that is loaded
into conventional memory, it will be possible to relocate that program
into upper memory.  It is important to note that the size of total
FREE upper memory is not as important as the size of the individual
FREE areas of upper memory, because applications require contiguous
free memory to load.

 Using HILOAD

When upper memory is available and when FREE areas exist large enough
to contain the NetWare programs, the HILOAD command can be used to
move the NetWare programs into upper memory.  Upper memory is made
available by loading the appropriate MemoryMAX driver at boot time
and executing the MEMMAX +U command to "open" upper memory
so that it will accept programs loaded by HILOAD.  The following four
lines describe one way you can load the NetWare programs using HILOAD:

MEMMAX +U<R>
HILOAD IPX.COM
HILOAD NETX.COM
MEMMAX -U

These lines can be appended to your autoexec.bat file or they can
be executed from the DR DOS command line.  Note that the DR DOS INSTALL
program will automatically insert the command, MEMMAX -U >NUL, into
your autoexec.bat file, so you must insert MEMMAX +U to override
it.  (The >NUL portion of the command instructs the DR DOS 6.0 operating
system not to display the output of the MEMMAX command on the screen.)
In addition, please note the following about the HILOAD command:

*HILOAD will work only with the DR DOS MemoryMAX drivers,
and not with third party memory managers such as QEMM386.SYS and 386MAX.SYS.

*HILOAD will not run after NET3.COM has been loaded.  This
is because Novell replaces the DOS routines (INT 21 functions) that
handle HILOADs under the DR DOS 6.0 operating system with their own
routines, which cannot place programs into upper memory.

 Troubleshooting

*NetWare shell programs won't load into upper memory.*

Make sure that upper memory is available and that the size of one
or more upper memory areas marked as FREE exceeds the size of the
NetWare shell program that is loaded into conventional memory instead
of upper memory.  (See the DR DOS 6.0 User Guide, Chapter 10,
for more information on the MEMMAX and MEM commands and how they can
be used to determine if the above conditions are met.)  Also, consider
the following.

For EMM386.SYS users:

*You can append the /LOWEMM switch to the EMM386.SYS device
driver line in your config.sys file. The EMM386.SYS device driver
leaves its program code in conventional memory, which should give
you an additional 28K of upper memory.

*If LIM (Expanded memory) is not really necessary, you might
consider disabling it: change the /FRAME switch on the EMM386.SYS
device driver line so that it reads /F=NONE.

*If LIM is necessary, you might consider using another NetWare
shell instead of NETX.COM.  (Refer to your Novell reference manuals
for information on how EMSNETX.COM and XMSNETX.COM work.)

*With both EMSNETX.COM and XMSNETX.COM, do not use the
HILOAD command.

*With XMSNETX.COM, the /BDOS switch on the EMM386.SYS
device driver line should be changed so that it reads /B=AUTO or /B=NONE.

*Try changing the line that reads HIDOS=ON in your config.sys
file so that it reads HIDOS=OFF.  This prevents the DR DOS 6.0 operating
system from automatically relocating certain portions of the operating
system into upper memory.

*If only text-based applications will be run at this workstation,
use the /VIDEO switch on the EMM386.SYS device driver line along with
the MEMMAX +V command to enable the use of video RAM for extending
conventional memory.  This relieves the need to relocate the NetWare
shell programs into upper memory.

For HIDOS.SYS users:

*Make sure that your machine will support upper memory.  (See
the DR DOS 6.0 User Guide, Chapter 12, for information on what
regions are available on your particular computer.)

*Consider using XMSNETX.COM instead of NETX.COM.  With XMSNETX.COM,
change the /BDOS switch on the HIDOS.SYS device driver line so that
it reads /B=AUTO or /B=NONE.

*If you are using HIDOS.SYS with the /CHIPSET option set
to EMSUMB, consider disabling the LIM (Expanded memory) support provided
by your LIM 4.0 driver by using the /CHIPSET=EMSALL option instead.  EMSALL
will disable the LIM 4.0 page frame and make available a larger region
of upper memory for mappable RAM.

*If your machine is equipped with at least 64K of extended
memory above one megabyte, make sure that the /BDOS switch on the
HIDOS.SYS device driver line reads /B=FFFF.

*Try changing the line that reads HIDOS=ON in your config.sys
file so that it reads HIDOS=OFF.  This prevents the DR DOS 6.0 operating
system from automatically relocating certain portions of the operating
system into upper memory.

*Use the /VIDEO switch on the HIDOS.SYS device driver line
along with the MEMMAX +V command to enable the use of video RAM for
extending conventional memory.  This relieves the need to relocate
the NetWare shell programs into upper memory.

*Machine locks up when trying to load NetWare shell programs.*

Some network cards maintain ROM addresses in the upper memory region.
It is possible that the MemoryMAX driver (EMM386.SYS or HIDOS.SYS)
is not able to recognize such areas as being already in use by the
network card.  If the DR DOS 6.0 operating system has written some
portion of the operating system to a region of upper memory, which
later gets used by the network card's ROM, the system might hang
unpredictably.  To correct this problem, you can append an /EXCLUDE switch
to the MemoryMAX device driver line in your config.sys file to prevent the
MemoryMAX driver from attempting to use an area known to be used by the
network card.  Refer to your documentation on the network card for information
on areas used in upper memory and follow the instructions for using
the /EXCLUDE switch on those areas as shown in the HIDOS.SYS and EMM386.SYS
sections of Chapter 11 in the DR DOS 6.0 User Guide.

If you installed Novell NetWare, or you installed additional hardware
in your computer after you installed the DR DOS 6.0 operating system,
it is possible that the IRQ or DMA settings on the new hardware might
be conflicting with existing hardware.  In this case, it is best to
resolve hardware conflicts by changing the configuration of one or
more installed boards before changing the configuration of the DR
DOS 6.0 operating system.

*Machine locks or generates "Packed file corrupt" error message
when executing Novell NetWare utility programs.*

This situation might occur in older versions of the NetWare utilities.  The
error message does not reflect the true cause of the problem. Use
the MEMMAX -L command before executing the problematic NetWare utility,
and then use the MEMMAX +L command after.  The following is an example
of how this might look in your autoexec.bat or login file:

MEMMAX -L
LOGIN
MEMMAX +L


ISSUE/PROBLEM
COMPAQ DOS 3.31/DR DOS clients mapping same directories

When setting up a Novell NetWare Network Server machine, it is normal
for a Network Administrator to actually create a directory structure
on the server's hard drive which contains all the various DOS operating
system files for all the various DOS operating systems being used by
network's DOS clients.  This is often done to accomodate clients to the
server who do not have their own hard drive.  That is, such clients can
use the server to access their DOS files and programs instead of their
local floppy drive.

For instance, a network server serving five clients using two different
operating systems, say MS DOS 3.30 and COMPAQ DOS 3.31, will have two
directories which contain all the operating system files contained in
the clients' DOS directories.  These directories might have paths on the
server like SYS:PUBLIC/MSDOS/V3.30 and SYS:PUBLIC/COMPAQ/V3.31.

When a client running MS DOS 3.30 attaches to the server and logs in to
this environment, it is important that the client's DOS PATH and COMSPEC
variables be adjusted to "point" (or MAP) to the server's copy of the
client's DOS files.  This is normally accomplished by the Network
Administrator who makes some changes and adjustments to one of the
server's files called the System Login Script.  This Login Script is the
NetWare Operating System's DOS operating system batch file equivalent.
Using a few basic commands in this System Login Script, the Network
Administrator can determine which DOS operating system the server client
is currently using and then map that client in the right direction.

If a user is using DR DOS as the client operating system on a Novell
Network, it may not be immediately apparent as to how a DR DOS client
can be properly identified and mapped from within the System Login
Script.

Normally, a line like MAP INS S2:=SYS:PUBLIC/%OS/%OS_VERSION in the
System Login Script will handle the mapping properly.  When DR DOS is
the DOS client's operating system, however, the %OS and %OS_VERSION
variables actually return MSDOS and V3.31 respectively.  It is obvious
how this can cause confusion.  The DR DOS operating system is most
compatible with MS DOS/COMPAQ DOS version 3.3X.  It is for this reason
that DR DOS appears to the NetWare operating system to be MS DOS 3.31.
As a result, both COMPAQ DOS 3.31 and DR DOS versions 5.0 and 6.0 will
end up being mapped to the same sub-directory on the NetWare server's
hard drive.

In order to prevent such conflicts, a little extra work is required
when writing the System Login Script.  Because the DR DOS client
operating system actually maintains two environment variables called
OS and VER which equal DRDOS and 5.0 or 6.0 respectively, it is actually
possible to test the DOS client operating system in the System Login
Script to determine if the DOS client is running COMPAQ DOS 3.31, DR
DOS 5.0 or DR DOS 6.0.


This sample System Login Script explains and implements such a
technique:


REM  The following lines establish environment variables OS and VER
REM  if the DOS client is NOT running DRDOS (any version.)  That is,
REM  any DOS client operating system other that DRDOS does not already
REM  maintain the environment variables OS and VER, and as a result,
REM  they need to be set.

IF <OS> <> "DRDOS" THEN
BEGIN
    DOS SET OS="%OS"
    DOS SET VER="%OS_VERSION"
END

REM  All that's left to be done is to map the DOS client using the
REM  DOS environment variables <OS> and <VER>.

MAP INS S2:=%FILE_SERVER/SYS:PUBLIC/%<OS>/%<VER>