NetWare 4.11 Installation and Configuration - Tips

Tips and Tricks

 

Concentrate on studying settings within MONITOR, installation orders for the different methods, when to use a custom or simple install method, and the differences between the upgrade and migration methods.

Practice using NDS Manager. Thoroughly understand the ins and outs of moving and merging partitions.

NetWare 4.11 Installation and Configuration - Need To Know

What you need to know for the exam

 

• Minimum installation requirements.
• What order items are installed in for both methods.
• Which program performs each installation step.
• When to use a custom installation instead of a simple installation.
• How to install and configure TCP/IP.
• Which utility to use when upgrading a system.
• Which utility to use when migrating a system.
• What each executable performs in upgrades and migrations.
• When and how intermediary workstations are used in migrations.
• How DSMERGE works.
• How to use NDS Manager.
• How to merge and move partitions in NDS Manager.
• How to set bindery contexts.
• How to set multiple bindery contexts.
• How to install and use DynaText.
• What each setting means in MONITOR, and how to read them.
• How to troubleshoot using readings from MONITOR.
• How garbage collection works.
• What NLM extension signifies the file as (i.e. - *.LAN).
• What utility to use to configure AppleTalk.
• How to install and operate Novell's web server.
• What executables perform what with the web server.

NetWare 4.11 Installation and Configuration

Minimum Hardware Requirements for an IntranetWare server

Intel 386 processor or higher
20MB RAM
VGA Video adapter and display
NIC (Network Interface Card)
15MB (free space) DOS partition
75MB (free space) SYS partition
CD-ROM

60MB free space needed for DynaText and documentation installations.

Installation Methods

 

Simple Installation Order	Program used
1) Configure the DOS partition.	FDISK, FORMAT
2) Select server language.	INSTALL.BAT -> SELECT.EXE
3) Select the type of installation.	NWNSTALL.EXE
4) Name the server.	NWNSTALL.EXE
5) Copy server boot files to the DOS partition.	NWNSTALL.EXE
6) Run SERVER.EXE.	NWNSTALL.EXE
7) Configure disk media drivers.	INSTALL.NLM
8) Configure LAN drivers.	INSTALL.NLM
9) Configure the CDROM as a device.	INSTALL.NLM
10) Mount SYS: volume.	INSTALL.NLM
11) Reconnect to server (when installing over the network).	INSTALL.NLM -> ISSLIB.NLM
12) Install NDS.	INSTALL.NLM
13) License NetWare.	INSTALL.NLM
14) Copy files to the SYS:PUBLIC and SYS:SYSTEM directories.	INSTALL.NLM
15) Execute other installation options.	INSTALL.NLM
16) Complete the installation.	INSTALL.NLM
17) Boot the server using the STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF files.	SERVER.EXE

Custom Installation Order	Program used
1) Configure the DOS partition.	FDISK, FORMAT
2) Select server language.	INSTALL.BAT, SELECT.EXE
3) Select the type of installation.	NWNSTALL.EXE
4) Name the server.	NWNSTALL.EXE
5) Assign the IPX address.	NWNSTALL.EXE
6) Copy server boot files to the DOS partition.	NWNSTALL.EXE
7) Setup the locale configuration and the filename format.	NWNSTALL.EXE
8) Run SERVER.EXE.	INSTALL.NLM
9) Configure disk media drivers.	INSTALL.NLM
10) Configure LAN drivers.	INSTALL.NLM
11) Configure the CDROM as a device.	INSTALL.NLM
12) Create the disk partitions.	INSTALL.NLM
13) Create the volumes.	INSTALL.NLM
14) Reconnect to server (when installing over the network).	INSTALL.NLM, ISSLIB.NLM

15) Select optional NetWare file groups.	INSTALL.NLM
16) Install NDS.	INSTALL.NLM, DSI.NLM
17) License NetWare.	INSTALL.NLM
18) Edit the STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF files.	INSTALL.NLM
19) Copy files to the SYS:PUBLIC and SYS:SYSTEM directories.	INSTALL.NLM
20) Execute other installation options.	INSTALL.NLM
21) Complete the installation.	INSTALL.NLM
22) Boot the server using the STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF files.	INSTALL.NLM

When to use a custom installation instead of a simple installation:

• The server boots from a diskette.
• The server hard drive(s) contains multiple NetWare volumes.
• TCP/IP or AppleTalk protocols need installed.
• NetWare IP will be installed.
• The server will have a unique IPX address.
• The hard drives in the server will be mirrored, duplexed, or have a volume span.
• The hard drive(s) in the server needs partitioned.
• AUTOEXEC.NCF and STARTUP.NCF files need edited.
• Time zone parameters will be modified.

When installing TCP/IP during the custom installation, you will need to enter the subnet mask and IP address of the server.

Upgrading to NetWare 4.11

 

• NetWare 4.11 program upgrade - Upgrades a NetWare 3.1x server using the upgrade option in INSTALL.NLM
• In-place upgrade - Upgrades you NetWare 2.1x or 2.2 server to NetWare 3.12 using 2XUPGRDE.NLM. INSTALL.NLM is then run to upgrade to 4.11.
• INSTALL.BAT - Is used as a front end to INSTALL.NLM. Manually executed command used to upgrade NW 3.1x to NW 4.11.
• INSTALL.NLM - Will automatically copy server boot files to the DOS partition, assign locale information, file format, server name and IPX number. Will also automatically load the LAN driver into RAM during the upgrade.
• NWNSTLL.EXE - Utility used when upgrading NW 3.x to NW 4.11, which copies server boot files to a directory on the DOS partition.

  Four items to confirm a successful upgrade:

  • Test server with sample user accounts.
  • Make sure all apps run properly.
  • Check drive mappings.
  • Check file system securty and file attributes.

Migrating to NetWare 4.11

 

Migrations are used when upgrading NW 2.x, 3.x or 4.01 servers, or other Network Operating Systems (NOS), directly to NetWare 4.11

Across-the-wire migration - Migrates NetWare 2.x or 3.x server, or seperate NOS server, to a destination 4.11 server using MIGRATE.EXE or DS Migrate. Must have an intermediary workstation with a 32-bit NetWare client to help transfer the data.

• Is performed by running either MIGRATE.EXE or DS Migrate and NetWare File Migration.

• Is considered the safest upgrade method, because the source server remains the same.

• Multiple servers can be migrated to the same destination server.

• Same-server migration - Migrates NetWare 2.x or 3.x server, or seperate NOS server, to the same server using MIGRATE.EXE and INSTALL.NLM. Must have an intermediary workstation with a 32-bit NetWare client to help transfer the data.
  
  • Is performed by running using MIGRATE.EXE and INSTALL.NLM.
  • When using the same-server migration, first backup all data files. You will then need to run MIGRATE.EXE to copy the bindery to the workstation, then convert the bindery information to NDS. After the server has been upgraded to NW 4.11, run MIGRATE.EXE to move the new NDS information to the upgraded server. Then, restore your backup.

  After migrating a NW 2.x or 3.x server to 4.11, remove the bindery information on the migrated servers to eliminate a possible security hazard.

• MIGRATE.EXE - When used to upgrade NW 3.12 to NW 4.11, will migrate group trustee rights, print job configurations, and DOS file attributes.

  DS Migrate is used when converting NW 2.x servers to a 4.11 server. It converts bindery information for user login names, group memberships, trustee assignments, print resources (queue, server, etc.) and user login scripts to NDS. Printer definition databases, mail directories and user passwords will NOT migrate. The system login script will become part of the container login script.

  The intermediary workstation used during migrations must have a version of NetWare Client32, Windows 95 or 3.1, and 10MB free space (plus 3MB for each server being discovered). You will need to login from this workstation to the NW 4.11 server as an administrator, and map a drive to the server and volume you would like to migrate.

  Tasks to perform prior to a migration:

  • Back up the server.
  • Delete any unnecessary files.
  • Remove users that no longer exist.
  • Rename DOS directories that have long names.
  • Run BINDFIX to remove trustee assignments for the deleted users.
  • Log all users out of the server.
  • Verify that all files, excluding bindery files, are closed.

  The MIGRPRINT utility is used to migrate printers from a NW 2.x or NW 3.x server to a 4.1 server.

  NDS

  The first three servers installed into an NDS partition will receive a replica of that partition.

  NDS Manager is used to move a container from one context to another.

  When moving a container, it must be the root of the partition, and not contain any subordinate references.

  When merging directory trees, the specified servers must contain the master replica for the tree's root partition.

  DSMERGE is used to merge directory trees. When merging the trees, make sure you check time synchronization.

  DSREPAIR is used to check replica synchronization and repair NDS problems rom the server console.

  When using DSMERGE to merge directory trees, the utility will need loaded on the source server.

  Bindery

   

  To set the server's bindery context, place SET BINDERY CONTEXT = context in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file.

  SERVMAN and SET commands can both be used to set the server's bindery context.

  A server can have up to 16 bindery contexts set.

  When typing SET BINDERY CONTEXT = context, at the server console, it is only available until the server is rebooted.

  When creating bindery objects, they will be created in the first bindery context listed.

  CONFIG can be used to verify which bindery contexts are being used.

  Disk Optimization

  Block suballocation - allows multiple file storage on each block. The file is first written to an unused block, and if it is larger than the block, the remainder will be written to suballocated blocks. Block suballocation is enabled by default, and can be disabled during installation with a custom install. Once the server has been installed, it cannot be disabled without recreating the volume.

  File compression can be enabled to free up disk space. Files will not be compressed unless they can be compressed with a minimum of a 2% gain. Settings are controller using SERVMAN and SET. Is enabled by default.

  Data Migration is used to move files from the server hard drive to another storage device. This happens when the predetermined percentage of empty disk space is reached. Is disabled by default.

  DynaText

   

  On-line documentation can be accessed from:

  • the server over the network.

  • a stand-alone workstation.

  • the CD-ROM.

  60MB free hard drive space is needed to install all documentation to the hard drive. 60MB is needed for each extra language you install.

  6MB free hard drive space is needed to install the DynaText viewer only. 2MB is needed for each extra language you install.

  Workstations using DynaText must have at least 4MB of RAM, and have Windows 3.1/95, OS/2, or MacOS installed.

Monitor

 

Statistics:

Utilization	Percentage of time the processor is being used.
Original cache buffers	Number of cache buffers available for the system when server is fist booted.
Total cache buffers	Number of buffers available to users for tasks (i.e. loading applications, files, and printing).
Dirty cache buffers	Number of cache buffers that have been updated, but have not been written to disk within 3.3 seconds.
Current disk requests	Number of disk reads/writes that have been issued, but not completed and waiting to be serviced.
Packet receive buffers	Number of buffers available to receive network data packets.
Directory cache buffers	Portion of memory that holds part of the directory table.
Current Service Processes	Number of task handlers allocated to service client requests.
Cache Movable Memory	Amount of memory available to the memory manager for network resources.
Cache Non-Movable Memory	Used to load NLMs and allocate large cache buffers.

If, in the cache utilization screen, long-term cache hits is below 90%, add more RAM.

Right and Read Cache paramaters can be set with SERVMAN or SET.

The allocated memory pool is used for short-term memory requests.

Memory Optimization

 

Paging is used to allocate memory resources. Each page is a 4kb block of RAM.

Garbage collection - Recovers used blocks of memory and returns them to the allocation pool. SET commands can be used to optimize garbage collection.

• Interval - number of minutes elapsed between collections.

• Number of frees - Times the free routine has been called.

• Free memory - Bytes available in memory pool for collection.

NetWare 4 uses one memory pool.

Files

 

Files that are run from the SYS:SYSTEM directory:

• AUTOEXEC.NCF

• *.LAN

*.HAM NLMs are used to work with devices such as CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, etc.

*.LAN NLMs are used to work with Network Interface Cards (NICs).

FLAG, FILER, and NWADMIN can all be used to set NetWare file and directory attributes.

Server boot files are contained in the C:\NWSERVER directory.

Place SET IMMEDIATE PURGE OF DELETED FILES = ON in the AUTOEXEC.NCF to disable SALVAGE.

To automatically load NLMs, load them in the STARTUP.NCF file

Miscellaneous

 

The default frame type for NetWare 4.11 is 802.2.
The default frame type for NetWare 3.12 is 802.2.
The default frame type for NetWare 3.11 is 802.3.

SETUPDOC.EXE is used to install the Novell online documentation.

The DOC directory on the online documentation CD is where you determine the languages available to install.

INETCFG.NLM is used to configure TCP/IP and AppleTalk.

If having troubles sending TCP/IP packets beyond the subnet, make sure the subnet mask and TCP/IP router/gateway settings are correct.