The Novell NetWare Program

Document 1402
Novell Netware

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
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

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

IF <OS> <> "DR DOS" 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
REM  the DOS environment variables <OS> and <VER>.

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

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