Novell NetWare was one of the first PC-based network operating systems and for many years was virtually unchallenged as the LAN platform for the business world. It's still arguably the fastest and most efficient file sharing service available for PC networks, and its eDirectory enterprise directory and support services are still considered to be superior to Microsoft's Active Directory. While NetWare was always well-integrated with DOS and Windows, the NetWare operating system was a closed, proprietary system. This is one of the reasons for NetWare's astonishing reliabilitymany network managers can tell stories of NetWare servers that ran for years without needing a rebootbut also, ultimately, for NetWare's major decline in market share. Well, that, and Microsoft's giving away for free what Novell had to charge for. The trend in recent years toward open source and open standards wasn't lost on Novell, however, and NetWare has evolved accordingly. Novell now offers its customers the choice of running its network services on the traditional NetWare kernel or on the SuSe Linux platform. Besides supporting the original NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) file and printer sharing services, both platforms support UNIX NFS file sharing as well as native Windows and Mac file services (via an add-on package for NetWare 6.0 but included for free with NetWare 6.5 and later). These services let a NetWare 6 server look like a UNIX server to a UNIX or Linux workstation, a Windows server to Windows workstation, and a Mac server to a Mac workstation. An integrated Linux desktop clientwith the usual goodies such as single-password logon and logon script supportis slated for release in early 2005. If your organization uses NetWare 6, you might be able to use your organization's NetWare resources without adding any additional software or making any configuration changes; you can use files, folders, and printers shared from NetWare servers just as you would from Windows servers. However, many of NetWare's advantageslogon scripts and directory services, for startersare only available if you use a Novell network client program. And, if your organization uses NetWare 5 or earlier, you'll definitely need to install additional networking software. The reason for this is that the NetWare versions 5 and earlier use the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) to communicate with the file sharing server, and may use Novell's IPX/SPX transport protocol to run the network itself. The protocols used by Windows and the various versions of NetWare are shown in Table 20.1.
When it is necessary to support old NetWare servers or clients, network managers might continue to use IPX/SPX as the transport protocol for NetWare services. In this case, you can install IPX/SPX as an additional protocol on Windows XP. Connections to old NetWare servers will use IPX/SPX, while new NetWare Servers and Windows networking will use TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, or both. In most cases, though, it is both possible and desirable to use TCP/IP as the sole transport protocol for all networking. (Network managers should take note that Microsoft has suggested it may eliminate support for IPX/SPX in a future version of Windows XP.) Besides the need for a common network transport protocol, your computer must also have a file and printer sharing protocol in common with the NetWare server. There are three ways you can accomplish this:
The first two options, while uncommon, require no configuration work on your part. For the remainder of this section, we'll discuss the last, most common option. NOTE At the time this was written, interoperability with NetWare was not available for Windows XP 64-bit (Itanium) Edition. This may change in the future. Selecting a NetWare ClientA NetWare client is a software driver that adds NCP-based networking and eDirectory support to Windows. It's so well integrated with Windows that after it's installed, you don't have to treat NetWare servers as any different than Windows servers. NetWare client software has three functions:
You have to decide whether to use the Microsoft or Novell client package. The decision of which to use comes down mainly to compatibility and reliability. Historically, Microsoft's Client Services for NetWare (CSNW) has been the most reliable and bug free, although its NetWare API support is incomplete. The Novell client has full NetWare logon script support, integrated eDirectory services, and a complete and correct implementation of the NetWare API; some NetWare-specific programs absolutely require it. If you only need to access shared files and printers on NetWare servers, you're probably better off with the Microsoft standard client. However, if your company uses NetWare-specific programs and services, your network manager may tell you that you must use the Novell client. You can download Novell's client from download.novell.com. I'll talk more about Novell's client later in the chapter. TIP One other issue that might affect your decision is security. Microsoft's NetWare client can't encrypt passwords sent to NetWare servers. If wire-level security is a concern, and you must protect yourself from people using network monitors to sniff out passwords on your LAN, use the Novell client. Installing Microsoft Client Service for NetWare (CSNW)You can install the Microsoft client as follows:
After you've installed the client, it's best to proceed directly to the Control Panel to double-check the client's configuration settings. I'll describe this in the next section. Configuring the NetWare ClientBoth Microsoft's and Novell's NetWare clients have configuration settings that are made from the Control Panel using the "CSNW" applet. To run the configuration applet, select Start, Control Panel. From the See Also list, select Other Control Panel Options and open the CSNW icon. You should examine the CSNW (Client Service for NetWare) applet as soon as you install the NetWare client to get familiar with its options. The CSNW applet dialog is shown in Figure 20.1. (The actual settings and features you see may be slightly different, depending on the version of the client you install.) Figure 20.1. Client Service for NetWare Control Panel applet.Your NetWare administrator will provide the Preferred Server, Default Tree, and Login Script Options settings. They select the NetWare logon server or context (domain). Table 20.2 shows an additional set of printing options that you should set before using the network.
TIP By default, Notify When Printed and Print Banner are checked when you install Client Service for NetWare. They waste paper. I recommend unchecking both of them immediately unless your organization really requires them. After the Client has been configured, when you log on to Windows, you will also be logged on to the NetWare network. Your network administrator usually will be sure your username and password are the same for Windows XP and for NetWare, so you should not need to specify any additional information after you log on to Windows. If your NetWare username or password are different, however, Windows will prompt you for the required information when you attempt to use a NetWare resource for the first time. You should keep your Windows and NetWare passwords synchronized to avoid this annoyance. I'll discuss passwords later in this chapter. When you've made any necessary changes to the NetWare configuration, close the dialog box and skip ahead to "Setting Provider Order" later in this chapter. Installing and Using Novell's Client SoftwareIf your needs or network manager dictate, you can use the Novell network client instead of the Microsoft-supplied client. To download Novell's client software, visit download.novell.com. Before you install Novell's client, be sure you have removed the Microsoft client. Open Network Connections, view Properties for the Local Area Connection, and be sure that Client Service for NetWare isn't listed. If it is, select it and choose Uninstall. You must then restart your computer before proceeding. When you've acquired the Novell client software, be sure to study the README file or any release notes supplied with it. Novell updates the client software from time to time, so you should be sure you're using the most up-to-date installation instructions. After you install the Novell client, Windows will need to restart. After the restart, the Windows login dialog box is replaced with a Novell login dialog. This dialog contains options to log in to a Novell NDS tree, a bindery-mode Novell server, or just the Windows workstation. The Novell client also installs a sophisticated, full-featured Novell utility icon in the task tray. NOTE If your network uses Microsoft's File and Print Services for NetWare (FPNW) on a Windows 200x Server, the Novell client can't use the simulated NetWare resources offered by the FPNW server because of software incompatibilities. In addition, a configuration applet will be installed in the Control Panel. You should give it a look-over; see the preceding section, "Configuring the NetWare Client," for some pointers. Setting Provider OrderProvider order determines which computer name service, Novell's or Microsoft's, is queried first to find a given named file or print server. For example, if you choose a shared printer named \\munich\laserjet, Windows has to locate the machine named munich. It might need to query both a Windows computer name service (WINS, DNS, or the Network Browser service) and the NetWare naming service before it finds the name. When you use a mix of Microsoft and NetWare servers, you might be able to speed up network operations by setting the provider order so that the most likely name service is examined first. In most cases, you won't need to make any changes to Windows's Provider Order list. If your network administrator suggests that you do, just follow these steps:
Using NetWare ResourcesAfter a NetWare client has been installed, you can access NetWare services in the same ways as Windows servers. The only difference, if you're used to the Novell way of naming resources, is that remote folders and files must be specified using standard Windows UNC format.
This format takes a bit of getting used to, and you must make some changes to existing batch files and programs. But beyond this small difference, you can treat NetWare resources just like Windows resources and therefore can do the following:
Browsing the NetworkWhen locating a file, mapping a network drive, or just exploring the network, you can find a NetWare server in My Network Places or any other network browsing dialog. Expand Entire Network, and you'll notice two network branches: Microsoft Windows Network and NetWare or Compatible Network. Expanding the NetWare branch, you can see any available NDS trees or individual NetWare bindery servers, as shown in Figure 20.3. Figure 20.3. NetWare trees and servers appear under the NetWare branch of Entire Network.
If some Windows computers are missing from the list, see "Some Computers Are Missing from Entire Network" in the "Troubleshooting" section. You can drill down into shared volumes (for example, sys), folders, and files if you wish. When you attach to a NetWare server, by default, your Windows login name and password are used to make the connection. You can use an alternate login name and password if you use the Map Network Drive Wizard, which is available from the Explorer's Tools menu. Having different account names and passwords on your Windows and Novell servers can be a bit confusing, however, so your network manager will probably try to make them match. You might need to manually update your passwords to keep them identical on the two server types, which I'll discuss in the next section.
Synchronizing NetWare PasswordsIf you use the same account name for both Windows and NetWare, as most people do, you should change your password on both systems to the same thing at the same time. That way, your name and password will work for both networks, and you won't be bothered with entering them by hand every time you attach to a NetWare resource. TIP Be sure to connect to your Novell server or servers or trees before changing your Windows password so that the password is updated on all servers. You can simply view any NetWare resource on a server in My Network Places to establish a connection. If your Novell servers use the NDS directory system for security, you're in luck. When you change your Windows password by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and selecting Change Password, your Novell password is set as well for any NDS trees you're currently connected to. If you use older bindery-based NetWare servers, you must use the old setpass DOS utility to update NetWare passwords after changing your Windows password. To do so, follow these steps:
These steps synchronize all bindery-based NetWare servers. Listing Your NetWare ConnectionsOn a DOS-based Novell network, you used the whoami command to keep track of your current NetWare connections. This function is available in Windows as well: Open My Computer, right-click My Network Places, and select Who Am I. Who Am I displays a list of attached file servers and NDS trees, as shown in Figure 20.4. If necessary, you can disconnect from a server by selecting it in the connection list and clicking Detach. Figure 20.4. Who Am I displays currently connected NetWare servers.NetWare and the Command PromptNetWare's DOS origins show most clearly in the set of management and operating utilities it uses to control drive mappings and monitor and configure the network. Its beloved command-line utilities, such as MAP and CAPTURE, have very limited usefulness under Windows because they expect to be interacting directly with MS-DOS to change its drive listing and printer configuration. These functions simply don't work with Windows XP because it's based on Windows NT, not MS-DOS. If you were a command-line aficionado on your Novell network, you'll have to learn a new way of doing things. You'll probably grumble about it for a while (I sure did!), but eventually the new way will become familiar. Table 20.3 shows some key differences between common NetWare and Windows commands.
Most of the NetWare utilities listed in this table cannot be used on Windows XP if you're using the Microsoft Client Service for NetWare; they simply don't work or don't work correctly. Use the Windows versions instead. NOTE Windows-based NetWare 4.0 and 5.0 management utilities do not work with the Microsoft Client. These utilities run only with the Novell Client. TIP The easiest way to use a NetWare utility is to open a command prompt and type pushd \\server\sys\public to change the current directory to the NetWare server's utility directory. You can also make shortcuts to any often-used utilities. The MS-DOS environment is simulated in Windows using two drivers loaded in AUTOEXEC.NT: nw16 and vwipxspx. They provide some but not all the services that the old DOS programs IPX and NETX or VLM shell programs did. Troubleshooting a Novell Network ConnectionIf you have problems establishing a connection to a Novell server using the Microsoft client, you can use the built-in Windows Troubleshooter to help diagnose the problem. To use it, choose Start, Help. On the Search tab, search for NetWare, and select Troubleshooter in the left pane. Then select Client Service for NetWare in the right pane. |