NetWare 5.1 Administration

Chapter 2: Using a Workstation

 

Objectives:

This chapter introduces us to the details of connecting to the net and logging in to it. Several of the concepts here relate to the Novell Client software, which runs on the workstation and provides access to the net. The objectives important to this chapter are:

  1. Identify How a Workstation Communicates with the Network
  2. Identify Workstation Hardware and Its Function
  3. Identify Workstation Software and Its Function
  4. Identify the Components of a Workstation Dataflow Model
  5. List the Configuration Options for Novell Client and Windows
  6. Identify Network Resources
  7. Identify Browser Configurations
Key Concepts:
Identify How a Workstation Communicates with the Network

A workstation is usually a computer, not just a terminal. Since it is a computer, it is able to do several things for itself, even if it is not logged on to a net. The workstation needs network software and hardware to be part of a network. The bulleted list on page 2-2, tells us that the workstation

  • needs hardware and software to connect to and contact the network
  • needs to process network related information
  • needs to send data to and receive data from servers and other workstations
Identify Workstation Hardware and Its Function

A workstation is usually connected to a network by a cable (which could be of several types) that connects to a Network Interface Card (NIC). These two components of a network determine many of the network's characteristics, but they do not determine:

  • the contents of data
  • how data will be used by the workstation (or the network)
  • whether the workstation is granted rights to resources on the network

The workstation and network software determine the three things above.

Identify Workstation Software and Its Function

It is necessary for the workstation's software to interact with the network in order to save files to a network drive, print to the network, or use any network resource or service. Page 2-4 is a bit confusing, since the picture shows that the workstation operating system and applications are the workstation software, while the list above it seems to include the Novell Client in the workstation software as well. Trust the list more than the picture this time. A list of functions of the workstation software is also on page 2-4. Only the first item is carried out by the applications and operating system. The rest are duties of the Novell Client.

  • Creates content
  • Formats data for the network
  • Helps protect the network from unauthorized users
  • Controls the flow of data

Page 2-5 describes things that are possible once the client software is installed.

  • You can use network services such as:
    • network printing
    • saving and retrieving files with network hard drives
    • finding files on network hard drives
  • Network security works through the client
  • The client also formats communications so they fit on the network.

How this works was explained better in previous books. The Client works with the operating system using what is called OS (Operating System) Call Interception. The short version of the story is that the Client software is aware that network services are available. The operating system is not. The Client remembers which network services the user has told it to use, such as printing to Printer 528 on the network. When the user tells an application to print, the signal would automatically go to the operating system, which knows nothing about the network and would try to send the signal to a printer directly wired to the workstation. However, the Client intercepts the signal and sends it to the proper network service instead. To accommodate network security, the Client sends an identifier to NDS, telling it what is wanted, by whom. NDS decides whether the user is allowed access to the resource, and the Client enforces the ruling.

Page 2-6 reviews the idea that data can still be used privately on a workstation, that the network does not need to be involved. Page 2-6 also discusses the relationship between applications and the network. Most applications are not network aware, so they need the Client to intercede with the network for them.

Identify the Components of a Workstation Dataflow Model

Page 2-7 adds more detail to the picture. A request from the user passes through the chain of software illustrated on page 2-7.

  1. The user enters a request in some application.
  2. The application passes the request to the operating system, as usual.
  3. The Novell Client intercepts the request and turns it into a network request.
  4. The request is processed into IPX or IP packets.
  5. Novell ODI or Windows NDIS software sends the packets to the right LAN driver. LSLC32.NLM also supports this service.
  6. The NIC (or LAN) driver is specific to your NIC. It controls the NIC, and sends the request to it.
  7. The NIC sends the request to the net medium, where a server receives it. The last two items vary by the kind of network you are using: CMSM.NLM (communications media support module) provides support for your net medium, ETHERTSM.NLM (ethernet target service module) is used if you are on an ethernet. Another topology module is used, if not.

Each of these pieces is transparent to the user, if everything works. As an administrator, you will gain insight into which module is missing or malfunctioning for different problems. Protocols, for example, are rules necessary for network communications. Novell has used the IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) suite of protocols for all versions before NetWare 5. NetWare 5 introduced native support for the IP (Internet Protocol) suite, as well as supporting IPX.

List the Configuration Options for Novell Client and Windows

Page 2-11 begins the discussion of configuration options for the Novell Client. The first choice is what protocol stack(s) you need to support on your network. Protocols are the sets of rules that your network uses for communications. The choices are:

  • IP - If your network contains only Novell 5 (or later) servers, you may want to use just IP.
  • IP with some IPX support - If your network contains some older Novell servers (4.12 or earlier) you may want to support IPX, since those servers did not support IP.
  • IP and IPX (full support for both) - If your network contains several older Novell servers (4.12 or earlier) you may want fuller support for IPX.
  • IPX - If your network contains only older Novell servers, you may not need IP support.

Novell recommends that you should migrate your network to IP, and eliminate IPX if possible.

Page 2-12 discusses the login procedure. Some significant facts about it:

  • Logging in is a part of Network Security. It is the first layer of security a user encounters.
  • A user must log in to use the network. The user may be able to use the workstation without logging in.
  • In a properly constructed network, users can use one login to access all resources to which they have rights.

A user cannot log in if one or more of the following are missing. You will be surprised how many users fail to notice they are missing a component.

  • The proper client software (Novell Client)
  • Supporting components: a NIC, a NIC driver, etc.
  • The workstation must actually be properly connected to the network, usually by plugging a patch cord from the NIC to a network jack. (And the network jack must work, etc.)
  • The user must have a valid, active user ID (and password, if required).

You get support calls from users about logging in because they have never seen this list. They are often only told that they need a user ID and a password. Of course, many users would not know how to troubleshoot or fix a problem with these components.

The text examines several optional features that can be installed when you install the 32 bit version of the Novell Client. Most have to do with enabling the network administrator to manage workstations remotely.

Identify Network Resources

A user is usually assigned a password at the same time they are assigned a user ID. The user's login ID is the same as the name of the user's Object in NDS. I often have to search for a user's object in NDS to determine what login ID and context the user should be using (and has forgotten). The process is simple, you just run NetWare Administrator or ConsoleOne, and use the Search function, telling it what kind of object and specifying the value of one of its properties.

Page 2-16 tells you that you have to have the Novell Client software installed to be able to browse the network resources. You do not use the Client directly to do so, you use the Windows Explorer or the Network Neighborhood Explorer, but the point is that you cannot use either of those utilities to browse the network unless the Client is installed.

Identify Browser Configurations

It is also possible to use an Internet browser, such as Netscape Navigator (or Communicator) or Microsoft Internet Explorer to access network resources. The list of items you can do with a browser on page 2-21 includes the major actions a user might take on a workstation.

On page 2-18, the text explains that a browser can add functionality to a workstation. The way a modern browser accomplishes this is by the addition of support for programs written in Java or Javascript. Java is a language that can be used to write programs that can be run alone or in a browser. In either of these cases, the workstation must have Java support installed (usually in the browser) or the programs do not run. Javascript is a language for writing programs that run in a web page, which is read by a browser. Again, if the workstation does not support the language, the program does not run.