NetWare 5.1 Advanced Administration

Appendix B: Upgrade a NetWare 4.x Server to NetWare 5.1

 

Objectives:

This chapter introduces two methods of putting NetWare 5.1 on an existing network. The objectives important to this chapter are:

  1. Determine whether to upgrade or migrate
  2. Meet minimum hardware requirements
  3. Upgrade a server using the installation program
  4. Migrate a server with Novell Upgrade Wizard
  5. Choose a Protocol
  6. Perform an In-Place Upgrade
  7. Perform An Across the Wire Upgrade
Concepts:
Determine whether to upgrade or migrate

The appendix presents two methods for upgrading an existing NetWare server to NetWare 5.1. (Note that in addition to these methods, you could also just format a hard drive and perform an initial installation.) The upgrade methods are:

  • Using the Install.bat file to install NetWare 5 on an existing server over existing files. This is called an in-place upgrade.
  • Using the Novell Upgrade Wizard to copy the file system and the bindery (or NDS) to another server. This method is called an across-the-wire migration.
Note that Novell is a bit inconsistent in its terms: the Wizard is called an Upgrade Wizard, even though it is used to migrate files. When Novell uses the term "upgrade", it is meant to be generic. It can mean either an in-place or across-the-wire upgrade.
Meet minimum hardware requirements

There is a list of the hardware requirements for a NetWare 5.1 server:

  • An IBM PC or compatible with a Pentium processor.
  • A VGA or better resolution display adapter (SVGA recommended). Actually, you must have at least 800 by 600 resolution or you will not be able to use some features in ConsoleOne.
  • 50 MB DOS partition with 35 MB available free space.
  • 750 MB of free disk space on SYS: for standard NetWare products, and an additional 750 MB for WebSphere Application Server for NetWare.
  • 128 MB RAM for standard NetWare products, and an additional 128 MB RAM (512 MB total recommended) for WebSphere Application Server for NetWare.
  • A network board.
  • A CD drive that can read ISO 9660-formatted CD disks. (Computers with bootable CD drives must fully support the El Torito specification.)
Upgrade a server using the installation program

Choosing which method to use for an upgrade is a required skill. You should know the features of each method:

  • In-place upgrades are usually done for NetWare 4 servers. It will work, however, if your server is any of these:
    • NetWare 3.x
    • NetWare 4.x
    • NetWare 5.0 (Novell does not mention this, but it is possible)
    • intraNetWare ®
    • intraNetWare for Small Business
    It will not work for any other type of server (older NetWare or other brands must convert to one of the above types first.) This type of upgrade risks data loss, since only once device is used, so Novell recommends making two backups first. This method supports the use of suballocation and disk compression.
Migrating a Server with Novell Upgrade Wizard
  • Across-the-wire migrations are usually done for NetWare 3 servers, and servers with critical data. This method is more hardware intensive: it requires the server to be upgraded, a workstation to run the Wizard, and an existing NetWare 5.1 server to receive the files and bindery. It has the advantage of being safer: the server being migrated continues to exist during and after the migration, so there is very little chance of data loss. It is also convenient in that the Wizard presents a graphic interface, which allows for changes in the receiving tree on the fly. The Wizard also warns the user of possible problems.
Choose a Protocol

In addition to picking a method of upgrading, you will need to decide which protocols to support on your new server. Your choices are IP, IPX, or both. Novell recommends a pure IP network if possible. If you are supporting a mixed network, support both protocol stacks.

Perform an In-Place Upgrade

You will want to know the steps involved in each kind of upgrade. The appendix outlines three phases of an in-place upgrade:

  • Preparing - this phase has four steps:
    1. Make at least two backups of your NetWare 4.x system.
    2. Document the hardware settings (such as interrupt number and I/O port) for the server’s network boards.
    3. Broadcast a console message asking users to log out of the server you are upgrading. Knock them off the network if necessary, since you cannot upgrade while they are logged in.
    4. Investigate compatibility issues before upgrading your network NetWare 5.1 does not use .DSK drivers. If you use third-party NLMs, disk drivers (*.HAM), or LAN drivers (*.LAN), they may not work.
  • Performing - this phase has nine steps:
    1. Load the Installation program at the server’s DOS prompt by entering INSTALL and selecting Upgrade from 3.x or 4.x. Note that this is done at the DOS prompt: the Server.exe program is NOT running at this time.
    2. Select the mouse and video drivers. You should know if your mouse uses a serial port or a PS2 connector. If it is a Microsoft mouse, it should be model 2.0a, not 2.1a. Later models may work, but this is not guaranteed.
    3. Hardware should be automatically detected. Modify drivers for hard drive and NIC if necessary. The SYS volume will be mounted automatically.
    4. Select the protocols for network boards. (IP, IPX, or both.)
    5. Upgrade NDS. (This is automatic.)
    6. Install licenses for NetWare 5.1 by selecting an .NLF file. You may need a license diskette for this.
    7. Mark additional products you want to install, such as NDPS, DHCP service, etc.
    8. Customize the installation, if necessary. This is optional.
    9. Exit the Installation program and reboot the server.
  • Completing - this phase has three steps:
    1. Upgrade your printing configuration with NDPS. You may wish to continue using queue based printing. Both kinds of printing are supported.
    2. Modify container and user login scripts.
    3. Upgrade NetWare clients if needed. Version 2.2 or later for Windows 95 workstations, version 4.11 or later for Windows NT workstations. Note that this is the last step in this method: it comes much earlier in an across-the-wire migration.
Perform An Across the Wire Upgrade

A description of an across-the-wire migration shows that this method is much more involved. Eight phases/tasks are listed:

  1. Install the Novell Upgrade Wizard by executing the UPGRDWZD.EXE file on your installation CD. You must do this at the workstation from which you will run the Wizard.
  2. Prepare for the upgrade. There are thirteen steps to this phase:
    1. Create a backup of NDS and the volumes to which you will migrate the NetWare 3.x file system.
    2. Gather information about the existing NDS Tree: name of the Tree, context for this server, login name and password for a user with Administrator rights to that context.
    3. The Jarod (The Pretender)and George Foreman problems: if you have several accounts for the same user under different names (Jarod), consolidate them. If you have several accounts for different users under the same name (George Foreman, George Foreman, George Foreman, etc), rename them before migrating them.
    4. Upgrade the Windows 95 workstation clients to version 2.2 or later. Note that this step was done last in the in-place method.
    5. Upgrade the Windows NT workstation clients to version 4.11 or later.
    6. Make sure you have Supervisor or equivalent rights to both the NetWare 3.x and NetWare 5.1 servers.
    7. Disable SAP filtering on each server involved in the migration. This is only necessary if they are on different LAN segments.
    8. You will find new NLMs for the 3.x server in the C:\PROGRAM FILES\NOVELL\UPGRADE\PRODUCTS\NW3X directory on your workstation. Copy them to the server.
    9. Unload the following NetWare 3.x server NLMs in the order indicated:
      • TSA311.NLM or TSA312.NLM
      • SMDR.NLM
      • SMDR31 x.NLM
      • SPXS.NLM
      • TLI.NLM
      • AFTER311.NLM
      • CLIB.NLM
      • A3112.NLM
      • STREAMS.NLM
    10. Load the new TSA312.NLM on the 3.x server. This updates all the NLM programs that you copied earlier.
    11. Make sure IPX is bound to the NetWare 5.1 server and that you have an IPX connection from the workstation.
    12. Load and add name spaces, if necessary. The NLMs in question are LONG.NAM, NFS.NAM and MAC.NAM.
    13. Determine which objects to migrate.
  3. Launch the utility. From the Start menu on the workstation, select Programs | Novell | Novell Upgrade Wizard | Novell Upgrade Wizard.
  4. Create a project. This is essentially a folder that tracks your actions in the migration.
  5. Move objects from the Project window. This is a planning step. You create containers as necessary, and drag objects from one window of the project to another.
  6. Verify that objects and files can be upgraded as specified. The Wizard verifies what problems may exist and you deal with them, modifying the Tree as necessary.
  7. Upgrade the server components across the wire. After you tell the Wizard to start the migration, it checks for problems again, and gives you another chance to resolve them.
  8. Complete the post-upgrade steps.
    • Modify login scripts.
    • Modify your printing configuration.
    • Check upgraded user information.
    • Check upgraded file information.
    • Check third-party applications.
    • Move individual objects to different locations in the NDS tree.
    • Upgrade Novell clients (version 2.2 or later for Windows 95 or version 4.11 or later for Windows NT is required).