Service and Support

Chapter 5: Troubleshooting the Novell Client on the Workstation

 

Objectives:

This chapter discusses the problems you are likely to encounter regarding workstations. The objectives important to this chapter are on page 5-1:

  1. Describe the Novell Client for Windows 98
  2. Troubleshoot the Novell Client on a Windows 98 Workstation
  3. Describe the Novell Client for Windows NT
  4. Troubleshoot the Novell Client on a Windows NT Workstation

Concepts:

The chapter begins with a reminder of the kinds of operating systems that may be run on client workstations in a Novell network:

  • Windows 9x and NT
  • DOS
  • UNIX
  • OS/2

Previous versions of NetWare offered client software for the Macintosh OS and for the 3.x versions of Windows.

Only two client environments are discussed in this chapter: Windows 98 and Windows NT. In a previous edition of this text, there was a discussion of how the client-server relationship works. Two critical software components of the relationship are the protocol suite used and the network client software. This emphasis on the client software is the reason for this chapter.

On page 5-3, there is a list of the features of the Novell Client for Windows 98. An almost identical list appears on page 5-26, concerning the Novell Client for Windows NT. You should be familiar with these characteristics of both clients:

  • Loaded by Windows at startup provider (or first on the list of network providers)
  • Fully integrated into the Explorer and Network Neighborhood utilities
  • Allows parameters to be managed using the Windows System Policy Editor
  • Supports long filenames
  • Allows users to run login scripts from the Windows desktop environment
  • Ensures that the Novell network provider is the primary network provider (or first on the list of network providers)
  • Can use Automatic Client Upgrade (ACU)
  • Allows for the installation of Windows and the Novell Client for Windows simultaneously with unattended install
  • Supports TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, Winsock, Named Pipes, NetBIOS, and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
  • Can coexist with Microsoft Client for Microsoft networks
  • Allows full automatic reconnection to network files and resources
  • Provides simultaneous access to multiple NDS trees

The first discussion of the client software is on page 5-4. The text explains that the NetWare I/O Subsystem (NIOS) is the workstation equivalent of SERVER.EXE on a server. They both give the computer the ability to load and run NetWare Loadable Modules (NLMs). You may want to know that NIOS is implemented as NIOS.EXE on DOS and Windows 3.x workstations, but it is implemented as NIOS.VXD (a virtual device driver) for Windows 95 and 98 workstations. (Windows NT uses a different approach, discussed below.) NIOS works with Windows 98's extended memory manager.

Novell NetWare 4.11 uses the IPX/SPX suite as its protocol. NetWare 5 uses this suite, if desired, but Novell recommends that you use the TCP/IP suite. If you studied for the Building Intranets test or the Networking Technologies test, you know that IPX is like the IP protocol, in that they are both connectionless, which means "unacknowledged", like a postcard or a note in a bottle. SPX is like the TCP protocol, in that they are both connection-oriented, which basically means "acknowledged", like a phone call or a registered letter. Each suite of protocols works better for having protocols of each type in it.

TIP: A connectionless protocol usually starts with a vowel, while a connection oriented protocol usually starts with a consonant. This information is not presented in your text, but you may want to know it.

Often, the workstation uses multiple protocols, and loads an ODI driver to make this work better. ODI is like a switchboard that supports calls to multiple protocols in the same machine. An older driver, IPX.COM is no longer used in NetWare. The graphic on page 5-5 shows how the two protocol stacks likely to be used in a normal workstation. IPX/SPX and TCP/IP are both supported by the ODI driver. The LSL program is part of the ODI implementation. It performs the switchboard function, while the IPXODI program loads an ODI-compliant version of IPX. An alternative to the ODI drivers is the NDIS set of drivers. Think of ODI as supporting IPX and think of NDIS as supporting IP.

An MLID, Multiple Link Interface Driver, is another name for your NIC driver, also called the LAN driver, the preferred term in this edition of the text. Again, it is meant to support multiple protocols.

Page 5-6 refreshes your knowledge about the protocol stacks. The chart on this page summarizes the behavior of the IP and IPX stacks. You should have a general knowledge of each.

The discussion of client software continues with the NetWare Client Requester. This software provides the interface to network resource. It is implemented in CLIENT32.NLM, which enables the client to interact with the network.

Page 5-16 begins a description of the use of some troubleshooting tools. Some are more useful than others:

  • Network settings in Control Panel - you should be familiar with the procedure to access the NetWare Client in the Windows Control Panel. Your book leaves out a few steps. Try it like this:
    1. Click Start | Settings | Control Panel.
    2. Double-click the Network icon.
    3. From here, you can select various network trouble points, such as the NetWare Client, the NIC, and the IP stack. Double-click one of them, or single-click and click the Properties button.
  • Novell Client log file (NIOS.LOG) - this file can keep track of NLMs used on the workstation and error messages from them. To enable a client to use it:
    1. Edit the SYSTEM.INI file on the workstation.
    2. Find the section of the file with the heading [386Enh].
    3. Place the following line in that section:
      NWEnablelogging=True
    The NIOS.LOG file is stored by default in the C:NOVELL\CLIENT32 directory. This location can be changed in the properties of the Novell Client.
  • MODULES - this is a command that can be run on the workstation to display the names of all NLMs that are currently loaded. (This command also works on the command line of a server.) To use it on a workstation, you will probably want to be in a DOS window, and will want to redirect your output to a file or pipe it through the MORE filter: 
              MODULES > loaded_modules.txt
    or 
              MODULES | MORE
  • REGEDIT - This command runs a utility that allows you to edit the Windows Registry database. The text cautions you to use it only for viewing the settings in this database, not for changing them. Microsoft has been known to tell users who have modified their Registry that they are now unsupported.
  • LANalyzer component of ManageWise - this is one of many protocol analyzers available for determining what problems might exist on a network and what you should do about them. A distinction is made between two components: NetWare LANalyzer Agent allows you to manage multiple network segments, LANalyzer for Windows is limited to the segment on which it is being run.

Page 5-16 begins a section on resolving problems related to the client software. Note the procedure listed there:

  • List the symptoms - you can't solve a problem without knowing what is being experienced.
  • Eliminate hardware issues - adequate processor, RAM, new hardware, proper connections
  • Eliminate LAN driver issues - check for a loaded LAN driver, check the version
  • Verify the client software version - check the Windows registry (or pay attention when you log in), update to the current client if not running it
  • Eliminate connection issues - check the configuration of the client in Control Panel | Network

On page 5-26, a discussion of the components of the Novell Client for NT begins. The primary component is NWFS.SYS, which takes the place of NIOS.VXD. It works as an interface to the network, intercepting requests that would be made to the workstation operating system. Another component is the NetWare Client Requester, which tracks network resources. It is implemented as CLIENT32.NLM.

A user normally logs in to a Windows NT workstation using the Windows component WinLogon. WinLogon is composed of components, one of which is GINA (Graphical Identification and Authentication). The standard GINA is MSGINA.DLL, which the Novell Client replaces with NWGINA.DLL. The Windows registry is modified to use the Novell DLL instead of the Microsoft DLL.

Troubleshooting tools for NT are listed on page 5-28. This is the same list as above for Windows 98. A difference is the recommendation on page 5-30 that you should use the ERU.EXE program to make a backup of the NT Registry before installing the Novell Client. You should also know the name of the program to uninstall the Novell Client: WNTUNC.EXE.