Creating the Disk Image for RIPL

Novell NetWare does not provide RIPL support with its basic networking software. To obtain the latest versions of RIPL software, you can contact your Novell dealer or download the self-extracting file RPLKT1.EXE from the NOVLIB forum on CompuServe®. Configuring a remote-boot workstation is governed by the terms of your Novell license agreement.

As with all NetWare software used with Windows 95, you should make sure that you have the latest MS-DOS and Windows supporting files, including ODI drivers, network shell, LSL, and other required DLLs.

To prepare for RIPL support on the server, you must load and bind the Novell-supplied RPL.NLM file in AUTOEXEC.NCF and copy all .RPL files to the SYS:LOGIN directory.

To use RIPL to support a diskless workstation, the workstation must have an RPL ROM Module (PROM) installed on the network adapter that can send the correct RPL frame sequence. You must also create a disk image file in the server's SYS:LOGIN directory, as described later in this section.

For more information, see your Novell documentation; see also the Novell-supplied document, RPLNLM.DOC, and IBM Remote Program Load User's Guide from the NOVLIB forum on CompuServe.

Notice that some older PROMs (such as NE2000 boot PROMs) use only 802.3 Ethernet frame types; RIPL.NLM cannot run with this frame type and usually binds to the 802.2 frame type. Such older PROMs also cannot use BOOTCONF.SYS. For information about determining whether your site is using such older PROMs, and to find the software solutions, see the Novell-supplied document RIPLODI.DOC, available from the NOVLIB forum on CompuServe.

To allow a remote-boot workstation to start from a Novell NetWare server, the following actions must be completed:

  1. Create a boot disk, and then create a disk image file using the boot disk.

    Windows 95 Setup installs a new disk image file, as described later in this section.

  2. Copy the remote-boot files to the server.
  3. Create a BOOTCONF.SYS file on the server.
  4. Install the Enhanced Remote Boot PROM on the network adapter.
  5. Install the network adapter in the remote-boot workstation.
  6. Add an entry for the workstation in MACHINES.INI, as described in "Technical Notes on MACHINES.INI and SETMDIR."
  7. Connect the remote-boot workstation to the network.

Note Do not run RPLFIX.EXE or DOSGEN.EXE under Windows 95. These utilities are included with the Novell RIPL software. DOSGEN is used to create IMAGE.SYS (the disk image for startup) and NET$DOS.SYS to support RIPL on MS-DOS – based computers.

If you want to customize the disk images further using the Microsoft RPLIMAGE utility, first you must set SaveSUBoot=1 in the [Setup] section of MSBATCH.INF. The files to be included in the boot image will be saved in the SUBOOT subdirectory under the machine directory. Then, use the RPLIMAGE utility that is included in the ADMIN\NETTOOLS\NETSETUP directory on the Windows 95 compact disc.

Important The RPLIMAGE utility creates a file name NET$DOS.SYS that consists of all the files in the current directory. You must then move NET$DOS.SYS from the machine directory to the server's SYS:\LOGIN directory.

You can use the following command-line parameters with RPLIMAGE.EXE to make a disk image of files and directories, including lower level directories:

rplimage [pathname1] [pathname2] [/t:n] [/n:n] [/sc:n] [/nf:n] [/fs:n] [/h:n] [/f:n] [/ss:n] [/e:n] [label:string] [/date:yyyy.mm.dd] [/time:hh.mm.ss] [/sort]

Parameters for Microsoft RPLIMAGE.EXE

Parameter

Description

/t

Specifies the number of tracks

/n

Specifies the number of sectors per track

/sc

Specifies the number of sectors per cluster

/nf

Specifies the number of FATs in the image

/fs

Specifies the size of FAT in sectors

/h

Specifies the number of heads

/f

Specifies one of the standard formats

/ss

Specifies the sector size in bytes

/e

Specifies the FAT type (12-bit or 16-bit)

/label

Specifies a volume label for the image

/date

Specifies the date to touch all files and directories

/time

Specifies the time to touch all files and directories

/sort

Sorts the image by filename.ext in ascending order


The following information describes how Windows 95 Setup installs a new disk image file. It also provides information to help you create a BOOTCONF.SYS file to support remote-boot workstations running a shared copy of Windows 95 from a NetWare server. For more information, see the Novell publication Installing Enhanced Remote Boot PROMs on Novell Ethernet Network Interface Cards. To obtain this document, contact your NetWare vendor.

When Windows 95 Setup is finished, it automatically creates a disk image on the server. This file contains a disk image of the RAM drive for the remote-boot workstation.

You can include the boot image filename plus the workstation's network address and node address in the BOOTCONF.SYS file on the NetWare server that is the repository for boot image files. BOOTCONF.SYS is stored in the SYS:LOGIN directory of the server, and is a text file that contains one record for each remote-boot workstation or group of workstations. Multiple workstations can be specified by using wildcards or question marks within the network address.

The following shows the format for each record in BOOTCONF.SYS. The parameters are defined later in this section.

0x[network_address,]node_address = image_filename.sys [ack] [frame=ff] [gns] [noack] [nogns] [noprotect] [notro] [protect] [ps=server] [tro] [wait time=sss]

Each record ends in a carriage return or linefeed character.

The NetWare server that contains the boot image files should have Novell RIPL.NLM loaded and bound to the appropriate network adapter. The following procedures summarize this process.

To load RPL on a NetWare 3.x or 4.x server

  1. At the command prompt, type load rpl
  2. Then type the following:

    bind rpl to board [ack] [frame=ff] [gns], [nodefault], [protect], [ps=server], [tro], [wait time=sss]

The parameters for BOOTCONF.SYS records and for binding RPL are not case-sensitive. The parameters can be entered in any order, and can be separated by either commas or blank spaces. The following table briefly defines these parameters. For more information, see your Novell-supplied documentation on BOOTCONF.SYS.

Novell NetWare Parameters for BOOTCONF.SYS and BIND Commands

Parameter

Description

ack

Requires a per-frame acknowledgment so slower workstations can pace RPL when it sends frames in burst mode.

bind board

Binds RPL to a board configured for 802.2 frames. The board can be specified by the name of the network adapter board number.

frame=ff

Configures RBOOT to use the following frame types: 802.2 (default), EII (Ethernet_II), or snap.

gns

Causes the workstation to use a Get Nearest Server request after RBOOT is downloaded. Use this parameter when the workstation should find a server other than the one containing RPL.

nodefault

Causes RPL to ignore remote-boot requests when the node address is not in BOOTCONF.SYS.

nogns

Overrides gns.

noprotect

Overrides protect specified with BIND.

notro

Overrides tro with BIND.

protect

Adjusts memory size in BIOS data area to reflect the amount of memory used by RBOOT, reducing available memory by 12K. Do not use unless absolutely necessary.

ps=server

Specifies that RBOOT attach to a preferred server other than the server where RPL is located.

tro

Causes the bootstrap program to perform This Ring Only Count Of 3 on all broadcast frames. Used in source routing environments.

wait time=sss

Specifies how many seconds (0000 to 665535) the workstation waits before selecting a Disk Image Name automatically, when multiple names are specified in BOOTCONF.SYS.