RAS: Connecting Using IPXCP Drops Local Netware Session

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5

SYMPTOM

When you make a call with RAS from a computer running Windows NT 3.5 and Client Services for NetWare (CSNW), you lose your connection to the local NetWare server. If you are running applications from the local NetWare server, and you have not saved your work, the data is lost. You cannot browse or reconnect to local NetWare servers as long as the RAS IPXCP connection exists.

These symptoms occur when the computer running Windows NT and CSNW has an IPX session to a local Novell server and you connect to the RAS server using PPP IPX (also called IPXCP) and the remote Windows NT 3.5 LAN also has NetWare servers.

CAUSE

Two design limitations cause this problem:

By design, the list of Novell NetWare servers on a NetWare LAN is collected by the servers and stored in their respective binderies. All NetWare client redirectors query a single bindery to do name to address translation for servers in that list. Therefore, a remote NetWare server accessed using RAS does not have information in its bindery about the local NetWare LAN servers, and vice versa.

Just like the Novell NetWare redirector, the Microsoft CSNW redirector is not capable of connecting to disjointed NetWare networks simultaneously, because it relies on the information in a single NetWare server bindery. For the Netware server bindery to contain servers from the local and remote NetWare LAN, Windows NT would need to be connected through an internal IPX bridge that routes IPX. This feature is currently not available.

Secondly, RAS on Windows NT 3.5 tells the Windows NT CSNW redirector to automatically switch to the remote NetWare LAN, and in effect, drop the local NetWare connection, if an IPXCP connection was successfully negotiated between the RAS client and server.

WORKAROUND

To workaround this problem, ensure that Gateway Services for Netware is installed on the RAS server. Instead of configuring RAS for PPP IPX (protocol being IPXCP) configure the RAS client for NetBEUI (protocol being NetBEUICP). Ensure the IPX option is unmarked. This will allow you to access the remote NetWare servers while having a session to a local NetWare server.

STATUS

This feature is under review and will be considered for inclusion in a future release.