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

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