Configuring NetWare Servers to Support Windows 98

This section presents information about installing Windows 98 source files on NetWare servers, automating Setup for NetWare workstations, support for long file names on NetWare servers, and where to place user profiles and system policy files on NetWare servers.

Installing Windows 98 Source Files on NetWare Servers

The Windows 98 master files can be placed on a NetWare server to be used as source files for installing Windows 98 locally on NetWare workstations.

To set up Windows 98 source files on a NetWare server

On the network administrator’s computer, log on to the NetWare file server where you want to place the Windows 98 source files. Make sure you log on with security privileges that allow you to create directories and copy files to the file server. Then copy the Windows 98 source files to the NetWare file server.

Automating Setup for NetWare Workstations

You can create automatic installation procedures for installing Windows 98 on multiple workstations. The steps include the following:

Creating setup scripts for installing Windows 98 on computers connected to NetWare networks, specifying the network client and supporting components, plus defining other software components to be installed.
Defining user and computer settings to be used in setup scripts for specific NetWare workstation configurations.
Creating logon scripts to set up Windows 98 automatically on NetWare workstations when users log on.

For a complete description of the procedures for preparing and managing automatic installation of Windows 98 on multiple computers, see Chapter 4, "Automated Installations."

Supporting Long File Names on NetWare Servers

Computers running a 32-bit, protected mode client with Windows 98 can use long file names on NetWare 3.x and 4.x volumes configured to use the OS/2 name space, which emulates a high-performance file system (HPFS) volume. File names on such NetWare volumes have a maximum length of 254 characters and use an 8.3 truncation on the first instance of the file name. For example:

longfilenameold.tst --> LONGFILE.TST
longfilenamenew.tst --> LONGFIL0.TST

The following procedures describe how to enable long file names on NetWare servers.

To enable long file names on NetWare servers running versions 4.10 or earlier

At the NetWare server console prompt, type the following lines:
```
load os2
add name space os2 to volume sys
```
Then add the following line to Startup.ncf:
```
load os2
```
Shut down the file server. Then copy Os2.nam from the NetWare distribution disks or compact disc to the same disk and directory that contains Server.exe on the NetWare file server.
Restart the NetWare file server.

To enable long file names on NetWare servers running versions later than 4.1x

At the NetWare server console prompt, type the following lines:
```
load long
add name space long to sys
```

To verify that long file names have been added

At the NetWare server console prompt, type volume.

If you have problems with these procedures, contact Novell for more information.

When you use long file names for files on a NetWare volume while running Windows 98, the following exceptions occur:

You cannot use a combination of short names and long names for a path used in an MS-DOS prompt window.
You cannot use cd in an MS-DOS prompt window to switch directories using first a long file name, then a truncated name, or vice versa.
You cannot use dir in an MS-DOS prompt window to check a directory on a NetWare server if you used a truncated name to switch to that directory.

To avoid these problems, use Windows Explorer. Otherwise, avoid long directory names if you do a lot of work at the command prompt.

NetWare 3.11 servers experience problems with applications that open a large number of files. Error messages report these problems as sharing or lock violations, or report a "file not found" error when you know the file exists, or report other errors in opening files. Novell supplies a patch for this problem, which you can obtain from http://support.novell.com/.

However, if you have not applied the patch, this problem affects how NetWare 3.11 servers handle long file names, even if the OS/2 name space is enabled. To avoid such problems, Windows 98 Setup enables long file name support only with NetWare servers version 3.12 or later.

To support long file names on all NetWare servers, you should apply all proper NetWare patches at your site. You must also set the value of SupportLFN to 2, expressed in binary as "10," in the following registry subkey:

Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\Nwredir

Important

Enter the value for this registry subkey in binary notation. Thus, enter the binary value "10" for a decimal value of 2.

The possible values for this registry key are the following:

0, which indicates that long file names are not supported on NetWare servers.
1 (the default), which indicates that long file names are supported on NetWare servers version 3.12 and later.
2, which indicates that long file names are supported if the NetWare server supports long file names. This can include NetWare 3.11 servers where the patch has been applied.

These values can also be set globally using system policies. The related policy name is Support Long File Names under the policies for Client for NetWare Networks.

Supporting Pass-Through Security for Peer Resource Sharing

If computers running Windows 98 will be providing File and Printer Sharing Services for NetWare Networks, then the NetWare server providing access validation can be configured with a special WINDOWS_PASSTHRU account. This special account is used to support pass-through validation for user-level security. It is not necessary for users who already have an account on that server.

For more information about configuring and managing pass-through and user-level security for Windows 98 on NetWare networks, see Chapter 9, "Security."

Placing Profile and Policy Files on NetWare Servers

User profiles, which consist of the user-specific information in the registry, can be used to ensure a consistent desktop for individual users who log on to multiple computers, or for multiple users logging on to the same computer. User profiles can be used on a NetWare network with computers configured to use Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks. When a user account is created on a NetWare server, a subdirectory of the MAIL directory is created automatically for that user. Because a MAIL directory is always available for each user, Windows 98 uses these individual directories to store user profiles. If you want to use user profiles to enforce a mandatory desktop, place the related User.man file in the users’ MAIL directories.

If you are using system policies to enforce specific desktop or system settings, the appropriate Config.pol file must be stored in the SYS:PUBLIC directory on each NetWare server that users use as a preferred server. Windows 98 automatically downloads policies from this file.

Note

Novell Client for Windows 95/98 always looks for Config.pol in the SYS:SYSTEM directory of the preferred server, not the logon server. If you have not set the preferred server, Config.pol does not automatically download.

For more information about using user profiles or creating system policies, including information about using profiles and policies with Service for NetWare Directory Services, see Chapter 7, "User Profiles," and Chapter 8, "System Policies."