Iowa/Nebraska Novell Technical Blast
John Bezy, Novell Iowa/Nebraska Systems Engineer



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Vol 2, No 1 - 1/10/00

Happy Y2K!!!

Jan 10, 2000--- Novell Ships NetWare 5.1.....

Technical Stuff

Year 2000
I hope everyone had a non-event... At worst, it appears there are minor glitches in displays of the 2000 year, but there appears to be no issue of functionality... Not everyone has been so fortunate. Take a look at www.y2kmistakes.com and see some problems...

NDS Tip 1
Are you familiar with DSTrace, one of the DS Set command utilities that ships with NDS? It can be used to diagnose NDS problems, as well as reload NDS and force NDS synchronization. HOWEVER, it does require some server processing power to run. So, if you are in the habit of starting DSTrace and letting it run, or have it start in the AUTOEXEC.NCF, DO NOT do it... Leaving DSTrace running can be a reason for slow logins or high server utilization.... Use DSTrace only while you are doing troubleshooting or your normal DS health checks (which everyone does on a regular basis, right???).

NDS Tip 2, or The NDS Basic Health Check
Speaking of doing NDS health checks on a regular basis, what is a regular basis? As usual, the technical answer is 'It depends'.... There are two types of NDS health checks- a basic health check and a complete health check... This edition we will cover part of the basic health check... A basic NDS health check addresses items such as NDS version, time synchronization, and partition continuity. A basic health check needs to be done NO MORE frequently than monthly, presuming you have a static NDS tree... So what's a static NDS tree? It is a tree in which you are generally only making changes such as moves, adds, deletes, or edits of NDS objects, or a tree in which you make a partitioning operation every couple of months. If your tree has these characteristics, then MONTHLY should you be doing a basic health check. What tool do you use to make this basic health check? The venerable DSRepair.... More next edition on what and how to do it... (By the way, this info is from the recently released Novell Education course 991- Advanced NDS Tools and Diagnostics... I emphatically recommend this course to anyone that has to manage an NDS tree!!!!! Check with your nearest Novell Authorized Education Center (NAEC) for availability.)

Copying files and folders using the NetWare File Copy utility
If you want to copy files or folders while preserving or changing NetWare attributes, such as Archive Needed, Rename Inhibit, Purge Immediate, Don't Migrate, Immediate Compress, etc., you can do so easily if you're using the Novell NetWare client software for Windows 95/98 or Windows NT. Right-click on a file or folder and choose NetWare Copy. This brings up the NetWare File Copy Utility. Specify the path to where you want to copy the file or folder. You can also specify several file copy options, such as to keep or modify attributes on copying the file or folder, to copy the file or folder only if its date and time stamp indicates that it's newer than an already existing copy of the file or folder, and to copy the file or folder only if it already exists. If you choose to modify attributes on copy, you can select which NetWare file attributes you want to retain, remove, or add.

NWADMIN DISPLAYS OLD VOLUME NAMES
Ever notice strange volume names while using NWAdmin? Have you had several CD-ROMS in your server CD drive? Are you planning your network design and would like to change volume names on the server. You can use the INSTALL.NLM to change volume names. However, if you use INSTALL.NLM to rename volumes, NWADMIN will continue to display the old volume names because INSTALL.NLM does not update the NDS. But, NWADMIN obtains information on volume objects from the NDS. You can solve this problem by using DSRepair. After loading DSRepair, choose Advanced Options, then select Check Volume Objects and Trustees. DSRepair will report the number of volumes that have been renamed and update the NDS. NWADMIN will now display the new volume names.

NDS UPDATE FOR NETWARE 4.11 AND 4.2
Novell has released an update to Novell Directory Services for your NetWare 4.11 and 4.2 servers; this update addresses two problems. First, DS could monopolize too many sockets under heavy load. Modifications were made so that DS does not take too many sockets. Second, there was a memory leak problem in which IP, IPX, and AFP were bound on the server. Both problems are fixed with this update. Also, enhancements were made to DSRepair to recognize schema changes made to NDS. You'll find the update file named ds411s.exe on the Novell Support Web site at http://support.novell.com/misc/patlst.htm.

UPDATE!
The patch file DS411s.exe has been superceded by the latest support pack - NW4SP8.EXE, found on http://support.novell.com...

Cool URLs

Looking for definitions of terms related to VPN? Do you know what VPN means? Take a look at the VPN Glossary- http://kubarb.phsx.ukans.edu/~tbird/vpn.html.

UPDATE!
Novell has just added another new web site, the source of many of the Did You Know points included in the original e-blast... Check out www.novell.com/advantage/w2k.html

The Other Guys Corner....

Microsoft Active Directory and Windows 2000

  1. DID YOU KNOW that when you install Active Directory, it disables all disk caching on the Windows 2000 Server - for all drives? If you think Windows NT 4.0 is slow, just wait until you see the file performance on Wands when Active Directory is installed. This means that any Wands server that holds Active Directory that is also providing file/print will perform very poorly. Why? Because MS can't figure out how to ensure AD database integrity in a cache-file environment. By the way, NDS does not suffer from this poor design, even when running on the NT platform.
  2. DID YOU KNOW that Microsoft recommends no more than 5000 users in an Active Directory group? Why? Because group membership is sent out as a single attribute value. So, if you add the 5000th user to a group of 4999 members, instead of sending just the new user, the entire group (all 5000 users) is sent to ALL domain controllers. By the way, NDS only sends the changes.
  3. DID YOU KNOW that Microsoft recommends against distributed group management? MS recommends that all group membership should be done from a single machine. WHY? If two administrators manage an AD group (add/delete a user to/from the group) before the group COMPLETELY synchronizes to ALL AD domain controllers, changes will be lost.


Upcoming Novell Events (www.novell.com/events)

XioTech day in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, IA at Iowa Electronics
See the NetWare Cluster Services in action with the Xiotech Storage Area Network hardware. Check out www.xiotech.com EVENTS for more info (if it's not there yet, it will be shortly)...

There will also be Xiotech/Novell presentation in Des Moines, IA and in Omaha during February- stay tuned for dates, times, and locations

State of Nebraska TechDay (for state and local government employees)
     Jan 27, 2000 sign-in starting at 11:30, runs until 1pm
     The Cornhusker Hotel, Garrat Room, Lincoln, NE
     NDS for NT and Single Sign-On
     See the page at www.novell.com/events/seminar.html,
     select Kansas City/Minneapolis,
     then select the State of Nebraska event; there will be a link to register...

eOpportunity Tour Novell and several partners, including IBM Netfinity and Lucent, will start a tour January 25th going through March 10th -a FREE eOpportunity Tour where industry leaders present real solutions for real eBusiness and show you how to:

Come find out how iwantvideosnow.com took advantage of their eOpportunity. The eOpportunity Tour is your chance to learn how to improve your business processes and competitiveness. Specifically, you will see the following NEW products working together to provide the perfect eSolution for you:

Reseller Events
Omaha Mar 2, 2000 Omaha Marriott, 9am-12pm
Des Moines Mar 3, 2000 Embassy Suites, 101 E Locust, 9am-12pm

End User Events
Omaha Mar 2, 2000 Omaha Marriott, 1pm-4pm
Des Moines Mar 3, 2000 Embassy Suites, 101 E Locust, 1pm-4pm

See http://www.novell.com/channel/etour/ to sign up for either reseller or end user.

Brainshare 2000 * March 26-31 * Salt Lake City
Register early and save $200- register before Feb 18th- visit the Web site at www.novell.com/700brainshare or call 1-800-833-4862 ext 700; be sure to mention registration code 700, and my name if they asked how you heard!!

ZEN Training filling fast
Due to overwhelming demand, Novell has more than doubled the number of dates and cities originally planned for the ZENworks Mastery Training series. As of Nov 30, there are only 5 classes still available. To register, or to obtain a current list of open classes, visit http://support.novell.com/additional/advtt/us/mastery.htm.

Product/Technology Updates
     none scheduled (will probably be in February)


Users Groups:

Be sure to visit and support your local NetWare/Network users group-

NNUG, Nebraska NetWare Users Group, Omaha,
meets second Tuesday of each month
     www.nui-omaha.org
LANUG, Lincoln (NE) Area NetWare Users Group
meets third Tuesday of each month
     members.aol.com/thomstarr/lanug
CINUG, Central Iowa Network Users Group, Des Moines,
meets third Wednesday each month
     www.cinug.net
Dubuque (IA) forming now....
will meet on the second Thursday of each month, starting February 10, 2000. As a snow date, use Thursday February 17, 2000. Contact Skip Hefel (skipper@myrealbox.com) for more information.


Sales Stuff----

Novell Ships NetWare 5.1 To Customers

Key Differentiators Set NetWare 5.1 Apart from the Competition

PROVO, Utah - Jan. 10, 2000 - Following the approval of customers and testing by thousands of beta testers, Novell, Inc. today began helping its customers add to their net infrastructure software with the shipment of NetWare® 5.1. Novell's latest server operating system will benefit customers, resellers and distributors by providing the latest technology for using open, Web-based e-business applications and the latest Web-based network management and resources. NetWare 5.1 provides customers with a single solution for key net technologies including Novell's latest Novell® Directory Services® eDirectory, to extend the reach of their existing computer networks across the net to employees, customers and supply-chain partners.

Customers today can also begin using Web-based applications on NetWare 5.1 with the inclusion of both IBM WebSphere Application Server 3.0 Standard Edition and IBM WebSphere Studio 3.0 Entry Edition. The IBM WebSphere family of products on NetWare allows customers to extend their server operating system investment to quickly and easily develop and use Web-based applications across their entire organization.

"Pairing the industry's leading Web application servers and a complete, easy-to-use Web development tool set for creating and deploying dynamic Web-based applications with Novell's flagship, directory-based server operating system provides NetWare 5.1 customers a growth path as their e-business needs expand," said John Swainson, General Manager, Application and Integration Division, IBM Software.

"We are using IBM WebSphere to develop and use Web-based applications," said Robin Hinson, senior technology architect at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. "The ability to run Web-based applications on NetWare will make 5.1 a compelling solution. Companies may also appreciate the ability to use the NetWare Management Portal to manage servers at any place and any time. Managing servers from a browser may also contribute to server up time."

Dependable & Efficient Access to Business Networking Resources
NetWare is now the first server operating system that provides customers with unprecedented technology to access corporate networks from anywhere in the world with the new NetWare Management Portal. The portal provides secure access through a Web browser to NetWare 5.1 servers, allowing administrators to manage and monitor their networks at anytime and from any place. The NetWare Management Portal helps to administer and manage NDS, control the status and health of servers, identify server problems and server setting configurations and power up servers that are down. The NetWare Management Portal is just another example of how Novell is empowering companies to extend their networks to the Web and simplify network management.

Novell Partners Support NetWare 5.1
Novell partners today voiced their support for NetWare 5.1 with hardware, software applications, utilities, and services that compliment Novell's latest server operating system. Companies such as Compaq, DELL, Gateway, Hewlett Packard and IBM are supporting NetWare 5.1 for the benefit of mutual customers. Partner companies and their supporting quotes and press releases can be found at http://www.novell.com/netware5/partners.

In addition, there are 232 NetWare 5.1 compatible software applications, of which 52 are already certified as Novell "Yes, Tested and Approved" and are ready to run on NetWare 5.1. A complete listing of products that customers can begin using immediately with NetWare 5.1 can be found at the Novell Solutions Search at http://developer.novell.com/solutions.

Helping Customers Take Advantage of eOpportunities
Later this month Novell will launch a massive worldwide training initiative called the eOpportunity Tour to train channel reseller partners and customers on the business benefits of NetWare 5.1. This initiative, sponsored by Novell, IBM Netfinity and Lucent Technologies, will include presentations in hundreds of cities over the next few months to promote the e-business opportunities presented by NetWare 5.1. Interested customers and resellers can register for the eOpportunity Tour at http://www.novell.com/channel/etour/.

ManageWise® 2.7
Novell is pleased to announce the availability of ManageWise 2.7 to all customers worldwide. ManageWise 2.7 is a comprehensive management solution you can use to successfully manage and control your entire mixed network, including pure TCP/IP segments and networks. It enables you to accomplish all management tasks from a single point of administration, including Novell Directory Services* monitoring, NetWare® and Windows NT server management, early-warning alarm notification, network traffic analysis, desktop management, virus protection, network inventorying, and network health reporting. ManageWise 2.7 prevents downtime by enabling proactive management and quick problem resolution. Together with network protection and proactive planning and optimization of network growth, these capabilities make ManageWise 2.7 key to reducing the Total Cost of Ownership of your network.

Administration Information:
If you do NOT want to continue to receive this e-mail blast, please send an e-mail to jbezy@novell.com, with 'unsubscribe e-mail blast' (without the quotes) in the subject line, and you will be removed from the list.

If other people in your organization not directly receiving this e-mail blast wish to do so, have them send an e-mail to jbezy@novell.com, with 'subscribe e-mail blast' (without the quotes) in the subject line, and they will be added to the list.

Disclaimer:
Information contained herein is provided as-is. Opinions are those of the author and may or may not be the same as those of Novell, and are definitely NOT attributable to Novell unless otherwise noted.

John Bezy
Novell Systems Engineer
Iowa/Nebraska
ph: (402) 291-1808
fax: (402) 291-4529
jbezy@novell.com



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