DEL MAR COLLEGE
CIS 306 - Managing NOVELL® Networks

Instructor: Michael P. Harris
NETWARE BASICS
Parts 3, 4, & 5 - Booting Up, Logging In, & Login Scripts

BOOTING UP:   To "boot up" your workstation means to turn on your computer, load your DOS, and then load the workstation shell. You can accomplish all of this with a boot diskette while, initializing your workstations and later you put the necessary boot files on your workstation's hard disk. These boot files start up the workstations operating system, load the NetWare shell, and gain access to the network.

Creating Boot Diskettes

  1. Format a blank diskette as a boot diskette, using the DOS FORMAT command. Insert a diskette into drive A and type 
    
          FORMAT A: /S   [Enter]
    Follow the screen prompts.

  2. Copy onto the boot diskette:
    1. LSL.COM - the Link Support Layer
    2. TOKEN.COM - or your equivalent MLID (NIC driver)
    3. IPXODI.COM - IPX to ODI protocol stack
    4. VLM.EXE - your ODI NetWare Shell
    You may find it more convient to copy the C:\NWCLIENT  directory that contains all the NetWare startup files to your boot floppy

  3. Copy these following additional boot files to the boot diskette if needed. Your network supervisor can provide you with these files:
    1. AUTOEXEC.BAT
    2. CONFIG.SYS
    3. SHELL.CFG
    See also "Boot files" in NetWare v3.12 Concepts and Appendix A in NetWare v3.12 Installation.

  4. Label your boot diskette: Novell NetWare BOOT

Create a STARTNET.BAT File

You can create an STARTNET.BAT file that automatically loads the shell files each time you boot the workstation. This STARTNET.BAT file can also set your workstation to the first network drive (F:) and connect you (user GUEST) to a file server (CIS102).

Follow these steps to create your STARTNET.BAT file:

Insert your boot diskette into drive A: and change to drive A: and type: 

          COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT   [Enter]
          LSL     [Enter]
          TOKEN   [Enter]   (or your MLID NIC driver)
          IPXODI  [Enter]
          VLM     [Enter]
          F:      [Enter]
          LOGIN CIS102/GUEST   [Enter]
          [Ctrl][Z]   [Enter]

LOGIN/LOGOUT

When you log in to a network, you establish a connection between your workstation and the file server. When you log out, you terminate that connection. To log in to the network, you must type in a unique password. If there were no password, other unauthorized users could easily get to your files and use them for their purposes.

Log In to Your Network

To log in to your default server, type 


          LOGIN servername/username   [Enter]

Replace servername with the name of the file server you want to log in to. Replace username with your login name and (if applicable) type your password when you are prompted for it.

Log Out of Your Network

To log out of your default server, type 


          LOGOUT   [Enter]

To log out of a file server you are attached to, type 


          LOGOUT servername   [Enter]

Attach to Another File Server

Attach to another file server if you want to do the following:

  • Send messages to users on that file server
  • Map a drive to that file server
  • Copy a directory to that file server

To access another file server while remaining logged in to your default file server, type 


          ATTACH servername/username   [Enter]

Replace servername with the name of the server you want to attach to. Replace username with the username you have been assigned to use on that file server.

Create or Change a Password

  • To create or change a password on your default server, type 
    
          SETPASS   [Enter]

    The following prompt appears on the screen: 

    
          Enter your old password:

  • If you are changing a password, enter the old password. If you are creating a new password, press [Enter]. The following prompt appears on your screen: 
    
          Enter your new password:

  • Enter the password you want. The following prompt appears: 
    
          Retype your new password:

  • Enter the new password again. The following message appears on your screen: 
    
          Your password has been changed.

View Who You Are on Your Network

To view information about your network connection, type 


          WHOAMI   [Enter]

Information similar to the following is displayed: 


        You are user MICHAEL attached to server CIS102, connection 14
        Server CIS102 is running NetWare v3.12.
        Login time:  Wednesday October 19, 1999  8:05 am

        You are user GUEST attached to server CIS264, connection 7
        Server CIS264 is running NetWare v3.12.
        Login time: Wednesday, October 19, 1999  8:05 am

This screen display indicates that you are attached to both file servers CIS102 and CIS264. Your username on CIS102 is MICHAEL, and your username on CIS264 is GUEST.

View File Servers on Your Network

To list all the servers available to log in to on your network type 


          SLIST   [Enter]

Information similar to the following appears: 


       Known NetWare File Servers   Network   Node Address
       --------------------------   -------   ------------
       CIS102                       [BB102]   [2608C234732]
       CIS264                       [BB264]   [2608C217651]
       CISLAN                       [BB127]   [2608C293185]

View Current Users on Your File Server

You must be attached to a file server before you can view the list of users for that file server. Type 


          USERLIST   [Enter]

Information similar to the following appears: 


       User Information for Server CIS102
       Connection  User Name     Login Time
       ----------  ---------     -------------------
          1        ROBIN         10-19-1999  8:05 am
          2        *ARMIDA       10-19-1999  8:20 am
          3        PEGGY         10-19-1999  8:58 am
          4        BEVERLY       10-19-1999  9:01 am
An asterisk (*) appears next to your username.

 

What If ...

... I can't log in?

  • Your password may have expired or you may have run out of grace logins. Your supervisor or manager has to unlock your account.

  • You haven't changed to the network login drive (F).

  • The LOGIN.EXE file is missing.

  • Your shell may be outdated. Type 
    
          NVER   [Enter]
    Report the version number to your supervisor.

  • Your network card or cable may not be seated correctly.

  • Your file server may be down. Type 
    
          SLIST   [Enter]
    If your file server is listed, log in by typing
    
          LOGIN servername/username   [Enter]

  • You may be restricted from logging in during certain times. Ask your network supervisor.

... My screen is frozen?

  • Your supervisor should run the MONITOR utility and clear your connection. This saves the work you were doing. Then complete one of the two following tasks:

    1. To warm boot, press [CTRL][ALT][DEL] simultaneously.   or
    2. To cold boot, turn the computer OFF, wait 15 seconds, and then turn it ON again.

  • Your network cable may not be connected or terminated properly. Notify your supervisor.

  • Your node (or station) address may be in conflict with another workstation. See if new workstations have been added to your network.

  • You may have the wrong IPX configuration. Ask your supervisor.

  • You may have received a message while in graphics mode. Disable messages before entering graphics mode by typing 
    
          CASTOFF   [Enter]

Create your Login Script

Your login script is a prcedure that automatically sets up your workstation's environment each time you log in. It performs tasks such as mapping network drives for you, automatically executing programs and starting applications, and attaching you to different file servers.

This section introduces some basic login script commands.

To access your login script, follow these steps:

  1. Type 
    
          SYSCON   [Enter]
  2. Select "User Information" from the main menu.

  3. Select your user name from the list of users that appears.

  4. Select "Login Script."

  5. Enter the commands you need in your login script.

    Some common commands are listed under "Common Login Script Commands" below.

  6. Exit and save the login script by pressing [Esc] and answering "Yes" in the confirmation box.

  7. To execute your new login script, you must first log out of the network, and then log in again.

Common Login Script Commands

The commands below can be used in your login script. Each command is followed by its purpose and an example of how to use it.

  • MAP drive:=
    Maps the specified drive to the given directory. 
    
          MAP H:=SYS:USERS\%LOGIN_NAME
  • MAP ROOT S1:=
    Maps the first "search drive" (usually always \PUBLIC) 
    
          MAP ROOT S1:=SYS:PUBLIC
  • MAP INS S16:=
    Inserts the drive as the next available search drive. 
    
          MAP INS S16:=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
  • MAP *n:=
    Maps the next available drive to the given directory. 
    
          MAP *1:=cis102\sys:users\common
  • #
    Runs an executable file (a file with an .EXE or .COM extension). 
    
          #SYSCON
  • REMARK * ;
    These three commands allow you to insert explanatory text in the login script. They will not appear on your screen. 
    
          REMARK Be sure to update the PROJECTS file.
          * Check for new mail.
          ; Assign OS-dependent Search mappings.
  • ATTACH
    Allows you to attach to other file servers while remaining logged in to your current file server. 
    
          ATTACH cislan\guest
  • SET
    Allows you to set DOS environmental variables. 
    
          SET sb="c:\vibra16\"
          SET usr="mpharris"
  • IF...THEN
    Executes certain commands, if a specified condition exists. 
    
          IF DAY_OF_WEEK="Monday" THEN WRITE "AARGH..."

What If ...

... My login script doesn't execute all the way?

You may have inserted an EXIT command to a batch file in the middle of your login script. Anything after the EXIT command is ignored. Move the EXIT command to the end of your login script.

An IF...THEN clause in your login script may be incomplete or incorrect. Check the proper command format in Appendix A of NetWare v3.12 Installation.

... I am unable to map a drive to another file server?

The file server you want to map a drive to may be down. To check whether the file server is up, type 


          SLIST   [Enter]

... I add some mapped drives to my login script and some I wanted are gone?

The system login script executes before the user login script. You can overwrite the mapped drives in the system login script with those in your user login script. Instead of using the command 


          map drive:=
use the command 

          map ins *1:=   or   map 16:=
(Remember: You can have only 26 drive mappings, and of those only 16 can be search drives.)
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Last Updated: Aug 30		 [E-mail] mpharris@surf.delmar.edu
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