If your configuration includes IP clients, you can configure VINES/IP on the server by using the VINES/IP menu. This chapter describes how to
Reach the VINES/IP Menu Use the VINES/IP Menu to manage VINES/IP
The VINES/IP Menu provides you with access to menus that allow you to configure and manage VINES/IP on your server.
This chapter provides information about the VINES/IP Menu. For information about installing and configuring IP client on DOS and Window 3.1 systems, refer to Installing Banyan IP Clients for DOS and Windows 3.1. For information about installing IP client on Windows 95 and Window NT systems, refer to Installing Banyan Clients for Windows NT and Windows 95
1. At the Operator Menu, choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications Menu appears.
2. Choose VINES/IP. The VINES/IP menu appears.
From the VINES/IP Menu you can:
Enable or disable VINES/IP on a network interface Change the SPP MTU size Specify the encapsulation type Enable LAN IP Change the routing metric
Managing the Network Interface
The Manage Network Interface command, on the Manage VINES/IP Interfaces Menu, provides you with a way to enable and disable VINES IP.
You can disable VINES IP on any interface to prevent the server from transmitting VINES IP packets on the network. Disabling VINES IP is useful for those environments in which you want only one type of network packet transmitted on a LAN segment. However, you do not need to disable VINES IP to use IP Client; both VINES IP and IP can coexist in the same network.
Note: If any server on the LAN segment transmits VINES IP packets, you should not disable VINES IP for IP Client servers on that segment. Since a VINES server on the segment uses VINES IP to communicate, these VINES IP packets continue to exist on the segment regardless of whether you disable VINES IP on your IP server.
To Enable or Disable VINES IP Over an Interface
1. At the server console, display the Operator menu.
2. Choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications menu appears.
3. Choose VINES/IP. The Manage VINES/IP Interface menu appears.
This menu displays the slot number and type of interface installed on the server. Information about whether VINES IP is enabled or disabled displays next to the type of interface.
4. Choose Manage Network Interface.
5. Choose the interface to disable. You can choose more than one interface.
6. Press ENTER. The Manage Network Interface screen appears.
7. Select Enable/disable VINES/IP.
8. The Enable/Disable VINES IP screen appears. Select Y to confirm your choice.
9. The Manage Network Interface screen appears. Press ESC to return to the Main Menu.
10. To activate the change, shut down the server software and reboot the server.
The SPP MTU size is the maximum size allocated for the SPP data in a packet. The recommended SPP MTU size for the support of IP Client workstations depends on the kind of workstations in your configuration. If your configuration includes clients that use both UDP and IP protocols, the recommended SPP MTU size is 1432. If your configuration includes clients that use only the IP protocol, the recommended size is 1440.
The default (and maximum) SPP MTU size is 1450 bytes. However, because packets processed by the IP Client require additional space for IP header information, you must reduce the size of the MTU on an IP Client server.
The maximum size of an Ethernet packet (just over 1500 bytes) allows for approximately 50 bytes of packet headers when the SPP MTU is 1450 bytes. In an environment that runs only VINES IP, the size of a packet header is less than the 50 bytes allocated. However, after you install the IP Client, the IP Client encapsulates VINES packets within IP packets, adding an IP header.
Since you cannot increase the size of the Ethernet packet, adding the IP header results in fewer bytes being available in the packet to carry data. Because the packet's ability to carry data is reduced, the data contained in the original VINES packet cannot fit within a single encapsulated packet. Instead, the original VINES packet becomes fragmented into separate packets: one carrying the maximum of data, and one carrying the overflow.
Such fragmenting and subsequent reassembling of IP packets slows performance, particularly during file transfers.
You can prevent fragmentation by reducing the size of the SPP MTU. When you reduce the SPP MTU size, all SPP connections to the server use the reduced MTU size. Use the recommended MTU size for any server that has a heavy file transfer load and that an IP Client workstation makes an SPP connection to, regardless of whether the TCP/IP option is installed on that server.
1. At the server console, display the Operator menu.
2, Choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications menu appears.
3. Choose VINES/IP. The Manage VINES/IP Interface menu appears.
4. Choose CHANGE SPP MTU size. The Change MTU Size for SPP Communications screen appears.
5. Enter 1440 or 1432.
6. To activate the change, shut down server software and reboot the server.
Specifying the Encapsulation Type
To communicate with an IP Client workstation, the IP Client server encapsulates VINES IP packets within one of the following types:
UDP IP
The type of packet you require depends on the type of IP Client workstations communicating with the server. DOS and Windows 3.1 clients use IP packets. Windows 95 and Windows NT clients use UDP packets.
Server encapsulation consumes some of the resources required to maintain server-to-server connections. To avoid limiting the number of connections that the server can maintain with other servers, you should enable only the kind of encapsulation that your configuration uses.
To Specify the Type of Encapsulation Used by the Server
1. At the server console, display the Operator menu.
2. Choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications menu appears.
3. Choose VINES/IP. The Manage VINES/IP Interface menu appears.
This menu indicates whether LAN/IP is enabled or disabled on the server and the type of encapsulation that the server currently supports. If you disable both UDP and IP encapsulation, you automatically disable LAN/IP.
4. Choose MANAGE LAN/IP. The Manage LAN/IP menu appears.
5. Choose Specify encapsulation type(s). The Specify Encapsulation Type(s) screen appears.
6. For each of the two types of encapsulation (IP and UDP) do one of the following:
- Enter Y to enable this type of encapsulation.
- Enter N to disable this type of encapsulation.
Press F10 to save the changes.
7. To activate the change, shut down server software and reboot the server after you complete all of the server configuration procedures in this chapter.
You must enable LAN IP on a server that will act as a routing server for an IP Client workstation. After you enable LAN IP on the server, it can exchange IP packets with other IP servers throughout the network, regardless of whether you specified a Server-to-Server IP connection at the console. By contrast, when LAN IP is disabled on a server, for each server being targeted as an IP connection, you must enter that server's IP address at the console.
1. At the server console, display the Operator menu.
2. Choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications menu appears.
3. Choose VINES/IP. The Manage VINES/IP Interface menu appears.
4. Choose Manage LAN/IP. The screen displays LAN/IP status.
5. Choose ENABLE/DISABLE LAN/IP. The ENABLE/DISABLE LAN/IP on the server screen appears.
6. Press ENTER to select YES.
7. To activate the change, shut down server software and reboot the server.
VINES configures routing metrics automatically, based on the kind of networking card you install on the server. VINES also automatically selects the route that has the smallest metric and therefore the lowest cost. Unless you have a specific problem with a server or a route, you should let VINES configure routing metrics and select the most efficient routes.
However, VINES software does provide you with a way to select and avoid specific routes by allowing you to change the routing metric for a particular interface. Specifying a higher metric causes VINES to avoid that interface because the cost is greater. Conversely, specifying a lower metric causes VINES to select the interface because the cost is less.
The following guidelines apply to changing the routing metric. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in unnecessary network traffic, incorrect routing, dropped connections, and timeout errors.
Set all servers on the same LAN segment to the same routing metric. Increase, rather than decrease, the routing metric. A routing metric that is set too low can result in short timeout periods, and cause errors or lost connections. Increase routing metric values by a little, not a lot. If the routing metric you set causes a fast LAN link to behave like a slow WAN, the result may be inefficient and incorrect routing.
1. At the server console, display the Operator menu.
2. Choose Manage Communications. The Manage Communications menu appears.
3. Choose VINES/IP. The Manage VINES/IP Interface menu appears.
4. Choose Manage Network Interface. Use the arrow keys to highlight the interface that you want, then press Enter.
5. Select Change Routing Metric. The Change Routing Metric menu appears.
6. Enter a new metric, then press F10 to save your changes.