Chapter 3 - Configuring Banyan Networking Software
Guidelines for Booting the Workstation
To access the network, first boot the workstation's operating system according to the guidelines provided in Table 3-1.
Workstations can boot from a fixed disk or diskette drive. You can configure a workstation to execute the BAN command to initiate the login process each time the workstation boots. To do this, place the BAN command in a start-up file such as the DOS AUTOEXEC.BAT or the OS/2 STARTUP.CMD file. For more information, see "Issuing the BAN Command" later in this chapter.
If the workstation is configured to log in to the Banyan network at startup, cancel the login at any time during startup by pressing CTRL-C. This command lets you access an operating system command prompt.
Note: To configure your workstation to boot from multiple operating systems, refer to the documentation shipped with each operating system.
Installing Banyan Networking Software
You must fully install and test Banyan networking software on one workstation using either the System Diskette for DOS workstations or the VCLIENT Diskette for OS/2 workstations. Once this workstation is running, you install Banyan networking software on the remaining workstations the network. You can obtain these files in one of three ways:
From either the System Diskette or the VCLIENT Diskette. The System Diskette and the VCLIENT Diskette are part of a VINES shipment specific to your DOS or OS/2 workstation. They contain the Banyan files that the workstation uses to access the network. From installation diskettes that you create by copying selected software components from the System Diskette, VCLIENT Diskette, or from the first workstation you install. From the network using PCCOPY (for DOS, and Windows workstations) or VCLIENT (for OS/2 workstations). With PCCOPY and VCLIENT, you can install workstations using the latest revision of Banyan files available on your network.
The PCCOPY command is described in Chapter 6 and the VCLIENT command in Chapter 12.
The BAN command loads network software into workstation memory and connects the workstation to the network. The command must be issued at a workstation in one of two ways:
Automatically at boot time by including BAN in either the DOS AUTOEXEC.BAT file or OS/2 STARTUP.CMD file At an operating system prompt after the workstation boots
The BAN command begins the login process by:
1. Reading the workstation configuration
2. Locating and loading the following components:
- LAN card driver
- Redirector
- Additional support software for Netbios™ or Named Pipe applications
3. Executing the LOGIN.EXE program
4. Updating the timestamp on the LAN driver files
To run BAN automatically each time you boot the workstation:
DOS
On DOS workstations, place the BAN command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. BAN executes automatically when the workstation boots.
OS/2
On OS/2 workstations, place the BAN command in the OS/2 STARTUP.CMD file. This file, which executes when the workstation boots, operates similar to the DOS AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Running BAN at the Command Prompt
You can also run BAN at the operating system command line. There are a number of command switches you can select from. The BAN command has the following format:
BAN [/drivername] [/DRIVERS] [/?] [/NL] [/NC] [/NB]
Table 3-2 describes the BAN command switches in detail.
A number of Banyan software programs let you manage the software loaded on each workstation. Table 3-3 describes these programs.
Using PCCONFIG to Set Parameters
PCCONFIG is a program that lets you manage Banyan software to match the needs of the user and the configuration of the workstation.
You can set the following parameters:
Network card settings Login environment settings Special software settings Communications settings
These parameters are described in the following sections.
Configuring Network Card Settings
Before you fully configure the workstation to run on a Banyan network you need to install and test the LAN card, and then configure LAN driver software to match the hardware configuration of the card. Use the Workstation Configuration Worksheets described in Chapter 2 to complete the network card settings.
The Network Card Settings option of PCCONFIG allows you to:
Display and change current settings Display the range of acceptable replacement values
To Display and Change Network Card Settings
1. Boot the workstation you are currently setting up. Use the CD command to change to the Banyan workstation directory, <bandir>.
2. At the prompt, enter pcconfig. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu, Figure 3-1, appears.
3. Select Network Card Settings. The Network Card Settings screen, Figure 3-2, appears.
4. From the options listed, select the name of the LAN card installed in this workstation. The configuration screen for the selected LAN card appears. Figure 3-3 shows the configuration screen for a 3Com TokenLink™ LAN card.
5. If necessary, change the current settings to match the values on your Workstation Configuration Worksheet. See Chapter 2 for more information. If you need to enable source-level routing, see "To Enable Source-Level Routing at a Workstation" later in this chapter.
6. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings. The Network Card Settings screen appears.
7. Press ESC. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
8. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings.
9. Reboot the workstation for your changes to take effect.
Configuring Login Environment Settings
Login Environment Settings control how standard Banyan networking software works at a user's workstation. A user cannot log in to the network until a group searchlist is defined using the Login Environment options.
To Change the Login Environment Settings
1. Boot the workstation you are currently setting up. Use the CD command to change to the Banyan workstation directory.
2. At the prompt, enter pcconfig. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
3. Select Login Environment Settings. The Login Environment Settings screen, Figure 3-4, appears.
4. Select the option you want to change. Make changes to the option screens as described in "Login Environment Options," which follows.
5. Press F10 from any screen to save your changes and return to the Login Environment Settings screen.
6. Press ESC to return to the Configuring a PC for the Network menu.
7. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings.
8. Reboot the workstation for your changes to take effect.
From the Login Environment Settings screen you can select any of the following options:
Select Default Communications Driver - The Default Communication Driver screen appears. Edit/View Login Group Searchlist - The Login Group Searchlist screen appears. Set Maximum Number of File Volumes - The Maximum Number of File Volumes Mapped screen appears. Set Maximum Number of Open Files - The Maximum Number of Remote File Handles screen appears. Set Maximum NetBIOS Sessions - The Set Maximum NetBIOS Sessions screen appears. Set Maximum NetBIOS Commands - The Maximum Number of NetBIOS Commands screen appears.
This section shows each screen, followed by a description of the option.
Select Default Communications Driver option - Selects which LAN driver is loaded by default each time the workstation boots. (See Figure 3-5.) This information is useful in workstations with multiple LAN cards or drivers. Use the arrow keys to select a driver, and press ENTER.
Edit/View Login Group Searchlist option - Names up to three groups on the network. (See Figure 3-6.) These groups are searched automatically if a user does not specify a full StreetTalk Name during login. Enter both the group and organization to be searched, separated by an at-sign (@). Press F10 when you finish.
Set Maximum Number of File Volumes option - Controls how many file volumes the user can set as workstation drives. (See Figure 3-7.) The number includes the VINES Files volume on drive Z. The default is 6. Enter any number from 1 to 26, and press F10.
Set Maximum Number of Open Files option - Manages application requirements for the number of open remote DOS file handles. (See Figure 3-8.) The default is 54 of the 255 available through DOS. If you receive errors indicating problems with opening files when using a network drive, you may want to increase this number. Enter any number from 10 to 250, and press F10.
Set Maximum NetBIOS Sessions option - If Netbios emulation is enabled on the workstation, use this option to set the maximum number of Netbios session blocks that may be used simultaneously. (See Figure 3-9.) Typically, a setting of six sessions is adequate. Enter any number from 1 through 100, and press F10.
Set Maximum NetBIOS Commands option - If Netbios emulation is enabled on the workstation, use this option to set the maximum number of Netbios commands blocks that may be used simultaneously. (See Figure 3-10.) Typically, a setting of 12 commands is adequate. Enter any number from 1 to 100, and press F10.
Configuring Special Software Settings
The Special Software Settings options let you load resident programs before a user logs in to the network. In addition, these options resolve DOS software interrupt conflicts between Banyan networking software and an application.
To Change the Special Software Settings
1. Boot the workstation you are currently setting up. Use the CD command to change to the Banyan workstation directory.
2. At the prompt, enter pcconfig. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
3. Select Special Software Settings. The Special Software Settings screen, Figure 3-11, appears.
4. Select the option you want to change. Make changes to the option screens as described in "Special Software Settings Options," which follows.
5. Check your settings to be sure they match the values on your Workstation Configuration Worksheet.
6. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings. The Special Software Settings screen appears.
7. Press ESC. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
8. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings.
9. Reboot the workstation for your changes to take effect.
Special Software Settings Options
From the Special Software Settings screen, you can select any of the following options:
Load Resident NetBIOS Emulation Software - The NETBIOS Emulation screen appears. Load Extended Resident StreetTalk Calls - The Extended Resident StreetTalk Calls screen appears. Set Network Software Interrupt Number - The Network Software Interrupt Number screen appears. Load Named Pipe Support Software - The Named Pipe Support screen appears.
This section shows each screen followed by a description of the option.
Load Resident NetBIOS Emulation Software option - Provides the software necessary to run applications that use Netbios software. (See Figure 3-12.) It loads Netbios software into memory every time the workstation boots. Enter Y and press F10 to select Netbios support.
Load Extended Resident StreetTalk Calls option - Provides the software required for a program to run as a workstation-based network server or client - for example, a Named Pipe application. (See Figure 3-13.) It loads the software into memory every time the workstation boots. Enter Y and press F10 to load extended resident StreetTalk calls.
Set Network Software Interrupt Number option - VINES, like other application programs, uses one of the DOS software interrupt vectors available on the workstation. (See Figure 3-14.) These interrupt vectors represent workstation memory addresses. Two applications that use the same interrupt cannot run at the same time. Change the interrupt VINES uses if it conflicts with an interrupt used by another application. Enter the interrupt number (60 - 66), and press F10.
Load Named Pipe Support Software option - Loads software necessary to support Named Pipe applications. (See Figure 3-15.) You need to enable Extended Resident StreetTalk Calls. See Chapter 5 for more information on Named Pipe support software.
Configuring Communications Settings
You can use the PCCONFIG Communications Settings screen to provide greater communications capacity at a workstation, or to reduce the size of the Banyan resident network software.
To determine appropriate communications settings, you must know how an individual workstation is used. If the settings are too high, memory that could be used by application programs is wasted. If the settings are too low, some applications may be unable to function.
In general, you expand the settings on a workstation that requires greater communications capacity for a Netbios or workstation-based service, or for the LAN card. You may need to adjust the communications buffer size if a LAN card is sensitive to speed.
Example Increasing the Communications Buffer
If incoming data from the server is much faster than the processing speed of the workstation, you may need to increase the communications buffer size so that the card can accept more buffers. You increase the communications buffer size using the PCCONFIG command.
For more information, refer to Appendix A for the specific card installed in the workstation.
To Modify Communications Settings
1. Boot the workstation you are currently setting up. Use the CD command to change to the Banyan workstation directory, <bandir>.
2. At the prompt, enter pcconfig. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
3. Select option 4, Communications Settings. The Communications Settings screen, Figure 3-16, appears.
4. Select the option you want to change. Make changes to the option screens as described in "Communications Settings Options," which follows.
5. Check your settings to be sure they match the values on your Workstation Configuration Worksheet.
6. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings. The Communications Settings screen appears.
7. Press ESC. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
8. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings.
9. Reboot the workstation for your changes to take effect.
Communications Settings Options
From the Communications Settings screen, you can select the following options:
Set Communications Buffer Size - The Maximum Comm Buffers screen appears. Set Maximum Number of Open Sockets - The Maximum Sockets screen appears. Set Maximum Number of Open SPP Connections - The Maximum SPP Connections screen appears.
This section shows each screen, followed by a description of the option.
Set Communications Buffer Size option - The communications buffer is a memory resource used by the workstation for Banyan networking communications functions, such as setting the number of Sequenced Packet Protocol (SPP) connections and open sockets, as defined later in this section. (See Figure 3-17.)
Each SPP connection and open socket requires some static workstation memory in the communications buffer to maintain the transport layer interface, and additional memory for data as needed.
The communications buffer must be large enough to handle the maximum number of concurrent SPP connections and open sockets you want to assign. In addition, it must be able to handle the data transmitted by those connections and sockets. Otherwise, the workstation may not have enough communications buffer space available when these limits are approached or reached.
Note: There is a one-to-one ratio between the size of the driver and the size of the communication buffer.
The default setting is 16, the value can range from 10 to 60 KB.
Windows 3.1
For Windows workstations, if the communications buffer size is too low, network connections get dropped and performance is very slow when accessing network resources. In this case, increase the buffer size to at least 30 KB.
Set Maximum Number of Open Sockets option - A socket acts as an interface between a transport layer protocol, such as the SPP, and a VINES program. (See Figure 3-18.) At least one socket is open whenever a program communicates with another program. Each open socket requires 70 to 80 bytes of communications buffer space.
The default setting is 30, the value can range from 15 to 60 sockets.
Set Maximum Number of Open SPP Connections option - Some Banyan networking programs communicate using a Sequenced Packet Protocol (SPP) connection. (See Figure 3-19.) The SPP is a transport layer protocol that supports the transfer of large amounts of data as one entity. Generally, there is one SPP connection for each network file volume set at the workstation, and for each session with Netbios or any type of host.
Each SPP connection requires 80 to 100 bytes of communications buffer space to maintain the connection. Data sent through the connection requires additional memory in the communications buffer. Typically, a workstation running a Netbios service with many clients requires additional SPP connections and corresponding communications buffer space.
The default setting is 50, the value can range from 25 to 100 connections.
Rules for Enabling Source-Level Routing
This section describes when you must enable source-level routing in workstations and servers that are connected to Token-Ring LANs. The Token-Ring LANs are connected by Token-Ring bridges.
Note: Read the instructions in this section only if an IBM bridge connects your Token-Ring LANs. The Token-Ring Bridge option lets a Banyan server emulate an IBM computer that runs the IBM Token-Ring Network Bridge program. See Managing Communications for more information on source-level routing.
A Token-Ring LAN is a group of systems (nodes) directly connected in a ring topology by a common physical medium. To communicate, these nodes use medium-access protocols that conform to the IEEE 802.5 standard.
A Token-Ring bridge connects two Token-Ring LANs. A Token-Ring bridge is either an IBM computer equipped with the IBM Token-Ring Network Bridge program or another computer that emulates the IBM computer and its software.
Figure 3-20 shows two Token-Ring LANs connected by an IBM bridge.
To communicate through Token-Ring bridges, systems on Token-Ring LANs must perform source-level routing. When one end node sends data to another through a Token-Ring bridge, the source end node includes 18 bytes of special routing information with the data. This special information is called source-level routing information.
When the data reaches a bridge, the bridge uses the source-level routing information to route the data to the destination end node on a connected LAN. It may also route the data to another bridge if the destination node is on another LAN.
Banyan networking software lets you enable source-level routing in servers and workstations connected to Token-Ring LANs. The next two sections describe when source-level routing in servers and workstations is required.
Enabling Source-Level Routing in Servers
Source-level routing for a Token-Ring card must be enabled on your Banyan server when the Token-Ring LAN attached to the card connects your server to an IBM Token-Ring bridge. If your server does not communicate across the bridge, you do not need to enable source-level routing.
If a server on a ring has source-level routing enabled, all other servers on that ring (and over a bridge if one is present) must have source-level routing enabled to accept and respond to messages.
Note that in Figure 3-20, source-level routing is enabled in Server 1 because it communicates with workstations on LAN2 across the IBM bridge.
See the VINES Server Installation Guide for instructions on how to enable source-level routing on a server with a Token-Ring card.
Enabling Source-Level Routing in Workstations
You must enable source-level routing on workstations when both of the following conditions apply:
Workstations send and receive data through IBM Token-Ring bridges. Token-Ring LAN to which the workstations are connected has no servers with source-level routing enabled.
Example Source-Level Routing in Workstations
As shown in Figure 3-21, source-level routing is enabled in the workstations on LAN 1 because the workstations communicate with Server 1 across an IBM bridge and a server is not attached to LAN 1. Source-level routing is not enabled in the workstations attached to LAN 2. It does not have to be, because source-level routing is enabled on Server 1 on LAN 2.
1. Change to the Banyan workstation directory, <bandir>.
2. At the prompt, enter pcconfig. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
3. Select Network Card Settings. The Network Card Settings screen, Figure 3-22, appears.
4. From the options listed, select the name of the LAN card installed in this workstation. The configuration screen for the selected LAN card appears. Figure 3-23 shows the configuration screen for a 3Com TokenLink LAN card.
5. To enable source-level routing, enter Y at the Enable End Node Source Routing option.
6. Press F10 to save your changes and exit to the Network Card Settings screen.
7. Press either F10 to save changes to the workstation configuration file or ESC to exit and retain the original settings. The Configuring a PC for the Network menu appears.
8. Press F10. You are returned to the system prompt.
9. Reboot the workstation for your changes to take effect.
