Questions and Answers: LAN

'''I have 23 LAN Server domain controllers running LAN Server 3.0 Advanced without 386HPFS installed. The hard drives have been formatted as HPFS partitions. I want to add 386HPFS and keep the DCDB intact. I attempted to follow the instructions in the Network Administrator Reference, but have not had complete success. Please give me detailed instructions on the sequence of tasks I need to perform.'''

To add 386HPFS support, perform the following seven steps: This is all you need to do to install the 386HPFS on your server.
 * 1) Open the LAN Services folder from your desktop.
 * 2) Start the OS/2 LAN Services Installation/Configuration utility.
 * 3) Choose the Advanced installation path.
 * 4) Choose to Install or Configure Workstation.
 * 5) Select the type of machine (DC, AS, or BDC).
 * 6) Select to Install or Remove a Component.
 * 7) Select 386HPFS from the list, then click on the Install button.

'''I have Compaq SMP computers, and I want to evaluate LAN Server 4.0 for SMP. Can I simply install OS/2 Warp before LAN Server, or do I need OS/2 SMP 2.11? Is LAN Server SMP-enabled without OS/2?'''

To take advantage of SMP, you will need to install the OS/2 SMP 2.11 operating system. LAN Server is not SMP-enabled without OS/2 SMP.

The following information from a LAN Server 4.0 white paper may be helpful to you.

"LAN Server 4.0 has been tested with and shown to support symmetric multi-processor (SMP) machines running under OS/2 for SMP. LAN Server 4.0 Advanced does not gain additional performance benefits from SMP machines. Its architecture has been optimized to the point where most requests are processed 'on interrupt' when received from the network component. The queuing time for a request to be processed is usually extremely short, since there are rarely instances when a file/print server's CPU approaches 100 percent utilization. Under these conditions, it would not be expected that an additional CPU would improve response time to the requester."

"There are some situations in which LAN Server 4.0 support of SMP does lead to an improvement in total system throughput performance. Since OS/2 is a multitasking operating system, other applications can run on the same machine as LAN Server. For other applications which make extensive use of the CPU (e.g., Lotus Notes), additional processors may make sense. Whenever the CPU workload approaches 100 percent, the additional processor can make a significant difference in the system throughput. LAN Server 4.0 Advanced accommodates the use of the additional processor unless its own workload is unusually high, in which case it takes precedence over other applications. LAN Server 4.0 Entry runs with the same privilege as other OS/2 applications and does not take precedence in an SMP environment."

'''We are running OS/2 2.11 and are using 386HPFS with LAN Server 3.0 Advanced. I would like to know how LAN Server handles access control profiles, where this information is stored, and how it gets there.'''

An individual access control profile is created for each resource that is protected. Each access control profile defines the users and groups that have been granted access to the resource, as well as the access permissions. All of the access control profiles make up the access control list. This list is continually updated as access control profiles are added, deleted, or modified.

In the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system and in High-Performance File System (HPFS) on LAN Server 3.0 Entry, the access control information is stored in the NET.ACC file. In LAN Server 3.0 Advanced (with 386HPFS), the access control list is stored as part of the file system. This means:
 * Every file or directory on an HPFS volume is anchored on a fundamental file system object called Fnode. The Fnode is the first sector allocated to a file or directory.
 * Each Fnode contains control and access history information used internally by the file system.
 * The Fnode contains allocation information for the access control list.

'''I have several questions about setting passwords on LAN Server 3.0. If the /MINPWAGE parameter is set to a value of 1 or higher with the NET ACCOUNTS command, can the system administrator, with an administrator ID, change a user password at any time? As an example, can the administrator change any password soon after the user changes it in the event the user forgets the new password?'''

Does the /MAXPWAGE count cause administrator IDs to expire as well as user IDs?

Can the default guest user ID be given a password and be treated like any other user ID?

An administrator can change any user's password at any time.

The MAXPWAGE parameter also applies to the administrator's IDs. The MINPWAGE parameter applies only to users trying to change their own password, whereas MAXPWAGE applies to all passwords on the domain.

The purpose of the guest ID is to allow users to connect to resources on any number of servers (both in and outside the user's domain). For users to log on to a server in another domain, they must have the same ID and password that they have on their logon domain, or they can access that resource as a guest (assuming that the guest account has access to the requested resource). Assigning a password to the guest ID would defeat the purpose of having the guest ID. If, for security reasons, you are required to have passwords for all IDs, it is probably wise to delete the guest ID and create identical IDs and passwords for users who need to access resources on multiple domains.

'''I have an OS/2 LAN Server 4.0 Entry server with LAN Distance attached to remote OS/2 Warp requesters. What is the impact on the active, logged-on requesters when the server unexpectedly goes down? In particular, after the server comes back up, will the requesters have to log on again to re-establish their LAN Server sessions?'''

When a requester performs an OS/2 shutdown (without logging off LAN Distance first), will the user automatically be logged off the LAN Server domain?

If the server unexpectedly goes down, the users will not be logged off; however, the resources that they are using will be disconnected. They can reconnect to those resources when the server comes back up. The LAN Distance users will need to redial to re-establish the LAN Distance connection once the server is back up.

Users who don't log off prior to shutting down their computers will be automatically logged off when the server notices that the workstation is no longer on the ring. When they restart their computers, they will be prompted to log on.

'''Does LAN Server 4.0 give any type of disk limit notification? For example, if I have a disk limit of 10 MB on a subdirectory, will I receive an alert when it's 80 percent full? Can both the user and the administrator receive the alert? Can the alert be received at both the OS/2 and DOS requesters?'''

Yes, LAN Server does provide disk full messages. You can specify a threshold limit of, for example, 80 percent, which can generate an alert when the disk is 80 percent full. You can specify all the IDs to which the alert is sent, so that both users and administrators will receive the message. Both OS/2 and DOS requesters can receive the alert. For more information, read chapter 6 of the Network Administrator's Reference Volume 3: Network Administrator Tasks (S10H-9682).

Does LAN Distance support the internal modem that comes in the new IBM ThinkPad 755CX?

Yes, LAN Distance supports the internal modem that comes in the ThinkPad 755. To use this modem with LAN Distance, however, you will need to perform the following steps:

For OS/2 2.11 and LAN Distance: [TPMWAVE] DLL = WCLVPCM Entry = StartVPCM Autostart = YES PIF = TPMWAVE.PIF Title = "IBM MWave TP755 14400 Modem" PCMCIA = YES Note: This is a temporary workaround until we determine why LAN Distance is not able to recognize the COM port where the WCLCPMAC.OS2 file is loaded.
 * 1) Install OS/2 2.11.
 * 2) Install MMPM for OS/2 (Note: Install only the Software Motion Video feature). Shut down and reboot.
 * 3) From an OS/2 window or full screen (on this and all subsequent steps), run a:setup from Diskette 1 of the MWAVE for OS/2 diskettes to install MWAVE for OS/2. Shut down and reboot.
 * 4) Run a:setup from Diskette 3 of the MWAVE for OS/2 diskettes to install the MMPM extensions for OS/2. Shut down and reboot.
 * 5) Run ddinstal from the OS2\install directory with the ThinkPad 755CE/CD utility disk in drive A:. Select Install to install the ThinkPad System Management Device Driver. Shut down and reboot.
 * 6) Edit the CONFIG.SYS file to change the following: DEVICE=C:\OS2\COM.SYS (2,2F8,3) The 2,2F8,3 parameter is necessary for OS/2's COM driver to recognize the DSP modem, which is normally COM2.
 * 7) Install LAN Distance, but do not configure the port or mode.
 * 8) Copy WINDSURF.PIF to TPMWAVE.PIF, edit TPMWAFE.PIF to change WINDSURF to TPMWAVE, change the Title to differentiate this new PIF from the WINDSURF.PIF, then add PCMCIA = YES as a new line after the title line.
 * 1) Click on the LAN Distance Settings notebook, define COM2 as a port, and assign the TPMWAVE modem type to COM2. Shut down and reboot.
 * 2) Turn on the MWAVE modem by double-clicking on the MWAVE Modem icon. Then start LAN Distance and dial the modem.

For OS/2 Warp and LAN Distance:
 * 1) Install OS/2 Warp (MMPM installs automatically).
 * 2) Follow steps 3 through 5 above.
 * 3) Apply the MWAVE CSD for Warp and download the THKPDWP1.EXE disk image from the PC Company BBS at (919) 517-0001.

'''We have been using LAN Server 4.0 for about two months and have noticed that the graphical user interface (GUI) doesn't display the domain users in alphabetical order, making it very hard to find a particular user. Is there any way that we can make an alphabetical display the default?'''

Yes, you can change the view so that it always maintains a sorted order. Open the Settings folder for the User Accounts folder in the GUI under the domain that you want to change. Click on the Sort tab, then click on "Always maintain sort order." This will make the User Accounts folder always display the users in alphabetical order.