rbrink@hubcap.clemson.edu (rickie brink) (08/30/90)
This is my first posting to the appletalk protocols newsgroup. I need some pretty basic help I guess. I'm trying to manage a workgroup that probably has too many machines on one net. I have 40 Macs, +'s to IIci's, connected on small stars to a Star Controller. Some of the wire runs are long, but the StarCommand software says they are ok. My problem is ports jaming. The StarCommand software tells me when it happens, and if I don't have the\ window in the background, it will tell me the port that it blocked out. But How can I find the bad boy machine? What causes jams? Hardware errors software errors, or bad connections. How can I determine what causes them and how can I get rid of them. *MORE BACKGROUND* All macs are running Broadcast, Public Folder, and Responder. So I get over 100 nodes posted on interpoll, when they all show up. Am I exceeding the node limit of Appletalk I? Up till now, it's only caused problems when trying to isolate a device or user in the chooser. But I planning on adding a FastPath to the net in the next few weeks, with telnet and internet connections. With all the extra traffic, am I in for more problems. The biggest problem is lack of a good printed resource for non-programmers, reguarding how appletalk functions. The second biggest is an affordable, fairly universal, network management package for appletalk. I'm sort of hoping the capabilities of the FastPath to manage zones, etc. will resolve some of my problems, but I'm enough of a realist to bet money that it will make things worse. Will "soft zones" like those Liason creates help me? REALITY CHECK ** DOES THIS GUY REALLY PORTEND TO MANAGE A NETWORK? ** Yes, I do try to manage a network. With limited everything. Equipment, money, experience, knowledge, mental ability, and effort. Unfortunately it seems to take much more of all these than I can afford, get, live through, aquire, divert and muster. ALL HELP, ADVICE, EXPERIENCE, REFERENCES, EVEN FLAMES WELCOME! I'm at RBRINK@HUBCAP.CLEMSON.EDU, RBRINK@CLEMSON.EDU (bitnet), 803-656-0127.