s900387@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Craig Macbride) (03/14/91)
I have been trying to get an Xserver working under Windows3 on DOS4.1. Xvision
seems to have good functionality, and the ftp PC/TCP software provides TCP/IP
for us using a 3C503 card. They use the Clarkson packet drivers.
Two main problems occur:
1) The TCP/IP is very unreliable under heavy load. This is totally unacceptable
under the circumstances. When a number of xterms and other processes are run
from the PC, the network dies after a short while. eg. 3 xterms and 6 other
windows (eg. xeyes, xclock, xload) and the PC has little chance of keeping them
going for more than about 3 minutes. At this time, the network stops ... the PC
can't even be pinged from other machines. What is at fault here? The Clarkson
packet driver? The PC/TCP software? How can I find some that work, even when
pushed hard?
2) The site concerned really needs a shared packet driver so that it can run
on a Novell network at the same time. The docs for the shared packet driver
say that it can only work on a type 8137, not a 802.3 Novell network. Is this
true? How can we find one that will work with a Novell 802.3? (Using the
econfig.exe program to change all servers is not feasible, as there are about
300 servers on the network!)
Myself and others have been playing about with this for some time and trying
lots of different things (eg. changing IRQs, etc) without any success. As I
say, the stuff works, but only for a very short time. By the way, the NCR
Xserver product (a re-badged Xvision) seems to work for a longer period
(say, up to 15 mins) before the networking dies.
I hope someone has come across some combination of software that can do the
job and can tell me about it.
--
_--_|\ Craig Macbride <uni: s900387@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au>
/ \ <work: craig@bacchus.esa.oz.au>
\_.--.*/ VUT (RMIT) is responsible for the equipment, not the opinions!
vjbvb@FTP.COM ("James B. Van Bokkelen") (03/16/91)
I wish you had given the version numbers for both the PC/TCP kernel and the Clarkson packet driver in use. My first guess at your problem is that it is the same one a number of other people have reported in some versions of the Clarkson 3C503 driver. You could try either our direct-to-the-hardware kernel (3C503.EXE) or get the 3Com NDIS driver for the 3C503 and try it with the DIS_PKT NDIS to PDS adapter module (I've done a driver for that board myself, and I wound up feeling that the only way to get it entirely right would have been to work just down the hall from the people who designed the hardware, which is presumably where the 3Com NDIS driver was done). Given that current versions of the BYU Netware can't run on the DIS_PKT adapter module, the best solution that lets you use a Novell 802.3 w/o 802.2 header encapsulation is one of the "Netware over NDIS" products. 3Com is shipping one, a company in Washington State has one in beta. Novell will eventually release the "Packet Driver MLID", but that only helps if you have Netware 386. James B. VanBokkelen 26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA 01880 FTP Software Inc. voice: (617) 246-0900 fax: (617) 246-0901
brian@ca.excelan.com (Brian Meek) (03/22/91)
The News Manager) Nntp-Posting-Host: ca Reply-To: brian@ca.novell.com (Brian Meek) Organization: Novell, Inc. - San Jose, California References: <1991Mar14.113856.11237@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> Distribution: comp Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1991 20:34:52 GMT In article <1991Mar14.113856.11237@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> s900387@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Craig Macbride) writes: >1) The TCP/IP is very unreliable under heavy load. This is totally unacceptable >under the circumstances. When a number of xterms and other processes are run >from the PC, the network dies after a short while. eg. 3 xterms and 6 other >windows (eg. xeyes, xclock, xload) and the PC has little chance of keeping them >going for more than about 3 minutes. At this time, the network stops ... the PC >can't even be pinged from other machines. What is at fault here? The Clarkson >packet driver? The PC/TCP software? How can I find some that work, even when >pushed hard? > I'm skeptical about the "TCP/IP is very unreliable under heavy load..." as a blanket statement about FTP's product. I know from our experience that getting a TCP/IP kernal to work reliably under Windows will take a pretty significant overhaul by FTP Software. The issue of supporting TCP/IP and NetWare under Windows v3.0 is certainly non-trivial. The recently announced LAN WorkPlace for DOS (v4.0) TCP/IP product from Novell was designed specifically for this scenario. The TCP/IP kernal in LAN WorkPlace is truly reentrant. VisionWare has been working with BETA versions of LAN WorkPlace Toolkit for DOS for some time, and reports indicate that things are going very well. Numerous other X Windows vendors are also preparing to support LWP TCP/IP. Integrated Inference Machines' and X11/AT product is another example of a Windows based X server. >2) The site concerned really needs a shared packet driver so that it can run >on a Novell network at the same time. The docs for the shared packet driver >say that it can only work on a type 8137, not a 802.3 Novell network. Is this >true? How can we find one that will work with a Novell 802.3? (Using the >econfig.exe program to change all servers is not feasible, as there are about >300 servers on the network!) While I encourage you to switch to Ethernet DIX frame formats as soon as you can anyway, LAN WorkPlace is based upon ODI (Open Data-link Interface) technology. ODI supports multiple concurrent frame formats, including the pseudo-802.3 "raw" frame format you are currently using, and Ethernet DIX frame formats for IP on a single board. No problem. Incidentally, the 3C503 driver is included with NetWare v3.11, NetWare v2.2 and LAN WorkPlace for DOS. I don't view the BYU shell / Packet Driver combo to be a good long term solution for NetWare and TCP/IP coexistence (neither does Kelly MacDonald, based on our last conversation). Before someone starts up the old NDIS vs PD vs ODI debate, I'll put it this way: "ODI = Current NetWare drivers". The future of IPX.OBJ and SHGEN/WSGEN is limited. Novell is sending that message to LAN hardware vendors and many ODI drivers are being submitted for certification as I type. Also, I noticed that JBVB of FTP implied that ODI is only suitable for NetWare v3.11 - not true - ODI for DOS will support all flavors of NetWare including implementations of Portable NetWare, v2.X and v3.X. >Myself and others have been playing about with this for some time and trying >lots of different things (eg. changing IRQs, etc) without any success. As I >say, the stuff works, but only for a very short time. By the way, the NCR >Xserver product (a re-badged Xvision) seems to work for a longer period >(say, up to 15 mins) before the networking dies. The Quality Control of the Packet Drivers is understandably limited. In a production environment, a commercially supported driver is frequently a requirement. LWP for DOS will be shipping by April 5. Contact VisionWare for a timeframe on when they will be able to support it. Good luck with it, brian ____________________________________________________________________________ Brian Meek Novell, Inc. - 2180 Fortune Dr. San Jose, CA 95131 Internet Mail: brian@novell.COM Phone: (408) 473-8375