[comp.sys.novell] Installing Windows in a net - a solution

MUHRTH@tubvm.cs.tu-berlin.de (Thomas Muhr) (04/11/91)

There was exactly one response concerning the WINDOWS-net-installation
MY SPECIAL THANKS TO MIKE PRINE!
We have in the meantime gained some experience and have windows now
running without too many problems (there will always be some left!). We
proceeded as follows to seperate machine-dependent from user-dependent
features without the need for a local installation:
After copying all windows files to a server windows-directory and
making the read-only do the following:
for every user do:
  [make a setup/n installation in his/her win-directory on the server.
   without any hardware specific details, using defaults] then
for every workstation do:
  [1. login to one of the users account (doesn't matter, whose)
   2. run setup/n and select the hardware for this workstation
   3. copy the resulting system.ini to the LOCAL disk (we put all
      system dependent files in c:|syslocal
   4. repeat 3. for every mode (resolution!) but give the local ini's
      an appropriate name (higres.ini, medres.ini, lowres.ini)
   5. if workstation == 386 or higher do:
      5.0  compress the local disk to get a few megbyte of continous
           diskspace (absolutely necessary)
      5.1. start windows again in real-mode
      5.2. stop every application including the invisible
           nwpopup (or something like this) by the control feature
           networks (I don't know exactly in english, we have the german
           version)
      5.3. start SWAPFILE.EXE and specify an appropriate size
           enable the nwpopup again
      5.4. leave windows and copy the SPART.PAR pointer-file from
           the server to the local disk (same department as all the ini's)
   6. Make a batch file in your server user area which copies the workstations
      system.ini and spartpar to the server (into the users windows area)
 (e.g., copy c:|syslocal|highres.ini f:|user|xy|windows|system.ini).
      Delete these files from the server after leaving windows!!!!!!
      Otherwise, if you use a different workstation-pc the pointer file and
    the swapfile THERE might get out of order: the swapfile is thenplaced
      on the server!!!!!!! same for the system.ini
      if there is a different hardware configuration

   7. Repeat 6 for every resolution
   8. copy these batch files to every users windows directory.

Very important: specify the search pathes in the right order:
First, the users server-windows-dir, then the servers global windows dir
Do you know of a documentation for windows covering these points in
appropriate detail? I don't!
I bet we will run into a few other problems in the future (an easy bet!)...
- Thomas
-------
Thomas Muhr, Technical University of Berlin, BITNET: muhrth@db0tui11
   Project ATLAS - Computer Based Tools for Qualitative Research
         "Computers, like every technology, are a vehicle
      for the transformation of tradition." (WINOGRAD/FLORES)

jlamb@npd.Novell.COM (Jason "Nematode" Lamb) (04/18/91)

In article <91100.194201MUHRTH@DB0TUI11.BITNET> MUHRTH@tubvm.cs.tu-berlin.de (Thomas Muhr) writes:
>Do you know of a documentation for windows covering these points in
>appropriate detail? I don't!

Yeah. Novell publishes NetWare Application Notes which cover System 
Administration type stuff on a variety of subjects. These Application Notes
are published monthly and are available from Novell for 5.00 US (10.00 
International) for the reprints, and for 50.00 US (100.00 International) for a
years subscription. You can order these by calling 1-800-UPDATE1.

In the January 1991 issue I wrote an Application Note entitled NetWare and 
Microsoft Windows Integration and it covers most current issues (including
most of what you outlined) regarding this subject.

BTW, while SWAPFILE might increase 386 Enh mode performance, it's not a 
requirement.

Jason Lamb

ed@odi.com (Ed Schwalenberg) (04/24/91)

  From: jlamb@npd.Novell.COM (Jason "Nematode" Lamb)
  Date: 18 Apr 91 01:12:33 GMT

  Novell publishes NetWare Application Notes which cover System 
  Administration type stuff on a variety of subjects. These Application Notes
  are published monthly and are available from Novell for 5.00 US (10.00 
  International) for the reprints, and for 50.00 US (100.00 International) for a
  years subscription. You can order these by calling 1-800-UPDATE1.

  In the January 1991 issue I wrote an Application Note entitled NetWare and 
  Microsoft Windows Integration and it covers most current issues (including
  most of what you outlined) regarding this subject.

I'm looking for the answer(s) to a slightly different problem: writing
network applications for Windows.  Our application (an object-oriented
database) has several processes on the "client" host, and several processes
on the "server" host, which must talk to each other.  On Unix systems we
use the "socket" facilities.  We have the NetWare 3.11 20-user kit promoted
by your developer program, but I'm still not sure what we need to write
Windows apps that use NetWare services.  Any help you can provide would be
most appreciated.

PS. I'm posting rather than mailing because I think this topic is of general
interest, and because mail to a variety of permutations of your network
address failed.

jlamb@npd.Novell.COM (Jason "Nematode" Lamb) (04/24/91)

In article <1991Apr23.172611.8891@odi.com> ed@odi.com (Ed Schwalenberg) writes:
>
>I'm looking for the answer(s) to a slightly different problem: writing
>network applications for Windows.  Our application (an object-oriented
>database) has several processes on the "client" host, and several processes
>on the "server" host, which must talk to each other.  On Unix systems we
>use the "socket" facilities.  We have the NetWare 3.11 20-user kit promoted
>by your developer program, but I'm still not sure what we need to write
>Windows apps that use NetWare services.  Any help you can provide would be
>most appreciated.
>
>PS. I'm posting rather than mailing because I think this topic is of general
>interest, and because mail to a variety of permutations of your network
>address failed.

The best start for getting this information would be to contact both Novell
developer's relations (for the server part of your questions) and Microsoft
developer's group (for the client end). If you already have some developer
stuff then you probably already have Novell DPD's phone numbers (800-729-4357,
or 512-794-1795). And from reading your message you're really asking about
network services access through Windows. Unfortunately it seems that if it
exists, it will exist at both Novell and Microsoft. (seems ripe for finger
pointing..) I would encourage you to ask your question through both Novell
and Microsoft developer's groups.

(I don't have any of the MS developer info handy, maybe someone else could
help..)

Jason
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       Jason Lamb                         jlamb@Sed.Novell.COM
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