Keeping your NETWARE current

NOVELL provides some handy tools for verifying that your NETWARE files are all up to date. We use them a lot to help our dealers troubleshoot NOVELL installations and we'd like to share them with you.

There are three programs we use: NETWARE CONFIG READER, CONFIG.NLM and CONFGNUT.NLM,.

CONFIG READER (v2.66) is a Win 95/98/NT client utility that analyzes the config.txt file produced by either CONFIG.NLM or CONFGNUT.NLM. The config.txt file can also be read in a text editor, word processor, or even printed out, but the file can sometimes be quite long, and you'd have to compare to the latest patch list from NOVELL to get the kind of information CONFIG READER provides in just a few minutes.

CONFIG READER provides suggestions on how to update or correct problems on the server (including which files to download if you're down rev). It identifies patch sets on your server and also helps you keep track of updated nlm's like DS.NLM and CLIB.NLM. There is a database CONFIG READER uses that keeps track of the patch sets and other nlm's. This database can be updated by the user via FTP from NOVELL weekly, monthly or as needed. You can print out the suggestions, compare two servers' configs, and for 4.11 users, read the ABEND.LOG file.

NOTE: CONFIG READER is for Win 95/98/NT workstations only. It won't run on win 3.1x systems.

To install:

  1. First delete your existing novelldb.ini file (in your win95/windows/winnt directory).

  2. Run the setup.exe file. An automated installation will install the utility and create the icon.

CONFIG.NLM and CONFGNUT.NLM are used to document your server configuration.

CONFIG.NLM is a command line utility which collects the following information:

  1. Volume size in Megabytes
  2. Loader version on Nw v4.x
  3. Serial Number
  4. ABEND.LOG on NW v4.11
  5. IO$LOG.ERR
  6. MSSTATUS.DMP
  7. TIMESYNC.CFG
  8. ATPS.CFG
  9. Modules loaded
  10. Config.sys and Autoexec.bat on the server
  11. Contents of NCF files on the default local drive and system directory
  12. Whether COMPRESSION, SUBALLOCATION, and MIGRATION are enabled on each volume.

CONFGNUT.NLM is a menu driven utility which pops up with a screen offering various options, including whether to append to a previous CONFIG.TXT or overwrite, an option to print to C:\CONFIG.TXT, and a menu of various types of information you might want, as follows:

  1. Modules list
  2. LAN Information
  3. Disk Information
  4. Volume Information
  5. Loaded name spaces
  6. NCF's and Configuration file
  7. SET Parameters
  8. Directory Listing (this is a listing of the SYSTEM directory and the servers root directory)
  9. All of the above
  10. Items 1 - 6 above

CONFIG.NLM and CONFGNUT.NLM work on all versions of NETWARE.

NOTE: If, when loading CONFIG or CONFGNUT, the error LOADER CAN'T FIND PUBLIC SYMBOL appears, then update CLIB.NLM, NWSNUT.NLM, and MATHLIBC.NLM.

To install:

  1. Copy CONFIG.NLM and CONFGNUT.NLM to the SYS:SYSTEM directory of the server.

To run:

  1. At the system console prompt type LOAD CONFIG or LOAD CONFGNUT and press return. CONFIG.NLM and CONFGNUT.NLM create a text file (CONFIG.TXT) in the SYS:SYSTEM directory.
  2. If running CONFIG.NLM, watch the server console screen for CONFIG IS DONE or any other messages that CONFIG.NLM might post.

By default CONFIG will not include the SYSTEM files or the SET parameters

CONFIG.NLM command line parameters: 

	/a       append to existing config.txt (default is to overwrite)
	/d       include SYS:SYSTEM and default local drive file listings 
	/s       include SET parameters
	/ads     get set parameters, file listing, and append to CONFIG.TXT

What is most useful about this information is the way it can inform a search of the NOVELL Knowledge Base:

http://support.novell.com/search/kb_index.htm

If you search on the filename of a recommended patch, you will usually get an article describing the fixes, and you can see if any of them might pertain to the problem you're trying to solve. If you see a repeating error message in the abend.log, you can search on that and often find that !surprise! the recommended patch will fix it. It's helpful to have that kind of supporting evidence to encourage the customer to have the patches installed.

F e e d b a c k

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