Troubleshooting techniques

We are a co-operative bank having 122 branches over Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar city. We want all our branches to be interconnected. We have one server at the branch level and two to three nodes. What kind of technology would best suit to interconnect our kind of setup? What would be the hardware requirements? Kindly give details for the same.

You can either use an Intranet or a VPN with leased line or ISDN connectivity for this purpose:

Intranet: A network based on TCP/IP protocols belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization members, employees, or others with authorization. An Intranet's website look and act just like any other websites, but the

firewall surrounding an Intranet fends off unauthorized access.

Please visit the following link for more information about Intranet

http://www.intranetjournal.com/faqs/whatis/index.html

VPN: Virtual Private Network, a network that is constructed by using public wires to connect nodes. For example, there are a number of systems that enable you to create networks using the Internet as the medium for transporting data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.

I have a Windows NT network and want to seamlessly integrate it with NetWare network so that both can function together smoothly. Also, I would like to know if the existing NIC could boot remotely. How can I find out if it has a PXE Boot ROM?

Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE) is a feature that allows a server to boot over a network using an image sent by a PXE server. The source server (PXE server) must be configured with a PXE downloadable boot image, and the target server (server booting) must be enabled for PXE.

The PXE Boot Enable/Disable utility (PXEBOOT) enables or disables PXE functionality on embedded NICs in supported ProLiant servers. Only one NIC can be enabled at a time.

PXE allows a computer that contains a PXE ROM to boot to the network server. The PXE ROM is either coded into the system BIOS or is located on an NIC as an option ROM.

Please let us know the manufacturer of your NIC card, to solve your problem. Or else go through the manual to know whether it has PXE boot ROM.

To migrate NetWare Clients to Windows NT network, go through the following:

Windows NT Server 4.0 includes several technologies that allow you to readily integrate with Novell NetWare networks. These technologies address interoperability at the network, data, and management layers. Additional connectivity technologies are offered in the Microsoft Services for NetWare Add-on Pack.

Here are the components required for integrating a Windows NT network with a NetWare network:

NWLink: Windows NT Server includes NWLink (IPX/SPX Compatible Transport Protocol). NWLink lets you add a Windows NT Server to a NetWare 2.x/3.x and 4.x (in bindery emulation mode) network without any modifications to other servers or clients. NWLink lets NetWare clients' access applications such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server or other software running on a Windows NT Server.

The Microsoft implementations of the IPX/SPX and Novell NetBIOS-compatible protocols can coexist with other protocols on the same network adapter card. That means you can have several networks running independently on the same network hardware connection. NWLink supports Windows Sockets, Novell NetBIOS, and Named Pipes protocols.

Client Services for NetWare: Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 includes Client Services for NetWare (CSNW). This lets Windows NT Workstation-based clients access files and print resources on Novell NetWare 4.x servers.

File and Print Services for NetWare (FPNW): Included in the Microsoft Services for NetWare Add-on Pack, FPNW lets users log on to a machine running Windows NT Server and have their interface look the same as if they had logged on to a NetWare 3.x Server. FPNW which runs as part of the NWLink IPX/SPX-compatible service enables Windows NT Server to emulate a NetWare file and print server, providing file and print resources using the same dialogs as NetWare servers. The Windows NT Server file and print services can be managed with NetWare tools, eliminating the need for retraining. Plus, using FPNW does not require changes to NetWare clients.

For example, a client program that uses NetWare protocols and naming conventions needs no redirection or translation.

Gateway Service for NetWare (GSNW): Included with Windows NT Server, GSNW lets Windows NT Server act as a gateway to a NetWare network, allowing you access to all the resources on a NetWare server. Windows NT Workstation-based clients can access NetWare resources using TCP/IP, the native network communication protocol for Windows NT. In addition, GSNW allows Windows NT Server-based network clients to access files on a NetWare server without requiring a NetWare client redirector on an IPX/SPX protocol stack (such as NWLink). These efficiencies reduce the administrative load for each client and improve network performance.

GSNW also supports Novell's NetWare Directory Services (NDS) navigation, authentication, printing, and login scripts. This support allows NetWare clients to take advantage of the Windows NT Server platform and still retain fully functional access to their NetWare 4.x servers via the Windows NT Server gateway. Lastly, GSNW lets a machine running Windows NT Server act as a communications server to a NetWare network,re-sharing the network connections from the NetWare server. Thus, for example, you can use Windows NT Server Remote Access Service to access NetWare server resources.

Client Services for NetWare (CSNW): Included with Windows NT Workstation 4.0, CSNW lets you use a single login and password for Windows NT and NetWare. CSNW supports Novell's NDS authentication, including authentication to multiple NDS trees. It also provides full support for NDS property pages, NDS passwords and processing NetWare login scripts.

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