Clients constantly disconnecting 1

[apex1x]

This is probably a very common novell problem, but I have one netware 5.1 server with about 25 clients, and throughout they day the clients appear to be randomly kicked off the server for a few seconds or a few minutes and this messes up any word/excel documents they have been working on or any databases they were accessing.
I'm new with novell, so does anyone have any suggestions of why or what could cause this? This has been going on since I was here.

 

[TheLad]

Try typing the following at the console (also set it in STARTUP.NCF):

SET CLIENT FILE CACHING ENABLED = OFF

Also, does your server report any errors on the console? -----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[apex1x]

Yeh, i've tried turning off the file caching the other day. It seemed to not have much effect though.
No errors have been reported from the console or console monitor that i am aware of.

I am also running a NAT device as an internet gateway and two hubs connected to the novell server in case that makes a difference. This is a IP/IPX mixed environment as well.

It also seems that some computers get booted more often than others. I dont know how to find out if its a hardware, client software, or some novell settings problem.

 

[yvfwc]

Are they running the same client version? We had a problem on W2K workstations with client 4.83 until we added the "Replacement version of NWFS.SYS for the Novell Client 4.83" see:

http://support.novell.com/servlet/tidfinder/2962669

I see that there is also sp1 for the 4.83 client as well.

http://support.novell.com/servlet/tidfinder/2963245

If not this client, are there any other similarities in the computers that get booted?

Cheers,
Mark ;-)

 

[apex1x]

There is a mix of windows 98, 2000 and XP machines.
It seems that the 98 machines get booted more frequently, but its hard to say because there are much fewer 2000 machines.
We've had the same problems with netware 4 a while back so I dont know how much affect a service pack will have.
A lot of the time when a computer gets booted, the machine locks up but I'm not sure if thats because of novell or if the network messed up a database program they were running that caused it.
I'll give the SP a try.
Any other tips/solution ideas would be welcome.

 

[yvfwc]

The newest client for W98 is 3.32 and it also has a just released svc pack 1. If you are at the current client level I would put on the sp1 for it as well on those W98 machines.

Novell Client v3.32 including SP1 is filename: C332SP1e.exe

just the sp1 files:

http://support.novell.com/servlet/tidfinder/2963243

Cheers,
Mark ;-)

 

[apex1x]

I have 3.21 on the 98 machines. Can I get 3.32 off the novel site or do i have to order it?

 

[jscottd]

You can download it for free.

 

[yvfwc]

Go to

http://support.novell.com/produpdate/patchlist.html

There you can find any of the files you need.

Cheers,

Mark ;-)

 

[Arkano]

Hi,
I don't think the pb comes from your NetWare Server.
Try to focus on your workstations (common applications, ...)
And try to find how you can disable the "Packet Burst Connection" mode on your windows station. I hope that will help you.

 

[apex1x]

Some of the database programs we use are Telemagic, DBA, and Business Visions.
I am unfamiliar with the packet burst connection settings, can you be a bit more specific on how to change it and why?
Thanks.

 

[Guest_imported]

Gentlemen,
I've been frustrated with this same problem for quite some time as well. We are using a NW 4.11 server, however. Our network topology is extremely similar to yours.

I've found that the new SP1 to all clients helps tremendously, but we still get the very random disconnects. What I have found is that we have lage (really large) amounts of files in an out of control hierarchy of directories and so on. (i'd love to start deleting!) Anyhow, there are some file caching settings that I think the new SP1 Client resolves. Not sure if there's a major difference between the 4.11 and 5 that you're using....

 

[TheLad]

Are your network connections forced to (for example) 10 Half-Duplex? Usually random disconnections can be caused by a duplex problem. Use half-duplex if necessary.

We inherited a server on our old LAN at work which was forced to 100Mb Full Duplex. The server reported disconnections from the LAN on a very regular basis. We forced the server to 100Mb Half Duplex and the issue is resolved. -----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[apex1x]

All of the PCs are set to either half duplex or automatic/sense. I've upgraded all clients to the latest version and yet the disconnect/freezing still occurs.
Are there any other common issues/troubleshooting techniques that I could try?
BTW, what is a "packet burst connnection"? ~Apex1x
Sattinger's Law:
It works better if you plug it in.

 

[TheLad]

What are your servers set to? Also, what type of servers and NICs are you using in them? -----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[Provogeek]

Just went through this thread; apex1x listen to TheLad, he knows what he is talking about and is pointing you in the right direction.

I have had this issue my self on two of my clients networks. The resolution was to replace the switches in one case; the other was to force the server NIC to 100MB Half Duplex (servers and network devices should never be set to auto, only clients should be left with this type of setting).

In the first case the 3Com Superstack switch was rebooting it's self for some stupid reason we never dug to deeep into. Took about two weeks of testing and monitoring to find out what was causing the issue. Once we found that packets were stopping at the switch, not the server, we watched the switch. Sure enough we were able to see the stupid thing reboot it's self. We installed a Cisco switch; problem solved (infact now the network bandwidth is better, Cisco has a better product; 3Com keeps screwing Ethernet up when ever they make a change to thier firmware).

The second case was much more easy to figure out. We didn't look to much into the Cisco switch they had, the logs we would get out of the switch showed it was not doing what the last issue did. The switch was self installed by the client, so all default settings were still in place (everything auto). So we nailed the entire swith (all ports) to 100MB HalfDuplex and did the same to the server. The problem went away; no more clients would disconect.

Another thing to look at would be the MAXIMUM PHYSICAL PACKET SIZE setting; I see a lot of admins that think they are savy narrow this setting down to the ethernet spec (1524 I think, TheLad may be able to correct me). In Intel based NIC running NetWare 5 and above, this just screwes up communication on the server. The default setting is 4224. More than likely this won't be the problem though. Brent Schmidt CNE, Network +
Senior Network Engineer

Why do user go into a panic when a NetWare server goes down, but accept it as normal when a Windows server goes down?

 

[apex1x]

We have a relatively small network with only one Netware server. This server uses CE100B NIC and supports frames ethernet 802.2 and ethernet II; both version 2.21.
How do I change duplex modes on the server?
BTW, we are using two hubs, not switches. ~Apex1x
Sattinger's Law:
It works better if you plug it in.

 

[jsoya]

Depending on what SP you 5.1 server is you may need to apply
TCP/IP stack for NetWare 5.1 SP 4 - TID10069769 . This was the fix for a lot of client freezing/slow situations at our site. It would take minutes to save a Word or excel file. Also had a lot of trouble hosting Filemaker Pro databases over TCP/IP connection.

Jim

 

[TheLad]

apex1x - if you go into INETCFG on your server console, choose Boards, choose the network card, then you get the Board Configuration screen up. There should be options for the following which should be set accordingly:

Slot - slot number your NIC is in

Speed - 10Mb or 100Mb

Force Duplex - 0 = Auto negotiate, 1 = Half Duplex, 2 = Full Duplex

IO Map Mode - leave as 0

NIC Performance Tuning - set to 1536


Hope this helps.

-----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[apex1x]

Ok, another question. How do I confirm what service pack(s) have been installed on the server? (5.1) ~Apex1x
Sattinger's Law:
It works better if you plug it in.