March 10th 1997 Mirror Sites ![]() Download the Software Network Card Drivers ![]() Features User's Guide Help ![]() Search Distribution Rights Listserv Shareware Links ![]() Order the Software Help Us Promote NetSoft LAN Dealer Enquires Welcome Home Page | http://www.netsoft.ie/ CHAPTER 2 Network Installation
Manual InstallationThis section is for advanced users and explains how to manually install and set-up NetSoft LAN on your machines. You will be required to perform some basic DOS functions, such as copy files, create batch files etc.If you are not familiar with DOS commands, it is recommended that you use the automatic installation procedure, see Chapter 1 "GETTING STARTED". To simplify the manual installation process, it is recommended that you break each configuration into three simple steps for each machine you add to the network. 1. Choose your hardware configuration. 2. Choose the basic network configuration. 3. Configure your network. Because there are virtually no limitations in how you can configure NetSoft LAN, it is advisable that you set-up two machines only. You can add the rest of your machines to the network once you are familiar with the basic installation procedures. Basic Installation ProceduresInstall Step 1The first step involves choosing your hardware driver. A hardware driver is the software that controls your network card. The hardware driver you choose will be dictated by your network cards. There are a number of hardware drivers supplied with NetSoft LAN.Install Step 2The second step involves choosing your basic network configuration. Each machine on the network may have a different configuration. There are three basic configurations, i.e. clients, servers, or full peer-to-peer. It is recommended that first time users use full peer-to-peer, as these are both clients and servers.Install Step 3The third step involves copying the network files onto your hard disk, creating the NETSTART.BAT file and configuring your two chosen modules from steps 1 and 2.The last step (3) includes setting some basic network parameters, such as assigning a machine name and number to each networked machine, and setting your hardware's IRQ and I/O port address values. After you have completed the three steps above, you can add additional network commands to your NETSTART.BAT file until your configuration is complete. The procedure for all the network modules is the same, so once you know how to configure one module, the others are configured in an almost identical fashion. If you have problems installing NetSoft LAN manually, you can use the automatic installation method, and thus review what changes the NETSETUP program has made. Step 1. Choosing your hardware configurationRead the table below and choose the hardware driver you would like to install.
Using a Driver StandardIf you have an Ethernet card that is supplied with software drivers, you may be able to use one of the following standards.
The list below gives you the program filenames of the drivers reviewed above. Each of the drivers listed is explained in detail in Chapter 10 "NETWORK HARDWARE DRIVERS". Driver Filenames ARCNET.COM ETHERNET.COM FTP.COM MODEM.COM NDIS.COM ODI.COM PARALLEL.COM SERIAL.COM SMC.COM When you have chosen your hardware driver you may proceed to step 2. As an example, ETHERNET.COM will be used, (as highlighted above). Step 2. Choosing your network configurationYou must now choose which of the following network configurations you would like to use. In most cases the full peer-to-peer configuration is best suited. The table below explains each type of configuration.
The list below denotes the program filenames of each basic network configuration reviewed above. Network Filenames CLIENT.COM SERVER.COM DOSNET.COM When you have chosen your basic network configuration you may proceed to step 3. In this example, DOSNET.COM will be used, (as highlighted above). Step 3. Configuring the network modulesYou have chosen two program names from the lists provided. The following is an example using Ethernet on a full peer-to-peer network configuration.Before configuring the network, the network files must be copied from the NetSoft LAN Set-up disk to your hard disk. Copying NetSoft LAN to your hard diskInsert Set-up Disk 1 in drive A:, and then type the following at the DOS command line: c: If your floppy disk drive is known as B:, you must change the copy command accordingly. Creating the NETSTART.BAT fileTo create the NETSTART.BAT file, you can use a text editor or use the COPY CON command. This example uses the DOS COPY CON command.This procedure assumes that you have copied the network files to your hard disk C:\DOSNET directory. If you have used a different drive or directory name, you must make the appropriate changes. From the DOS command line, type the following: c: cd\dosnet copy con netstart.bat cd\dosnet dosnet ethernet cd\ ^z (press ctrl+z or the F6 key to save) 1 file(s) copiedThe NETSTART.BAT has now been created. Before you start the network, you must configure a few parameters. These are explained next. Configuring the chosen network modulesIn the C:\DOSNET network directory, there is a file called DOSNET.INI. This file holds the set-upparameters for each machine. This is a normal text ASCII file and may be edited using a text editor.Below is a sample of the parameters it contains. As you can see, it's broken into sections. Each section has a section header which is denoted by square brackets [ ]. Below each section header there are a number of parameters that you must change for each machine that is added to the network. For clarity, only two section headers are shown. Each driver or network program has its own section header that allows configuration of that particular driver or program. All of these parameters are explained in detail in Chapter 17 "THE DOSNET.INI CONFIGURATION FILE". The parameters of interest in this case are under the headings [Setup]and [Ethernet-1]. Sample from DOSNET.INI file [Setup] MachineNode=1 MachineName=SERVER1 UserCount=2 [Ethernet-1] IRQ=3 Port=300h The following parameters must be set for each machine you add to the network. These parameters identify each machine and configure NetSoft LAN to use the correct network card settings. 1. Set the MachineNode= parameter to any number between 1 and 255 (inclusive). The value used for this parameter must be unique on the network. 2. Set the MachineName= parameter, it may contain up to 15 text characters that uniquely identify each machine. This example uses SERVER1 as the machine name. 3. Set the UserCount= parameter to indicate the total number of machines on your network. 4. Set the IRQ= parameter to the interrupt request line used by your network card. 5. Set the Port= parameter to the I/O port address used by your network card. 6. You may now start the network by running the NETSTART.BAT file you created earlier. If you are using Arcnet cards, you must change the parameters under the heading [Arcnet-1] instead of [Ethernet-1]. NOTE If you are not using Ethernet as in this example, you should read Chapter 17 "NETWORK HARDWARE DRIVERS". You only need to read the section that relates to your particular network cards. Adding network servicesOnce you have configured your basic network set-up for each machine, you may wish to add some network services to various clients and servers. To do this, simply add the program name (listed in the left hand column in the table below) to your NETSTART.BAT file.Each network service has an entry in the DOSNET.INI file that allows you to customise each network program to your particular needs.
NetSoft LAN Inventory ListYou can use the inventory list below as a general guide. It detailswhich NetSoft LAN programs and drivers may be used with each typeof configuration.
N = May not be used with configuration FILENAME.DOS This file represents the name of your NDIS device driver that may be supplied with your Ethernet cards. There are two types of NDIS device driver; one for OS/2 and one for DOS. You must use the one with the .DOS filename extension. FILENAME.EXT This file represents the name of your FTP Packet Driver that may be supplied with your Ethernet cards. Normally this is a .COM or .EXE program file which is loaded from the DOS command line. FILENAME.COM This file represents the name of your ODI LAN Driver (MLID) that may be supplied with your Ethernet cards. Normally this is a .COM or .EXE program file which is loaded from the DOS command line. Running NetSoft LAN from floppy diskIf you wish to run NetSoft LAN from a floppy disk-based system, you will need to copy the network programs on to a floppy disk using the DOS copy command.To save space, only copy the program files that you actually require. The files that you will require depend on your particular configuration requirements, network card etc. USEFUL TIP You can use The NetSoft LAN Inventory List to check which files you will require for your particular configurations. Removing NetSoft LAN from your hard diskIf you wish to remove NetSoft LAN from your hard disk, type the following commands at the DOS prompt command line: (remember to press the ENTER key after each line)c: When deleting the files in the C:\DOSNET directory you will be prompted with the question: Are you sure (y/n) press Y then press ENTER to delete all files in this directories. After issuing these commands NetSoft LAN will have been completely removed from your machine. If you are using MS-DOS 6.0 or higher you can use the DELTREE command which combines of the above commands in to a single command as follows: deltree c:\dosnet you will be prompted by DOS to confirm with the following message: Delete directory "c:\dosnet" and all its subdirectories? [yn] press Y then press ENTER to remove all of the NetSoft LAN files and sub-directories. NOTE If you added the NETSTART.BAT file to your AUTOEXEC.BAT start up file, you may also wish to remove that command. In addition, if you are using the NDIS standard with NetSoft LAN you may wish to remove those commands from your CONFIG.SYS file. To do this, delete the following lines from your CONFIG.SYS file using a text editor such as EDIT which is supplied with DOS 5.0 and higher. DEVICE=C:\DOSNET\NDIS\PROTMAN.DOS /I:C:\DOSNET\NDIS [Table of Contents] [Home Page] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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