Chapter 18

The NetWare server console is where the administrator performs fundamental server management and configuration tasks. It is from the server console that NLMs are loaded so that network services are made available. From the console prompt NLM utilities can be accessed, server configurations performed, and server commands run.

In this chapter we will discuss some of the commands that can be executed at the console prompt. We will also explore server configuration files and how you can edit them.

You will find it efficient to remotely manage the NetWare server from a workstation and Remote Console lets you do this. Security is also a constant issue with networks, and we will look into it briefly.

A new item introduced in NetWare is Console One, a Java-based application that gives NetWare its first marketed Graphical User Interface (GUI). We will see how Console One makes administration easier to manage.

When a NetWare server loads, a lot of rapidly scrolling text is displayed on the monitor’s screen, as the configuration information processes and NLMs load, to bring the server up. The NetWare 5 server has many screen types, most of them associated with NLM utilities and enhancements. The basic server screen is the NetWare Console, which comes in two formats. The first is the standard text console, which looks like a DOS command prompt. The second is the graphical Java-based Console One.

The standard server console screen looks similar to a DOS prompt. Figure 18-1 shows what a basic server console screen looks like.

Different types of commands can be executed at the console prompt. For example, NLMs can be loaded or unloaded, and NetWare utilities such as NWCONFIG and DHCPCFG can be loaded to configure the server. The server can be brought down from the Server Console prompt as well as restarted. The new Console One has some extended capabilities that the traditional console does not have. You can use Console One to browse and organize network resources, add accounts, and configure existing accounts. Figure 18-2 shows an example of what Console One looks like. From Console One, you can set access to network resources as well as access remote server consoles on other servers. The first release of Console One has some capabilities of NetWare Administrator but not all of them. Other tasks that can be accomplished with Console One are managing local files and folders as well as hosting other Java applets.

There are many different commands that can be executed at the server console screen, and this is something you need to know for the exam. Pay particular attention to how certain things are loaded or unloaded at the console prompt.

Along with knowing how to load and unload items, you also should know some key combinations to help you navigate from one screen to the next.

To successfully manage a server from the console prompt, you should know how to navigate to other screens that are loaded when other NLMs running in the background. There are a couple of key sequences to become very familiar with as a NetWare engineer.

The first one is the ALT-ESC combination, which goes through the various screen loaded on a server. As you press ALT-ESC, you will move from screen to screen until you get to the one you want. A second way to navigate from one screen to another is to use the CTRL-ESC combination, which brings up a list of what is loaded on the server. This can serve two purposes: it summarizes what is running on the server and is a quick way to jump from screen 1 to screen 12.

With Console One you can browse a number of resources with the various menus available. The left window pane allows you to browse the different container objects, while the right window pane shows the actual contents of the resources.

With Console One running on the server there are two key items in the left-hand window: the My Server and Shortcuts containers allow for management of local and remote server operations. Maneuvering around Console One is done with a mouse or other pointing device. To get to the properties on an object you can right-click and select Details. This is similar to the process in NetWare Administrator.

To add additional network services or to access a server utility, you will need to know the name of the NLM to load. Sometimes you may need to know the order of how a group of NLMs must be loaded. The two most basic commands are LOAD and UNLOAD. These are used in conjunction with the name of a particular NLM installed on the server. For example:

NWCONFIG
INETCFG
CDROM

To optimize and tune your server to make it run efficiently, you must learn how to edit server configuration files. There are also two ways to do this, but the easiest one that I recommend is using the NWCONFIG utility. The NWCONFIG utility gives an administrator quick and easy access to the two most important NetWare Configuration Files (NCF): STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF .

To edit the NCF files or other files that can be edited with a text editor, you can use EDIT.NLM to load the NetWare text Editor (see Figure 18-4) If you include a path and filename after the EDIT command, you can immediately open the file for editing. If you do not enter a path and filename after the EDIT command, you will be prompted for them.

NetWare NCF files, with the exception of STARTUP.NCF, can be edited with any text editor on a workstation. To edit NCF files from a workstation though, you will have to know where the file exists on the server. Many times NCF files are in either the SYSTEM directory on the SYS: volume, or, for example, stored with their other program files in the case of Computer Associates’ ARCSERVE for NetWare product.

When it comes to simplifying commands and grouping configuration statements together you will want to use server batch files. These batch files should reside on the SYS: volume in the SYSTEM directory.

To create the files you can use any ASCII text editor. Just make sure that the file is saved in the appropriate location: the SYSTEM directory on the SYS: volume.

Many NetWare administrative tasks must be done at a workstation. NetWare has had a utility called RCONSOLE available for administrators to remotely access the server’s console. As shown in Figure 18-5, RCONSOLE looks exactly like the server's console. The major difference is the keystroke sequence used to navigate from screen to screen.

Many times REMOTE and RSPX will be loaded in one of the startup files so that, by default, the administrator will have remote access. When this is the case, the password for the remote console is entered immediately after the RSPX statement. Exercise 18-1 will show you how to do this.

In Windows 95 there are some keystrokes that cannot be used to navigate the console remotely because they already do something else. The ALT-ESC and CTRL-ESC combinations we looked at earlier will not work with RCONSOLE, because they are compiled into RCONSOLE.EXE. There are four main keystrokes with RCONSOLE, as shown in Table 18-1.

Another NEW component of NetWare 5 is RCONSOLEJ. Along with the RCONSOLE.EXE in the public directory is a RCONJ.EXE that runs a Java based remote console utility. The Java-based management piece on the server cannot be seen with RCONSOLE, so Novell included RCONSOLEJ to manage the Java-based management piece remotely. Figure 18-6 shows the RCONSOLEJ connection screen. For the exam, make sure you that you know this utility exists.

With any network, security is a primary concern. One of the first things to do is make it physically inaccessible to unauthorized people by keeping it in a locked room. Some administrators go further and actually remove the keyboard from the server so that it can be monitored and managed only by remote access. Another recommendation (from the Novell web site) is to use a power-on password along with other passwords that can be put in place at the server.

One way to secure the server from tampering, is to use the SECURE CONSOLE feature, which does the following :

• Prevents NLMs from being loaded.
• Prevents keyboard entry into the operating system debugger.
• Prevents anyone from changing the date and time on the server.

The one thing to keep in mind about using this command is that it cannot be undone until the server is taken down and rebooted. Once this is done the server is back to a state of being non-secure. One other note on using SECURE CONSOLE: remote management has the same restrictions as being on the server directly.

NetWare 5 has some new and different features as you have discovered throughout this book. One of these is the new SCRSAVER utility that replaces the console-locking feature of MONITOR . There is no longer an option to lock the console in MONITOR with NetWare 5.

To load the SCRSAVER module you simply type:

SCRSAVER {options]

As with previous versions of NetWare, when the screensaver kicks in on a server, you see a snake for each processor in the server. With NetWare 5 you have the ability to lock the console with the SCRSAVER module. When the snake is crawling across the monitor you simply hit a key and then you will be prompted for a username and password. When a key is pressed, you must do the following:

1. At the Login box press ENTER to highlight the username field.
2. Enter the Username. The Username must have write rights to the ACL for the Server object.
3. Press ENTER again to highlight the password field.
4. Type the password for the user.
5. Press ENTER twice and the console is now unlocked.

When SCRSAVER is loaded, the default is to have the server locked when the screensaver kicks in.

Java has taken the computer world by storm and Java-based applications are consequently proliferating. NetWare 5 comes with Java support, which makes NetWare 5 even more versatile as a web server .

With the built-in Application Program Interfaces supporting Java, developers can write object-oriented, multithreaded, dynamically-linked applications using the Java language. This makes NetWare 5 one of the most powerful servers for Java applications.

With NetWare 5 there is a new look and feel with the GUI interface of Console One. The GUI interface is actually known as the ServerTop This is basically like the desktop in Windows 95.

The GUI interface makes NetWare come to life with a point-and-click style of Windows NT and Window 95/98. In the left-hand corner is the Novell menu, similar to the Start Menu in the various Windows products.

Managing a server is the key component to successful network administration. With NetWare 5 an administrator has more tools available than ever before. In this chapter we looked at managing the server with the NetWare Console and the new Console One, GUI-based management tool.

Being able to navigate and know the appropriate commands makes you a successful server administrator. The other piece to Console Management is being able to do it remotely and configure the server to do so. We looked briefly at RCONSOLE and RCONSOLEJ, which I am sure you will see on the exam.

Along with the console comes the ability to view and edit the Server Configuration Files. The two most important of these are STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF. Remember that NetWare has a built-in EDIT utility to edit text files and create batch files.

NetWare 5 comes with a couple of ways to secure the server. But the first step is to physically secure the server by limiting access to it. Remember that SECURE CONSOLE can secure the server from attacks. The new SCRSAVER replaces the old console lock function of MONITOR. In order to begin the process of locking the console using SCRSCAVER, you press ENTER at the login box to highlight the Username field, and then enter the Username. The Username must have write rights to the ACL for the Server object.

We briefly mentioned that NetWare 5 has support for Java applications. Along with Java support comes the new SERVER TOP that gives NetWare administrators a graphical user interface for managing their server.

• The NetWare server console is where the administrator performs fundamental server management and configuration tasks. NLMs are loaded from the server console, to make network services available. From the console prompt, NLM utilities can be accessed, server configurations performed, and server commands run.
• A new item introduced in NetWare is Console One, a Java-based application that gives NetWare its first marketed Graphical User Interface.
• The NetWare 5 server has many screen types, most of them associated with NLM utilities and enhancements. The basic server screen is the NetWare Console, which comes in two formats. The standard text console, which looks like a DOS command prompt, and the Java-based graphical user interface of Console One
• To successfully manage a server from the console prompt, you should know how to navigate to other screens that are loaded when other NLMs running in the background. There are a two keystroke sequences to become very familiar with as a NetWare engineer. They are: ALT-ESC and CTRL-ESC
• To add additional network services or to access a server utility, you will need to know the name of the NLM to load. Sometimes you may also need to know the sequence in which a group of NLMs must be loaded. The two most basic commands are LOAD and UNLOAD. These are used in conjunction with the name of a particular NLM installed on the server.
• To optimize and tune your server, you must learn how to edit server configuration files. There are two ways to edit server configuration files. The easiest method is to use the NWCONFIG utility. The NWCONFIG utility gives an administrator quick and easy access to the two most important NetWare Configuration Files (NCF): STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF.
• To edit the NCF files or other files that can be edited with a text editor, you can use EDIT.NLM to load the NetWare text Editor.
• To simplify commands and to group configuration statements together, you want to use server batch files. These batch files should reside on the SYS: volume in the SYSTEM directory. To create server batch files you can use any ASCII text editor.
• NetWare has had a utility called RCONSOLE available for administrators to remotely access the server’s console. RCONSOLE looks exactly like the server's console. The major difference between the server's console and RCONSOLE is the sequence of keystrokes used to navigate from screen to screen.
• In Windows 95 there are some keystrokes that cannot be used to navigate the console remotely, for example ALT-ESC and CTRL-ESC. There are four main keystrokes with RCONSOLE: ALT-F1, ALT-F2, ALT-F3, and ALT-F4
• Security is a primary concern with any network. Recommended methods for securing a network server are: make it physically inaccessible by keeping it in a locked room, remove the keyboard so that it can be monitored and managed only by remote access, or (from the Novell web site) use a power-on password along with other passwords.
• The SECURE CONSOLE command prevents NLMs from being loaded, prevents keyboard entry into the operating system debugger, and it prevents anyone from changing the date and time on the server. The important thing to keep in mind about using the SECURE CONSOLE command is that it cannot be undone until the server is taken down and rebooted, which will return the server to a non-secure state. The same restriction is valid for remote management as well.
• The new SCRSAVER utility in NetWare 5 replaces the console-locking feature of MONITOR for previous versions of NetWare.
• NetWare 5 comes with Java support, which makes NetWare 5 even more versatile as a web server
• There is a new look and feel with the GUI interface of Console One in NetWare 5. The GUI interface is actually known as the ServerTop, which is similar to the desktop in Windows 95.