Sams Teach Yourself MCSE Windows NT Server 4 in 14 Days
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): David Schaer, et al
ISBN: 0672311283
Publication Date: 12/15/97

Chapter 12
Managing a Heterogeneous Environment

by Theresa Hadden, Marcus Barton, and Russell Mickler

12.1. Overview

As of this writing, Novell NetWare is installed on a majority of PC-based networks in corporate America. With that in mind, Microsoft designed Windows NT knowing that it would probably have to survive in heterogeneous environments. Several capabilities were built into Windows NT with NetWare in mind:

•  NWLink, Microsoft’s IPX/SPX-compatible protocol, was designed to connect with NetWare servers.

•  Windows NT possesses a gateway service to allow NetWare resources to be accessible from clients that are configured only to connect to Windows NT.

12.1.1. Objectives

The information in this chapter is provided mainly as a basis for understanding how to properly configure services and the use of the registry. This chapter addresses how you

•  Configure Windows NT server for interoperability with NetWare servers by using the Gateway Service for NetWare

•  Configure protocols and protocol bindings for NWLink

•  Configure NT Server to migrate a NetWare server

12.1.2. Fast Facts

The following list of facts is a concise picture of the information presented in this chapter. It acts both as an overview for the chapter and as a study aid to help you do any last-minute cramming.

•  Using NWLink alone enables you to connect NetWare clients to Windows NT and vice versa for client/server applications only.

•  The Gateway Service for NetWare is used to allow Windows NT clients to access the file and print services of NetWare without installing any additional software on the client computers.

•  If NWLink is not installed when the Gateway Service for NetWare is installed, NWLink is installed automatically.

•  The Gateway Service for NetWare is not available on Windows NT Workstation.

•  The Gateway Service for NetWare translates Server Message Blocks (SMB) to NetWare Core Protocol (NCP).

•  When NWLink is configured for automatic frame-type detection, it defaults to 802.2 if the frame type is not detected.

•  The NetWare Migration Tool allows for the expedient transfer of user and group objects to an NT domain controller; NWCONV is not intended for use with member servers.

•  NWCONV enables you to transfer file and directory objects from NetWare volumes to NTFS partitions while retaining permission equivalence.

•  Neither passwords nor NetWare login scripts are migrated using NWCONV.

•  You must have supervisor rights on the NetWare server to execute NWCONV successfully.

•  Logs are maintained during the process to assist in troubleshooting migration problems.

12.2. Gateway Service for NetWare (GSNW)

Gateway Service for NetWare has two functions. It provides client services that allow an NT server to access a NetWare server. The Gateway Service for NetWare also allows a Windows NT server to act as a gateway to a NetWare server. Once installed, clients that are configured to connect to the Windows NT server can access file and print services of the NetWare server through the Windows NT server. There is no need for additional configuration of the clients.

When using Gateway Services, you can use whatever protocols you want on the client because the Windows NT server establishes the connection to the NetWare server. As long as the client can connect to the Windows NT server (using NetBEUI or TCP/IP, for example), it can use resources on the NetWare server.

If you have Remote Access Service (RAS) installed on your Windows NT network, GSNW gives you the capability to connect to the NetWare server while connecting to your network remotely. Without GSNW, you must install a similar remote service on the NetWare server, complicating administration and the access of resources.

There is another advantage to using the GSNW. If you have a small amount of NetWare servers, and users need only occasional access to them, you can use the GSNW to cut down on your administrative tasks. Create all the user accounts on your Windows NT server and not on the NetWare server. The authentication of the users accessing the NetWare server is accomplished through the GSNW. This prevents you from having to manage accounts on both servers. Without the GSNW, you must create accounts on both servers for users to have access to both servers.

The Gateway Service NetWare is available only on Windows NT servers. It is not available on Windows NT Workstation. To connect to a NetWare server using Windows NT Workstation, Microsoft includes the Client Service for NetWare with Windows NT Workstation.

Windows NT clients access the Windows NT server. The GSNW shares out NetWare resources as though they are Windows NT server resources. This means that there is no need for additional setup on the client computers if they are already configured to access the Windows NT server. The only computers on which you must make changes are the NetWare server and the Windows NT server.

12.2.1. NetWare Core Protocol

For the Windows NT server and the NetWare server to be able to communicate, they must speak the same language or protocol. The main protocol that NetWare uses is IPX/SPX, so Microsoft created its IPX/SPX-compatible protocol, NWLink.

The second battle was how the two operating systems communicate with other computers on the network. Traditionally, Microsoft networks use Server Message Blocks to communicate. NetWare networks use NetWare Core Protocols to communicate (see Figure 12.1). The GSNW translates Server Message Blocks (SMB) to NetWare Core Protocol (NCP).

Figure 12.1.  The GSNW translates SMB to NCP.

The commands in NetWare Core Protocol do not directly translate to SMB commands. The GSNW acts as a translator between the SMBs used by Microsoft networks and the NCPs used on NetWare networks so that clients using SMB (Windows NT clients) can communicate with NetWare servers that use NCP. For the exam, just remember that the GSNW translates SMB to NCP.