Preparing for NetWare 6 Installation
In addition to the computer and network preparation steps described in the following sections, there are a few personnel-type preparation steps you must take to successfully install NetWare 6 on an existing network. To start with, the User object you use to perform the installation must have the Supervisor right to [Root] in the eDirectory or Novell Directory Services (NDS) tree, as well as to the container in which the Server object will reside. The user must also have Read access to the Security container object for the tree.
You need to gather information regarding the configuration of the server hardware and protocols. You should have network interface and storage hardware configuration information such as interrupt request (IRQ) and port addresses. Pertinent protocol information for the server is required as well. For example, to install a server that will use Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), you need the IP address for the server, the subnet mask, the IP address of a domain name server, the IP address of an Internet gateway, and the domain name.
Armed with this information, you can begin the network preparation by using Deployment Manager. When the network is ready to accept the NetWare 6 server, you can proceed to verifying that the client and server computers are sufficiently configured to support NetWare 6.
Preparing the Existing Network with Deployment Manager
As shown in Figure 3.1, the Network Preparation section of Deployment Manager consists of the following:
Overview
Step 1: Back Up Data
Step 2: View and Update NDS Version
Step 3: Prepare for NDS eDirectory 8.6
Prepare a Novell Cluster for Upgrade
Prepare a Server with NDS7 & NSS
Step 4: Update the Certificate Authority
Clicking Overview in the left pane of Deployment Manager displays a description of each of the steps in the network preparation process in the right pane. Clicking Step 1: Back Up Data displays information on the process for using Storage Management Services (SMS) and SBACKUP to back up and restore server data for NetWare 3, NetWare 4, and NetWare 5 servers as part of the installation process (see Figure 3.2). Deployment Manager does not perform the backup for you. Rather, the procedures outlined in Step 1 are intended to help you ensure that your data is safe before you proceed with the installation.
Figure 3.2 Step 1 of Network Preparation in Deployment Manager outlines the steps for backing up and restoring server data.
Two sections of the Installation Wizard address preparing the network. The first part of the process, which occurs in step 2, updates the version of NDS on the existing servers so that those servers can accept eDirectory 8.6. The second part of the process, which occurs in step 3, updates the NDS structures on the servers to include eDirectory objects and object settings. eDirectory 8.6 requires that the existing servers be updated to the following NDS version levels:
Existing servers with NetWare 4.1 and 4.2 should be updated to NDS 6.09
Existing servers with NetWare 5 should be updated to NDS 7.47 or NDS 8.51
Clicking Step 2: View and Update NDS Version launches the Installation Wizard in Update NDS mode, as shown in Figure 3.3. The Installation Wizard searches the specified tree or container to determine whether the NDS installations on the existing servers require updates. If you know what NDS tree and container will contain the new server, you should enter the information by typing netware://Trees/treename/containername, as explained in the Description area of the utility. If you prefer, you can click the Browse button to launch the NDS Tree Browser and then select the tree and topmost container and click OK. When the tree information is defined, you should indicate whether the Installation Wizard should search for NDS servers only in the selected container or in subordinate containers as well. If there are NDS servers in subcontainers in the tree, it is important that they are included in the search. If they are not updated, they will not be able to interact with the NetWare 6 server. Click Next to proceed with the installation.
Figure 3.3 The first screen of the Update NDS utility identifies the NDS tree to search for existing NDS servers.
A list of the servers in the container is displayed. If any of the servers' NDS versions must be updated, they are listed, and the Update NDS? box can be selected. If there are servers in the tree that are already at the correct NDS level, they are displayed in the list but appear dimmed and cannot be selected for update. You need to select the Update NDS? option for the servers to be updated. When you click Next, the new NDS files are copied to the servers. After the files are copied, NDS needs to be restarted on the servers. You should select the servers that have been updated and click Next to continue. After NDS has been restarted on all servers, you should click Exit to return to Deployment Manager.
To update the NDS structure on the servers, you click Step 3: Prepare for NDS eDirectory 8.6. Again, you can enter the NDS tree information manually, or you can click Browse and select the information. As in step 2, when the tree and container are specified, you click Next to display a list of servers containing Master or Read/Write replicas of the [Root] partition of the NDS tree (see Figure 3.4). When you update the configuration on one of those servers, the structure for the replicas on all servers is updated. For this reason, it is necessary to perform this update only once. You should select any of the servers listed and click Next. When the NDS tree has been updated to accept eDirectory 8.6, you click Exit to return to Deployment Manager.
Figure 3.4 You need to select a server that contains a Master or Read/Write replica of the [Root] partition.
The next two options in the Network Preparation section are used only in special circumstances. If NetWare 6 is being installed on a system with a previous version of Novell Cluster Services (NCS), you can click Prepare a Novell Cluster for Upgrade. Along the same lines, if the existing server is running NDS 7 and includes Novell Storage Services (NSS) volumes, you can click Prepare a Server with NDS7 & NSS. If, however, the existing server includes neither of these options, you should click Step 4: Update the Certificate Authority to review the steps that are necessary for modifying the CA object in an existing NDS tree. After you review the steps, you should click Cancel to close Deployment Manager.
If the organizational CA object does not already exist, the NetWare 6 installation creates an organizational CA object. If the network does contain an organizational CA, it must be running Novell Certificate Server version 2.0 or later. If the current organizational CA is not running the correct version of Certificate Server, it must be upgraded from files that can be downloaded from the Novell Web site (http://www.novell.com/download). In addition to having the correct version installed, the user performing the NetWare 6 installation must have Supervisory rights to the Security container before performing the installation. During the installation, the organizational CA server must be online and accessible to the servers in the tree.
Preparing the Server Hardware
Preparing the server hardware for the NetWare 6 installation is the last requirement before the actual installation process can begin. The scope of this step depends on the server's current configuration. If the server already meets the minimum hardware requirements, as discussed earlier, the work involved with this step is minimal. If not, this is the time to update the server hardware to meet the NetWare 6 minimum requirements.
You should begin preparing the server hardware for the installation by reviewing the size of the DOS boot partition. Although NetWare 6 requires the boot partition be a minimum of 200MB, its optimal size includes free space equal to the amount of memory installed in the system. In the event of a core dump, the server writes the information currently in memory to the boot partition for debugging purposes. So if a server has 3096MB of memory, the optimal size for the boot partition would be 3296MB. If the existing partition is not sufficient, it should be deleted and re-created.
TIP
The NetWare 6 License/Cryptography disk includes all the DOS utilities needed to manage and format the DOS partition. If the partition has been newly created or changed, you should boot the server using the disk and format the partition.
The simplest method for launching the installation utility is to boot the server from the NetWare 6 Operating System CD-ROM. This requires system hardware and a CD-ROM drive that support bootable CD-ROMs. When the system boots, INSTALL.BAT is run automatically, beginning the installation process. If you aren't able to use a bootable CD-ROM to install the operating system, you can access the installation files across the network by using either the Novell Client for DOS and Windows 3.1x or the IP Server Connection utility, both of which are included on the Novell Client Installation CD-ROM. If the CD-ROM drive in the server does not support bootable CD-ROMs and you cannot use the Novell Client or IP Server Connection Utility, you must locate and load the DOS drivers to access the CD-ROM after the server is booted. If, like many users today, you've forgotten everything you ever knew about the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, it's best if you start the installation from a bootable CD-ROM.
Preparing Client Computers
NetWare 6 has more stringent hardware requirements for server computers than any prior version of NetWare. On the other hand, its supported client configurations are much more comprehensive than earlier versions, providing easy integration with existing networks of all types.
You prepare Windows client computers for the NetWare 6 installation by installing the Novell Client for the Windows family. In other words, Windows 98 client computers require the Novell Client for Windows 95/98, and Windows 2000 clients use the Novell Client for Windows NT/2000. A client workstation must have at least 24MB of memory for this installation, and each of these operating systems has its own minimum memory requirements that are more than 24MB. Put simply, if the computer runs with the operating system installed, the Novell Client for Windows can also be installed.
As discussed in Chapter 2, "NetWare 6 Overview," NetWare 6 includes native file access support for Apple Macintosh, Windows, and a variety of Unix computers. Unix support also means that Linux workstations are able to use NetWare file services. In fact, a NetWare 6 server configured to use the new Net features can be accessed by virtually any type of computer over the Internet.