Can I set up NetWare services under Linux?

ME dugan at passwall.com
Wed Aug 1 15:16:33 PDT 2001


On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Lincoln Peters wrote:
> I am trying to network my Linux computers (all running RedHat 7.1 except for 
> my router) with a Windows 3.11 system.  I have successfully installed a Fast 
> Ethernet card and the network driver in Windows 3.11, but it expects me to 
> be running some kind of a NetWare server.  Apparently, it doesn't even 
> support Windows NT!

Windows 3.11 may not support "windows file sharing" (95,98,ME,NT,2k)
unless it is Windows for Workgroups (a pseudo 32-bit in-between in the
history of MS products meants to kind of bridge Windows 3.11 to Windows
95.)

If you have Windows for Workgroups 3.11 then you should be able to use
Samba on your Linux box and once properly configured, be able to share
files from Linux to your Windows for Workgroup box. (There was no network
neighborhood as I recall. You needed to issue "net use" commands from a
dosbox or shell in the network active WfWG3.11.

If you do not have Windows for Worgroups 3.11, but instead have just the
plain old Windows 3.11, then I do not think "windows filesharing" is built
into the system as-is from MS. (As you mention, Novell Netware support may
be available for your Windows 3.11 box (non workgroups version.)

Samba does not (or at least did not last time I checked) support windows
file sharing over IPX/SPX w/ NetBIOS over IPX/SPX.

> I know that Linux supports the IPX protocol (used on NetWare networks), but 
> can a Linux box actually function as a NetWare server like it can function 
> as a Windows NT server using Samba?  If so, what do I need to provide 
> NetWare services and how do I set it up?  And would an IPX/SPX network 
> disrupt my existing TCP/IP network if they ran on the same physical 
> Ethernet?

IPX/SPX is kind of like TCP/IP when examining where they "work" on a 5
layer model for networking. (I prefer SPX/IPX but people look at me funny
when I say that as it is not the standard way of referring to it. :-)
( http://mike.passwall.com/networking/netmodels/tcpip5layermodel.html )

Many people and campuses run multiple layer 3 and layer 4 protocols over
the same layer 2/layer 1 media. Our campus has several which include
AppleTalk, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI (limited), TCP/IP and a whole slew of others -
mostly related to ancient systems or routing stuff. You *can* run many of
these protocols over Ethernet on the same physical wire and see it work.
When you have a choice, limiting the number of layer 3/4 protocols on your
net makes network troubleshooting easier. Many newer campuses have just
chosen to go with TCP/IP only on desktop machines.

As for what you can do with Linux and IPX/SPX... When you compile your own
kernel, and you get to the section on the IPX/SPX protocol, here is what
it says:
----
IPX networking
CONFIG_IPX
  This is support for the Novell networking protocol, IPX, commonly
  used for local networks of Windows machines. You need it if you want
  to access Novell NetWare file or print servers using the Linux
  Novell client ncpfs (available via FTP (user: anonymous) from
  ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/filesystems/) or from within
  the Linux DOS emulator DOSEMU (read the DOSEMU-HOWTO, available in
  ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO). In order to do the
  former, you'll also have to say Y to "NCP filesystem support",
  below.

  IPX is similar in scope to IP, while SPX, which runs on top of IPX,
  is similar to TCP. There is also experimental support for SPX in
  Linux (see "SPX networking", below).

  To turn your Linux box into a fully featured NetWare file server and
  IPX router, say Y here and fetch either lwared from
  ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/network/daemons/ or mars_nwe
  from ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/ncpfs. For more information,
  read the IPX-HOWTO in ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO.


  General information about how to connect Linux, Windows machines and
  Macs is on the WWW at http://www.eats.com/linux_mac_win.html (to
  browse the WWW, you need to have access to a machine on the Internet
  that has a program like lynx or netscape). 
[chop!]
----
There is also info for the other IPX/SPX options you can enable for your
system.

My impression of the present state of IPX/SPX (+NCP) with Linux (have not
used it in 2.2 or 2.4) is that Linux may act as a *client* to a Novell
Netware server. The above text mentions support for making your Linux box
into a server/router, but also mentions you will need other packages
9applications and possibly modules) to make this happen. (You will also
want to enable ncp support as a client with Linux of a Novell Netware
network.)

If you really must use Windows, and want to do the filesharing with Linux,
the minimum I would try would be Windows for Workgroups 3.11. I would
expect that Windows 3.11 could be *made* to do windows filesharing to a
Linux box (possibly with 3rd party software) but it is likely not worth
your time. If you like Windows 3.11 GUI (ewwww) then you can always choose
to use that GUI when installing windows 95. (Yes, you can choose it as
the alternate GUI near the end of the install instead of the 95 gui.)

Windows 95 would be my choice as a minimum for using windows filesharing
*if* I had to use windows. Windows 95 with the Windows 95+ GUI includes
that "nifty" Network Neighborhood. Certainly, you can use the "net"
command with things like "net view" to find computers with WfWG, but the
NN in Win95 is easier than the DOS commands.

We eliminated our Novell Netware servers long ago and I have not had the
slightest desire to go back and look at including support for this in
Linux again. (This means I have not used the packages for addition to
Linux to make the Linux box into a function router/server with Novell
Netware clients connecting to it and would prob not be able to offer much
help here.) 

Novell Netware is not too popular right now, but you have a *slim* chance
someone else here has used it with Linux as you desire, and is willing to
talk about it.

Hope this helps,
-ME

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