The Enterprise Server installation is performed from a Windows 95/98 or NT Workstation client running, Client32. If you don’t have the latest NetWare client installed on your workstation, the installation may fail after it’s about half way done, returning a "Can’t move file" error message. For a browser you must use Netscape 3.x or above (Netscape Communicator 4.04 is included on the Enterprise Server CD).

The target server machine must be correctly configured for IPX and be running NetWare 4.11 or higher. It must also be running CLIB 4.11J, which is included as part of this release and, if necessary, is installed during setup. The server also needs to have long file name support added to the necessary volumes. If your server doesn’t have long file name support already installed, the Enterprise Server installation program will prompt you and install it for you.

You must also have Novell’s NLDAP gateway installed on the server if you want to integrate users and groups with NDS via the administration server. The NLDAP gateway can be downloaded from the Novell Web site http://www.novell.com. You must have a minimum of 32 MB of RAM, plus an additional 32MB is required if you are going to run the Oracle server in addition to Enterprise Server; 64 MB recommended.

You need to have at least 100 MB space on the SYS: volume.

When installing and configuring Enterprise Server, make sure you have administrative rights to the SYS volume of the target server. You will also need to have a working knowledge of TCP/IP and know the IP address for the server (install will configure IP even if it is not running), the netmask of the IP network to which the target server is attached, the IP gateway providing service to the target server, and the DNS host name for the target server and at least one DNS server that the target server will use for IP address resolution.

During the installation, you must choose Root as the context, and the NLMs must be installed to the SYS:System directory. The Novonyx directory must also reside in the SYS volume. Your document directories, however, can reside anywhere on the network. The installation program will locate any IP addresses if they already exist. The hostname is the same as the IP address if no domain exists. The Admin port must be a number that you remember, as it is required when attaching to the Administration Server. Superuser is normally the same as your NDS Admin user. Be sure to have the installation program update NetBasic.

After installing Enterprise Server, the target NetWare server's AUTOEXEC.NCF file is modified to automatically load the web server. You can also load the web server manually by typing NSWEB from the server console. To unload the web server you can type NSWEBDN from the server console, which will unload the web server and the administration server.

In most cases it’s best not to have it modify the NCF files because, if you’re using database applications, the database must be mounted before you load the web server. This is because Javascript makes the connection. If, in your JavaScript code, you have it assign five database connections, it opens all of them as soon as the application loads and keeps them open all the time. It doesn’t dynamically open and close connections.

If TCP/IP was not configured on the target server prior to installation, the installation program will modify either the AUTOEXEC.NCF file or the SYS:ETC\NET.CFG file to load and bind IP. It will insert any other necessary parameters such as netmask, gateway, and the DNS server into the configuration file. This configuration file may be modified by loading INETCFG.NLM at the console.

There are a few very important steps which must be taken in order to configure your Oracle database.

Load NSWEB. This is an NCF file which is executed from the NetWare server’s command prompt.

Configure The Oracle Listener and Database Alias. This is accomplished using the EASYCFG.NCF file, which is executed on the NetWare server’s command prompt. Figure 3 shows the NetWare screen that loads when you execute EASYCFG.

The IPC address installs automatically, and you can add an SPX address as well, but you need to add the TCP address, using the same IP address as your NetWare server or DNS server name. This tells Oracle to listen for queries made to that specific IP address.

Perhaps the most confusing configuration requirement is creating an alias. This alias can reference Oracle anywhere on the network, even it’s running on another Windows NT or Unix server. But there has to be an entry on this machine to reference that server. The Oracle server may (as in our example), but doesn’t have to physically reside on the same server as Enterprise Server. But you must have SQL*Net loaded and configured. If your database isn’t on the same server as Enterprise Server, you wouldn’t configure any listeners–just an alias.

The listener references only the physical machine. The alias represents any Oracle databases you have. It connects to the database server using SQL*Net, wherever it’s located. If you have SQL*Net but no database, you’d have no listeners. But you would have aliases that represent Oracle located on a different server.

From the NetWare server command console you must load the NWDBMGR.NLM file. This loads the NetWare Database Manager utility, as shown below.

There are a number of things you can do from here, but the most important is to start the database. With the database started, you’re now ready to move onto the client-side configuration.

There are two technologies used to connect remote workstations to a LAN: remote control and remote node (also called dial-up networking). Configuration

With the server portion of Oracle and Enterprise Server installed and configured, you must configure the client software to access the database.

Netscape Administration Server. The Administration Server is for general administration of the web server, and controls all Netscape servers installed on that server. It runs on a specific IP address and port number, which you specify during the installation. Allowing you to provide a unique port number adds an extra layer of security because, unless an intruder knows what port number to connect to, they wouldn’t be able to connect to the Admin Server.

To connect to the Administration Server, simply point the browser at the server by typing in the DNS name or IP address for the target NetWare server in the browser's address field, followed by a colon and the port number chosen during installation. For example:

The web server will respond with a request to authenticate the user. Enter the username and password chosen during installation. The server can now be configured using the Netscape administration tools. After changes have been made, the web server will have to be restarted.

The first screen presented upon connection to the web server is the General Administration menu. It allows you to shut down Enterprise or Messaging Server from a remote location and start it back up without requiring you physically be at the server. The General Administration interface also has buttons that allow you to control any of the different Netscape servers that you may have on your network. There are additional options for configuring your server.

The Admin Preferences button allows you to set up a Superuser. Unlike NDS, you cannot distribute administrative tasks. Security access all or nothing.

The Global Settings button is where you decide if you want to use a local database for your security, an LDAP compliant directory, LDAP to NDS gateway, Active Directory, or native NDS. If you use native NDS, it bypasses all the Netscape security and uses NDS directly. There are currently several strengths and weaknesses to each option:

The Users & Groups button allows you to manage access to the web server. An advantage of the LDAP scenario is that it provides rules for multiple access control. A user can have different rights depending on the domain they’re in. This is not possible with NDS. You can also add users and groups, but it is important to note that with the current LDAP gateway you can add users, but not assign passwords.

Also noteworthy is that the current product enters the user’s full name as the user ID, rather than using the user ID field. This is a limitation of Novell’s current LDAP gateway implementation. A new version (1.1) will allow you to add passwords through this interface, and the user ID will map up properly. This new version will make it possible to add users, groups, and OUs to NDS through the Netscape Administration Server, allowing you to perform minor management of your entire NetWare network through the Admin Server interface.

The Keys & Certificates button is where you manage aliases and configure SSL and key generation for intranet sites. But if your web server is on the Internet you will need to get a certificate from Verisign (SP?) or a similar service and install it here.

The Cluster Management button allows you to have and manage multiple enterprise servers on your network. And you can manage them all from a single interface. The only limitation is that the servers must run on NetWare—you can’t manage Enterprise Servers on NT or Unix from this interface.

Database Connectivity using Javascript Application Manager. Configuring database access to your web server is perhaps the most error-prone portion of setting up Netscape Enterprise Server. To access the configuration screen, go to the main Server Administration screen and click on the gray button with the name of the NetWare server you want to configure. In Figure 1, our NetWare server appears as Doug1. Next select the Programs button on the top of the screen followed by Server Side Javascript on the left frame. This is where you control and configure the data connectivity with Javascript. The Server Side Javascript application environment must be enabled here.

Application Manager. Clicking on the http://…/appmgr/ link in the middle of the screen connects you to a JavaScript application called Application Manager. The JavaScript Application Manager presents you with a list of the different Javascript applications that are on your server, and you can start, stop, restart, run, debug, or modify the applications. The built-in maximum data connection displayed in the center frame only takes affect if you’re not using DbPool, a JavaScript object that establishes a pool of database connections. If you don’t have a DBPool object and you’re making a direct connection, it will use the built-in maximum database connections. Otherwise it will use what you’ve set up in your code.

From your client’s browser, you need to access the Javascript Application Manager tool previously discussed (http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/appmgr/). In the list of available Javascript applications there are two important ones: dbadmin and VJSmetadata.

If you highlight the dbadmin Javascript and click on Run, you will be presented with a Database Administration Functions screen that allows you to test the connection to your database. Click on the Connect to Database link to bring you to the following screen:

From here you can input the information specific to your database. If, after clicking on the Connect button, this results in a Database Connect Error, then you need to go back and verify your database configuration options. But hopefully you will be presented with an Execute Query screen.

The VJSmetadata Javascript is what Visual Script uses to run the application development tools that it has. Successful execution of this script shows you the tables in your database. When you highlight VJSmetadata and click Run, you are prompted for specific information, as shown below:

If you are unable to view your database tables, you need to go back and verify the requested information on the server.

If you are having difficulties connecting your Netscape Enterprise Server to your Oracle database, please confirm the following:

1. On your NetWare server, you must have Oracle and Netscape Enterprise Server installed and loaded.

2. Server-side database configuration.

3. From a Windows 95 or NT client workstation with a browser, connect to the Administration Server by entering the following in the address bar of your browser:

http://TCP/IP-address:PortNumber

The TCP/IP address is the address of the NetWare server running Enterprise Server, and the Port Number is defined during installation of Enterprise Server.