wireless / novell issue 1

[ktai]

Hi,
In our 700+ user school, many computers cannot authenticate to our netware servers using the wireless network. All of the computers have Microsoft's client for netware networks and work just fine when using a hardwired connection. The strange thing is that some computers are able to authenticate and others just can't. All of the wireless settings are managed by windows rather than 3rd party software and all of our computers have static IP addresses. We have been having this problem for about a year now and I really want to find out why. I should also mention that when they login, it gives a message that it cannot find the tree and context, so the comptuers cannot access files on the netware servers or print to any networked printers, but they can access the internet. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[LawnBoy]

First I would try Novell's client for Windows. MS doesn't include a lot of functionality.

If that doesn't help, what protocols are you running? IPX? Pure IP? A mixture? There's no real reason to run IPX anymore. IP and properly configured SLP should solve your problem.

 

[TheLad]

With the wireless connection, it has to have time to initialise the connection. What you could do to help it on it's way is to use the Novell Client and type the IP Address of your server into the server field on the advanced section.

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"It's true, its damn true!"
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[marvhuffaker]

I hate wireless networks because they are so difficult to troubleshoot, they are extremely unreliable, and they are very flakey at staying attached to the network. Someone farts and it can kill the signal.

That aside, I have seen problems where the Wireless card isn't fully initialized when the login screen comes up. In fact, it seems like it didn't initialize until after the login. The solution? CAT5.


Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting, Inc.

http://www.redjuju.com/support

 

[iolair]

Marvin,
Thanks for the info on wireless. I was thinking about it, but after your post, I'm definitely going to go buy some more CAT5. You may have just saved me months of time. Now, if I could just get my boss to send you a check...........

Iolair MacWalter

 

[bobmothers]

Hi

We have much the same issue in my establishment. I get around it by disbaling the Initial Novell Login (Advanced Login Tab on the Netware Client Properties) and allow the users to authenticate to the W2K domain first. A shortcut to Novell login on the desktops then allows them to access Netware resources.

However, I also have a suite of mobile laptops using Linksys PCMCIA wireless cards, which connect through a Linksys LAN Access point at 54Mb, that do not have this problem.

Computers eh? Gotta Love 'em

Bob