Dennis Blackburn wrote in a message to All:
 DB> I am new to this echo and have a couple of questions to
 DB> throw out for some help and advice.
 DB> I am the de facto administrator for our small LAN.  We run
 DB> NetWare 3.11 for 13 workstations and one server.  It has
 DB> been in place for about 4 years and we just upgraded the
 DB> server (went from a 486SX @ 33MHz w/ 8MB RAM to a Pro 200MHz
 DB> w/ 64MB RAM).
Why?
 DB> The new unit has a CD-ROM with it that we
 DB> want to utilize.  However, 3.11 does not inherently support
 DB> it.  I have loaded the driver for it through the startup.ncf
 DB> (ATAPI) but need to be able to load the NLM for it.  Now it
 DB> gets really hard.  I have a copy of CDROM.NLM but Novell
 DB> says I need to load several patches first.  The first patch
 DB> is AFTER311.NLM.  Unfortunately when I load this I get an
 DB> error message saying this is not compatible with 3.11 and I
 DB> can not load the patch manager, the CD-ROM.NLM or any of the
 DB> other files it needs (can't remember what they are off the
 DB> top of my head right now.)  So far I have been unsuccessful
 DB> ins searching the web for any help.  Does anybody know where
 DB> I can look and/or what files I really need to get this
 DB> running?
Novell publishes the "Minimum Patch List" for each product on their web site 
at "http://support.novell.com/misc/patlst.htm".  As of right now, it is:
  NetWare 3.11
     311PTG.EXE   OS Patches                                 11NOV1996
     LIB311.EXE   CLIB Update for NetWare 3.11               21AUG1997
     VRP386.EXE   VREPAIR Update                             31JUL1997
     LANDR9.EXE   LAN Drivers                                21OCT1996
     PBURST.EXE   Packet Burst Update                        15JUN1994
     STRTL6.EXE   STREAMS.NLM- TLI.NLM- SPXS.NLM-IPXS.NLM    14NOV1997
     MON176.EXE   MONITOR.NLM v1.76                          18SEP1995
You will also need:
     CDUP5.EXE    CDROM.NLM and supporting files.            13NOV1997
The use of CDUP5 is clearly explained in Novell Technical Information 
Document (TID) 2932066.  Note especially that the use of the package is NOT 
SUPPORTED on NW 3.11, but only on 3.12 or later.  I can't speak to whether it 
works.
You can buy a CD-ROM external server from Microtest called the Discport.  
This allows connecting CD-ROM drives directly to your Ethernet wire, managed 
by the server.  This is a higher performance approach than running the CD-ROM 
drive in the server.
I strongly oppose doing anything with IDE in a file server, regardless of the 
operating system.  IDE ties up the system CPU doing I/O, while SCSI is a 
message-based scheme with intelligently managed queues.  If you try to mount 
an IDE CD-ROM drive as a network resource, you will paralyze the server every 
time you do a physical read from the mounted CD-ROM.  The cheap way out is 
not the best way out, and you should be well aware of this.
 DB> For present we are staying with 3.11 because it works,
 DB> except for this.  We may migrate to NT within the next year
 DB> only because our major database software is moving to a
 DB> windoze format and they software company says it will run
 DB> better on NT.  They also expect to develop it into a
 DB> wireless program that will have to run on NT for some as yet
 DB> unexplainable reason  (except for the program they will use
 DB> to make it wireless needs NT).  After trying to take a class
 DB> on NT administration (instructor knows NT but is NOT a
 DB> teacher) I need to advise the bosses on what we should do. 
This is a difficult question.  If you are running software that is tied to 
NW, then your decision is made and you should not change to NT without 
expecting to incur huge costs.  If you are sticking with NW, I strongly 
suggest that you consider a migration to NW 4.11, especially if you are 
contemplating running a database application server.  NDS, although requiring 
some insight and understanding to use effectively, is extremely powerful 
beyond any facility currently available for NT.
I have long stated my firm belief that NW will outperform NT on any given 
hardware.  That said, you may have other valid reasons for changing to NT if 
there is some software you need to support.  I generally oppose migrations 
from NW to NT without a very good reason, since NT has significantly greater 
administrative demands than NW.
 DB> Also how important is the workstation platform?  Do I need
 DB> to use DOS/Win 3.1, Win 95, or NT?  I like the VDMs that NT
 DB> runs under, and with some of our fumble  fingered users that
 DB> could come in real handy.
You can use any supported client platform for either NW or NT servers.
 
-- Mike
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