Connecting to Resources

Connecting to Network Directories

Connecting from a workstation to a network directory is similar for NetWare and LAN Manager workstations. The workstation user assigns a local drive letter to the network directory. With NetWare, the workstation user uses the map command; with LAN Manager, the user uses the net use command or the Microsoft Windows File Manager. In both types of workstations, the user can connect to network directories using command-line commands and logon script commands.

One difference lies in exactly which of the server's directories the user can assign a drive letter to. With NetWare, the user can assign a drive letter to a directory anywhere in the file server's directory tree (as long as the user has access rights to the directory). With LAN Manager, the user can assign drive letters only to certain directories: the directories that the administrator has shared. The user can still access subdirectories of shared directories but cannot assign a drive letter directly to those subdirectories.

In the following illustration, DATA is the shared directory. Users can connect to DATA and assign a drive letter to it. Users can also access the YEAR1992, YEAR1993, and JANUARY directories, but cannot assign drive letters directly to them. For example, if the user assigns drive F to DATA, the YEAR1992 directory would be referenced as F:\YEAR1992.

Figure A-1 Title not available (Connecting to Network Directories)

A Windows NT or LAN Manager server administrator can share two or more directories in the same directory tree. For example, both the DATA and JANUARY directories in this example could be shared.

Network Paths

A network path is the full name of a network file or directory. NetWare has different formats for network paths than Windows NT and LAN Manager.

NetWare uses this format:

servername\volume:directory\subdirectory\filename

For example:

product\sys:public\terryn\file.doc

Windows NT and LAN Manager use this format:

\\servername\sharename\subdirectory\filename

For example:

\\product\public\terryn\file.doc

For a LAN Manager for UNIX Systems server, the servername ends with a .serve extension.

The sharename is a name you assign to a shared directory when you share it. This name distinguishes the shared directory from other shared directories on the server. The sharename can be the same as the name of the directory, or it can be different (but no two shared directories on a single server can have the same sharename). For example, in the previous illustration, when you share the DATA directory, you could give it the sharename DATA or use a different sharename.

Search Drives

With NetWare, a user can have search drive connections in addition to regular connections. Search drives are the network drives NetWare searches when the user requests an application that isn't in the current directory. This allows the user to use applications and utilities in one directory while working in another.

To implement search drive capability in LAN Manager workstations, use the MS-DOS path command. This creates a search path (also called a path) for the user, which is a list of directories MS-DOS searches when the user starts an application or batch program.

To put a network directory in a user's search path, assign a local drive letter to that directory, and then add it to the path command. For example, to add the \\SALES\PUBLIC\TOOLS directory to a workstation's path, assign the drive letter M: to \\SALES\PUBLIC, and then add M:\TOOLS to the path command, as in the following example:

path=c:\lanman.dos\netprog;c:\;c:\dos;m:\tools

The path command usually appears in the workstation's AUTOEXEC.BAT file or in the user's logon script.

You can add the directory to the path command before assigning the local drive letter to the directory, if necessary. For example, you could put M:\TOOLS into path in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and then connect local drive M: to \\SALES\PUBLIC later, in a logon script.

Connecting to Network Printers

In both systems, a user connects to a printer by assigning a printer port (such as LPT1) to the network printer. With NetWare, the user does this with the capture command; with LAN Manager, the user uses the net use command from MS-DOS, or the Microsoft Windows Control Panel/Printers program.

Using Logon Scripts

With NetWare, Windows NT, and LAN Manager, a logon script can be run whenever a user logs on. The logon script (called a log-in script in NetWare) is a file that runs automatically whenever a user logs on. The logon script is most often used to set up network connections and the rest of the user's environment.

When a user logs on to a NetWare server, two log-in scripts are run: the system log-in script (a single script run for all users of the server) and an individualized script (different for each user).

With Windows NT and LAN Manager, only one logon script is run when a user logs on. The logon script for a particular user is defined in that user's account. You can create individualized scripts for each user, or you can create one standard script that will be run for all users, if you want consistency or simpler administration. In Windows NT, logon scripts are always run when a user logs on. In LAN Manager, logon scripts are run only if the Netlogon service is running on the network. For more information about the Netlogon service, see "Logging On," later in this appendix.

With Windows NT, any one of a domain's servers may authorize a user's logon attempt, so logon scripts for all user accounts in a domain must exist on every Windows NT Advanced Server in the domain. This is handled automatically by the Replication service.

NetWare logon scripts are sets of commands in NetWare's script language, and are interpreted and executed by the LOGIN.EXE utility when the user logs on. Windows NT and LAN Manager logon scripts, however, are usually MS-DOS or OS/2 batch programs (but they can also be executable files). Batch-file logon scripts can include LAN Manager commands and any operating system commands that are allowed in batch files.