From: nygard@MAILBOX.MAIL.UMN.EDU (Steve Nygard)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.novell
Subject: Networking Saga (Please read last paragraph if nothing else)
Date: 21 Jul 92 23:19:05 GMT

At first setting up a network seemed relatively easy.  Install the cards, 
fileserver, set up the workstations then enjoy the connectivity.  WRONG.

Our origional plans were to set up a Novell network, and also use the TCP/IP
drivers (Clarkson/Crynwr) to allow users access to CUFS (TN3270), AIS, and 
telnet for Lumina, and of course Gopher and POPmail.  Sounds easy right?

(Telnet and TN3270 are the NCSA versions obtained from the microcenter)

I initially used the following configuration with quite a bit of success in 
a Windows 3.1 environment.

wd8003e -w -n 0x60 10 0x300 0xcc00
ipxbyu
bnetx (and netx)

With this setup I was able to use windows to concurrently access the file 
server and use any of the TCP/IP driven programs in a full screen DOS 
window or a windowe'd DOS window.  It was great, no kinks, and never 
bomb Windows.

However, ipxbyu is a hack, and not vender supported, and the same with the 
wd8003e driver.  So in the long run, this is not a very good solution.

Then I came across a PS/2 55sx that the wd8003e driver would not recognize 
so I investigated other methods for TCP/IP support.   Naturally I tried out 
the packet driver that came with the card. (I am specifically talking 
about SMC cards)  It was easy to use and you did not have to pass any 
values to it.  Neat I thought.  But it caused TN3270, or any TCP/IP based 
programs to bomb Windows, without any warning the user would be dropped 
back to the C:\ prompt.  Not so good I thought.  I then tried the 8003pkdr 
driver on the AT bus style computers in the following configuration:

ipx                                ipx
netx (and bnetx)            and    8003pkdr
8003pkdr                           netx (and bnetx)

Again, no such luck.  TN3270 sessions would crash windows when the user 
either switched back to the program manager, or if they windowed the DOS 
window.  And sometimes just randomly if the user just waited long enough.
Again the crash was either back to the C:\ prompt or the whole computer 
just froze.  

So I looked for another route.   I sat myself down and read through 300 
articles in the comp.sys.novell and found two people who looked to have 
gone through similar situations as me.  I got plenty of help and direction 
from one of them and he directed me in the use of the ODI drivers.   So I 
thought, great, ODI, what Novell is most likely moving towards, no more 
WSGEN, and no more finding the current .obj and .lan files.  

ODI installed and ready I tried it out.  Seemed simple, but it too mimicked 
the same Window breaking results.  Back to square 1.

I'm kinda at a loss on how to implement TN3270 for our college or any 
TCP/IP based program, I was counting on being able to install all the 
drivers, bring up Windows and let the users connect to any TCP/IP based 
program and switch between programms. 

Our file server is an IBM model 80, running Novell 3.11, a SMC MCA Elite 
Eithernet card, and using frame ETHERNET_802.3.  I have yet to read up on 
the differences between 802.3 and ethernet_ii  And I tried using 
ethernet_ii and the configurations above, again, with no success.

Our workstations are PS/2s and IBM 386 clones using the SMC Elite cards.
(I've tried tons of different configurations on these cards, changing the
 IRQs, different Memory I/Os, RAM Based addressing, etc... No luck)

My guess is that from the size of this University (and country), someone 
must be using SMC network cards, running Windows 3.1, AND using TCP/IP 
support in some manner in which we need to use it.  If you are out there, 
please contact me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Nygard                           Administrative Data Management
College of Human Ecology                       University of Minnesota
1985 Buford Ave, 32 McNeal Hall                 St. Paul Campus, 55018
internet:nygard@mailbox.mail.umn.edu              BITNET:s-nyga@uminn1
                                                        (612) 624-3041
Newsgroups: comp.sys.novell