Novell's CNE Study Set -- IntranetWare/NetWare 4.11FTP Services for IntranetWare

A supplement to Novell's CNE Study Set -- IntranetWare/NetWare 4.11
by David James Clarke, IV

Featuring: 

The final component in IntranetWare's global electronic village is a bridge to the sometimes understandable, always bizarre, world of Unix. FTP Services for IntranetWare is a subset of the NetWare Unix Print Services 2.11 product that allows TCP/IP clients to use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to transfer files within their corporate intranet or on the global Internet. 

The FTP file transfer service consists of two modules: 

  • INETD.NLM -- is the FTP agent module. INETD monitors the IntranetWare TCP/IP connection for incoming FTP requests. When a client initiates an FTP session, it automatically loads FTPSERV.NLM. 
  • FTPSERV.NLM -- is the FTP server module. It provides the File Transfer Protocol services to IntranetWare clients. The server allows up to 64 client sessions to be active at one time. To optimize server memory, FTPSERV is unloaded when no active FTP sessions exist. 
At its most basic level, FTP Services for IntranetWare allows TCP/IP clients to upload and download files using friendly browsers (such as Netscape Navigator) or FTP clients. It's a fast and efficient protocol for routing files through cyberspace. 

In this section, we'll explore a number of important activities concerning FTP Services: 

Installing FTP Services 
Configuring FTP Services 
Using FTP Services 
Troubleshooting FTP Services 

Installing FTP Services 

FTP Services is installed on the foundation of Novell's Internet Access Server (NIAS). To support FTP Services for IntranetWare, your server must be running NetWare 4.1 or later, have an additional 12MB of available RAM, and provide 5MB of disk space on the SYS: volume. Additionally, the server must be configured with TCP/IP (refer to the "Understanding TCP/IP" section for more details). 

Before installing the FTP server, you must load NFS name space and add it to the volume where FTP files will be stored. You can accomplish this entering the following commands at the file server console: 

  • LOAD NFS.NAM 
  • ADD NAME SPACE NFS TO SYS: 
Replace SYS: with the name of the volume being configured for FTP Services for IntranetWare. Also, make sure you add the LOAD NFS.NAM command to STARTUP.NCF. Don't worry about the second command, because it is only executed once.
 
REAL WORLD
You can set up and access a Novell FTP Server without NFS name space, but anonymous users won't be able to access FTP files. In this case, users must authenticate with their NDS username and password. Then, the FTP Server will dump them in their home directory, by default. 

Now that the IntranetWare server is ready, it's time to install FTP Services. (See Novell's CNE Study Guide for IntranetWare/NetWare 4.11, pages 1170-1171.) 
During FTP installation, you'll have to make two important naming decisions: DNS and NIS. The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed database that provides host information. Using DNS, FTP Services can locate other computers on the network. Network Information Services (NIS) is a distributed database that provides common information such as user and group data. Using NIS, FTP Services obtains information about users and groups from a central location. During installation of FTP Services for IntranetWare, you'll be asked where to store the DNS and NIS databases. Refer to the previously mentioned book for more information. 

Regardless of the option you choose, UNICON.NLM will be available for database customization. Let's take a closer look. 

Configuring FTP Services 

Once the Novell FTP server has been installed, it's time to customize file transfer options. This is accomplished this using the UNICON.NLM server utility. UNICON allows you to: 

  • Manage the FTP Server 
  • Create FTP users 
  • Set File Permissions 
The fun begins at the FTP server. To access the FTP Server Configuration screen, load UNICON.NLM at the console. Then, select Manage Services, FTP Server, and finally, Set Parameters. The various configuration options for the Novell FTP server are described in Table 540SG-7. Once you're comfortable with the FTP server settings, you can begin creating user accounts. Let's start with Anonymous. 
Table 540SG.7: Novell FTP Server Configuration Parameters
Server Parameter Description
Maximum Number of Sessions The number of FTP client sessions that can be active concurrently. Range: 1 to 64.
Maximum Session Length The length of time a client can remain connected to the FTP server. Range: 0 to 99,999 minutes.
Idle Time Before FTP Server Unloads The interval between total client inactivity and FTPSERV.NLM unloading. Range: -1 to 60 minutes.
Anonymous User Access  Allows or prevents anonymous logins to the FTP server. 
Default User's Home Directory  The directory users will be placed upon logging into the FTP server. 
Anonymous User's Home Directory  The directory anonymous users will be placed upon logging into the FTP server. 
Default Name Space Determines which name space will be active when a client initiates a session. Range: DOS or NFS.
Intruder Detection  Enables or disables Intruder Detection. Additionally, two related parameters allow you to specify the number of unsuccessful login attempts allowed within a specified time period.
Log Level Determines what, if any, information is written to a log file maintained on the FTP server. Options include None, Statistics, Logins, and File.

Once you've configured the FTP server, you'll need to enable an Anonymous User account so clients can access FTP files. (See Novell's CNE Study Guide for IntranetWare/NetWare 4.11, pages 1171-1173.)

 
TIP
In addition to Anonymous, you can create as many FTP users as you want. Simply select the Username field under NetWare User Information within UNICON.NLM. 
Once you've created FTP users, you need to make sure they have appropriate permissions to FTP files. You can do this by using the View/Set File Permissions menu within UNICON.NLM. You can customize any of the following three NFS permissions for Users (U), Groups (G), and/or Other (O): 
  • read (r) allows the User, Group, or Other to see the contents of the file and make copies of it. 
  • write (w) allows the User, Group, or Others to modify the contents of the file or delete it. 
  • execute (x) allows the User, Group, or Others to execute the file. 

Using FTP Services 

The nice thing about FTP Services for IntranetWare is that it supports any standard Web browser (such as Netscape Navigator). With Navigator, you can browse, download from, and/or upload to the Novell FTP server. All you need is the IP address. 

As you can see in Figure 540SG-15, FTP directories appear as folder icons, and files appear as documents. In this example, we've located the Learning-Ware.com FTP server by typing the following URL into Navigator's Location field: 

ftp://206.127.205.130
Figure 540SG-15

Figure 540SG-15: Accessing FTP Services with Netscape Navigator

Netscape Navigator automatically logs you into the FTP server as the special user named Anonymous. This dumps you into the default root directory as specified by UNICON. If you'd like to access the FTP server using a specific username, try the following syntax: 

ftp://david@206.127.205.130
In this case, David is an NDS User object associated with a specific FTP username and different default directory structure. In addition, if "David" has a password, you'll be prompted to enter it. This way, you can restrict certain areas of the FTP server to specific authorized users. 

Once you've accessed an FTP server, you'll notice that all directories and files appear as underlined hyperlinks. Furthermore, your browser cursor will become a "hand" when you approach the link. This means you can do two things to FTP Server objects: 

  • Download the files -- Click the document hyperlink, and Navigator offers you two choices. Choose Save as and identify a local directory. You can also click on Folder Lengths to access a different subdirectory structure. 
  • Launch an application -- You can also launch applications directly from the FTP server by clicking the link and identifying a local associated application. 
Finally, you can upload files to an FTP server using Netscape Navigator. Simply navigate to the destination FTP directory and choose Upload from the File menu, browse to the file you want to upload, and double-click it. 

As you can see, FTP Services for IntranetWare integrates seamlessly into your native Windows-based browser. It's a fast and efficient way to publish documents and/or make them available as binary files. Now, let's finish our journey through IntranetWare's virtual directory structure, with a quick look at troubleshooting. 

Troubleshooting FTP Services 

Like Novell's Web Server, the IntranetWare FTP server is robust and reliable; however, it's not fool-proof. Most FTP-related problems deal with communication and configuration errors. Oh, yeah, there are user errors, too, of course. Let's take a quick look at the five most common FTP problems: 

  • Network failure 
  • FTP Server not running 
  • Overloaded FTP Servers 
  • FTP configuration errors 
  • User error 
Network Failure
If you're having problems accessing a specific FTP Server, consider using WINPING.EXE to verify the continuity of network communications. This utility is explained earlier in the "IPX/IP Gateway" section. 

If the PING test fails, the FTP problem is probably network-related. 

FTP Server Not Running

If you determine that the network is running fine, your FTP server may be down. Verify its cyber-existence by performing the following steps at the FTP server: 

  1. Load UNICON.NLM at the server console. 
  2. From the main menu, select Start/Stop Services. 
  3. Verify that the FTP server is present in the Running Services List. If it is missing, press Ins then select FTP Server from the Available Services list. 
Overloaded FTP Server 

Most FTP servers have a CNE-imposed limit on the maximum number of concurrent client connections. This is all part of the delicate balance between FTP server availability and performance. 

If you attempt to connect to an FTP server that has no client sessions available, you'll receive one of a variety of error messages: 

  • Netscape Navigator - "FTP Server has no available connections. Try again later." 
  • LAN Workplace for DOS - "I/O Error - connection lost." 
In addition to unavailable client connections, high network traffic can also overload FTP servers. If file transfer performance is extremely slow, you may consider increasing the speed of Internet/intranet links or available RAM on the server. 

FTP Configuration Errors

FTP configuration errors can occur either on the client or on the server. An improperly configured FTP client can prevent the user from connecting to FTP servers. First, ask yourself, "Is the client TCP/IP protocol stack loaded?" If so, make sure it's configured properly with the correct IP address, subnet mask, and default router information. Finally, make sure the client NIC is configured for the appropriate TCP/IP frame type. You can verify that the client is communicating properly by performing a PING test with WINPING.EXE or Windows 95's built-in WINIPCFG. 

If a user is unable to connect to a particular FTP server, however there might be a problem with the server configuration. First, make sure the user isn't restricted by checking the SYS:ETC\RESTRICT.FTP file. If a user is able to access the FTP server but unable to download a particular file, you may have an attribute problem. Make sure the file is not flagged with the Read Only file attribute. Also, shared FTP documents may often require the Sharable attribute as well. 

User Error

If the problem isn't with the network, FTP server, or client, there's only one candidate left -- the user. As you can imagine, many problems result from inexperienced or improperly trained FTP users. Here's a quick list of questions to ask complaining FTP users: 

  • Was the FTP server name specified correctly? 
  • Did the user attempt to use a DNS name when an IP address was required? 
  • Was the proper account name specified when the user attempted to log into the FTP server? (In some cases, especially with FTP Services for IntranetWare, users must provide their full distinguished NDS name.) 
  • Was the proper password specified when the user attempted to log into the FTP server? 
  • If a file transfer failed, did the user have the appropriate rights to create a file in the destination directory? 
  • If all else fails, scrap cyberspace and buy the user a typewriter! 
This completes our discussion of file transfer in IntranetWare's global electronic village. Remember, FTP Services for IntranetWare fits very well into our three-component cyberspace model. With this component, files appear as hyperlink documents using the same Novell Web Server browser. In fact, all three components work in synergy to provide transparent access to the information superhighway. 

Here's how it works: 

  • TCP/IP Protocol -- provides the "concrete" of the information superhighway. This is the protocol that routes messages between clients and services. 
  • IPX/IP Gateway -- is the "bridge" between the information superhighway and distributed Web sites. Through this bridge, IPX-based clients can cruise the IP-based highway and access Novell Web or FTP servers. 
  • The Novell Web Server -- publishes multimedia, HTML documents from an IntranetWare server. These are the "buildings" that give our global electronic village form and function. 
  • FTP Services for IntranetWare -- is a second kind of cyberspace "building" that provides distributed TCP/IP clients with a virtual directory structure. Using FTP, IntranetWare clients can download files, upload documents, or launch applications from anywhere on the Net. 
In the introduction, we described IntranetWare as the foundation of Novell's global electronic village. Hopefully, now you have an appreciation for how it works. This is by far the most synergized intranet/Internet solution ever conceived. 

Surf's up! 

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