Title: Troubleshooting LANtastic in a Wide Area Network Updated: 12/12/95 Analyst: AJ This bulletin presents technical information about one topic related to your LANtastic network. Bulletins are available to help you with many aspects of managing or enhancing your network and with the installation of many compatible products. Bulletins are available: - By fax from the Artisoft FaxReturn System at (520) 884-1397; request document 2 for a current list of all available bulletins, document 2001 for a list of compatible applications and other software, document 2044 for a list of compatible network interface cards and other hardware; - Through the Artisoft Home Page http://www.artisoft.com on the World Wide Web; - As ASCII text or Acrobat Text Enriched (PDF) files from the Artisoft Arti-Facts BBS at (520) 884-8648 (1200 baud - 28.8 Kbps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity, full duplex), the GO ARTISOFT forum on CompuServe, or the Artisoft anonymous FTP site ftp.artisoft.com; download !BLTXREF.TXT from the BULLETIN section for a current list of all available bulletins, APPCOM.TXT for a list of compatible applications and other software, NICCOM.TXT for a list of compatible network interface cards and other hardware. Troubleshooting LANtastic in a Wide Area Network This bulletin tells you how to troubleshoot LANtastic in a Wide Area Network (WAN). After following the steps below, you'll be able to identify and solve common problems. A WAN consists of at least two separate networks. To simplify this discussion, assume your WAN has two local area networks (LANs), A and B. Step 1: Before changing any settings make sure that each local area network is functioning correctly. Can you copy and/or print files from any workstation to the server on local network A? Can you do the same thing on local network B? If so, then each local area network is functioning correctly. If the computers on a LANtastic local network aren't communicating properly, see your LANtastic manuals for extensive troubleshooting techniques. The list below offers a few basic approaches to identifying and isolating problems: - Are you using the correct type of cabling (RG58 A/U or RG58 C/U for Coax, level 3 or higher for twisted pair)? Is the same type and quality of cabling used throughout the network? - Are the cables securely connected and properly terminated? - Do any other workstations have similar problems accessing files or the printer on the same server? - Are the IRQ, I/O Base and RAMBASE settings correct for each computer? - Are you using supported versions of DOS? (MS-DOS 3.1, 3.3, 4.01, 5.0 or 6.x) - Make sure no TSR's (terminate-and-stay-resident programs) are loading before the network software. You may need to edit your start up batch file (i.e., STARTNET.BAT, CONNECT.BAT or AUTOEXEC.BAT) so that the network software loads first. - Test the network with a "bare bones" configuration. Load only the drivers that MUST be loaded. If the network will load without a driver then test without that driver. If one of the local networks has problems and isn't a LANtastic network, contact your network administrator for troubleshooting steps and information. Step 2: If both local networks are running LANtastic and working fine separately, but computers in network A can't communicate with computers in network B, try physically moving a computer from network A to network B. Moving computers can help isolate problems with the WAN equipment (modem, router, etc.). This step also helps identify errors in protocol stacks, frame types, or other configuration settings in the computers you moved. - There may be a low level adapter driver mismatch. Examples of low level drivers are AEx, NR and NodeRUN. Make sure the versions of all the low level drivers match. The NetBIOS (AILANBIO) versions must also be the same. To find out the NetBIOS version, open a DOS box and type the following at the DOS prompt: CD \LANTASTI AILANBIO/DESC A line appears that looks similar to this: -- AI-LANBIOS(R) V4.06.xx --- The major version and subversion (i.e.,4.xx) of the Net BIOS should be the same on all the computers on the network. - Use the same procedure for your low level adapter driver. For example, if the computers have Artisoft NodeRunner/SI cards, type the following at the DOS prompt to determine the driver version: CD \LANTASTI NR/DESC A line appears that looks similar to this: ---NR V4.04.xx--- Again, make sure that the major version and subversion (i.e. 4.xx) are identical for all computers on the network that are using the same low level driver. - If a LANtastic computer won't connect to an NCP or SMB server (i.e. a Novell or Microsoft server), you can download the Artisoft bulletin "60IOP.TXT" from the ArtiFacts BBS for help with setting up the proper configuration. This file is also available from the other sites listed at the beginning of this document. - You may also need to upgrade your drivers. IPX routing support for Artisoft LANtastic networks was introduced with version 5.x and higher. SMB and NCP support was introduced with version 6.x and higher. For best results, download the latest enhancements/updates that have been added to LANtastic. If you're running LANtastic v6.0, you should download NTB600.EXE or NOS600.EXE. If you're using LANtastic Power Suite, the latest updates are in the file NOSPS.EXE. Step 3: Make sure that networks A and B are both set up for IPX routing. By definition, NetBIOS packets can't be routed. To route NetBIOS, the packets must be encapsulated within an IPX header. This feature is available in LANtastic v5.0 and higher. See the Artisoft bulletin IPXROT.TXT for detailed packet level information. To use IPX_Routing follow the bulleted steps below: - On every computer that will send LANtastic (NetBIOS) packets across the IPX router, add the following switches to the AILANBIO command in your STARTNET.BAT or AUTOEXEC.BAT file: AILANBIO /IPX_ROUTING /IPX_SIZE=xxx Note: The default IPX_SIZE is 1024. If you have access to a packet analyzer, you can check the size of each packet going across the IPX router. - Add the "IEEE" switch to the low-level driver command in your STARTNET.BAT or AUTOEXEC.BAT file: NEX000 /IEEE or NR /IEEE - To add the IEEE switch to an NDIS driver, modify the AI-NDIS BIND_TO=DRIVER_NIF command line. For example: AI-NDIS BIND_TO=AEXNDS_NIF /IEEE - You must use a router that supports IPX routing, and that's configured to route NetBIOS IPX packets (Novell Type 14H). - Finally, some routers don't support multicast packets. You may need to add the /NO_MULTICAST switch to the end of AILANBIO command line. This switch will disable support for multicast Ethernet addressing. IMPORTANT: All computers running LANtastic MUST use consistent switch settings in order to communicate with each other. If you add the /IPX_ROUTING and/or the /NO-MULTICAST switches to one LANtastic computer, you must add the switches to all LANtastic computers. Step 4: Reset and restart the WAN equipment. The WAN hardware (i.e. router, modem, etc.) may need to be turned off then turned on again. Some equipment can be reset by sending a command (for example, sending an "ATZ" or AT&F" to the modem.) Set the WAN equipment to its simplest state. For example, turn off all filtering on the router. This will turn the router into a bridge for testing purposes, and will help determine any filtering errors. Step 5: If the computers in networks A and B still aren't communicating with each other, check the WAN hardware (modems, routers, bridges, etc.). For further troubleshooting information on these hardware items, contact the manufacturers. ARTISOFT TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Artisoft offers a wide selection of technical support options. For information regarding technical support services, please refer to our Directory of Support Services, available where you obtained this bulletin. Request fax document 4, check Support & Services on the Artisoft Home Page, or download the file DIRLIST.TXT from the ArtiFacts BBS. You can also obtain Technical Support information by calling Artisoft at (520) 670-7000. Artisoft makes no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this document. Artisoft is not responsible for lost profit or revenue, loss of software use, loss of data, cost of re-creating data, cost of any substitute equipment or program, or any other claim. Artisoft makes no warranty that complying products will operate under any other conditions, or that products will satisfy requirements, or that products will be without defect or error, or that product operation will be uninterrupted. Artist's aggregate liability is limited to the total of payments made by the customer for the Artisoft product and Artisoft shall not in any case be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages, even if it has been advised of the possibility of those damages. LANtastic is a trademark of Artisoft, Inc. Brand names, company names, and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.