Readme.txt for Microsoft Business Solutions-Navision Database Server ============================================== Introduction ------------ This document is a plain text file that can be displayed with any text editor. It contains up-to-date information about the following topics: o How to set up network communications o How to test network communications o How to integrate the server with Active Directory In this document we assume that you have a good knowledge of personal computer hardware, LAN, NetBIOS or TCP/IP and the Windows operating system. Your dealer can help you install the server and client programs. How to Set Up Network Communications ------------------------------------ When the server program runs under Windows you can choose to use the NetBIOS or TCP/IP protocol. NetBIOS ------- NetBIOS can be any IBM/Microsoft compatible NetBIOS or Novell compatible NetBIOS. IBM/Microsoft NetBIOS and Novell NetBIOS are not compatible with each other, so you cannot run IBM NetBIOS on the server and Novell NetBIOS on a client. NetBIOS is included with the Windows operating systems. The server program will look at the license file to determine how many NetBIOS sessions it should allocate. The server program will allocate one NetBIOS session for each client session purchased, plus one extra. If there are not enough NetBIOS sessions available, you can overrule this allocation by using the server's SESSION parameter. Please see the manual "Installation and System Management: Microsoft Business Solutions-Navision Database Server" for more information about this parameter. You can also read about the other parameters in this manual. The NetBIOS COMMANDS or NCB parameter should be set to number of client sessions plus 2. The client program will request 1 NetBIOS session for each client session started. TCP/IP on the Server -------------------- TCP/IP is included in the Windows operating systems. The server program will use TCP/IP port 2407 as a default. If this port is occupied by another process, you can have the system use another port by creating a new entry in the SERVICES file. The SERVICES file is normally located in the directory \WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC. You can make a new entry in the SERVICES file in the following format: 3001/tcp where should be replaced by the name of the server (in uppercase) with which you start the server program, and 3001 should be replaced by a free port number. Attention! If you make changes in the "services" file on the server, you should also make changes in the "services" file on all the client computers. Otherwise the client will not be able to find the server program on the network. TCP/IP on the Client -------------------- The client program interfaces with the WinSocket API. This means that the client program can run on any TCP/IP that interfaces with the WinSocket API. The TCP/IP included with Windows can be used. If you have changed the TCP/IP port for the server program, you must make the same changes in the "services" file for each client. This can be done in the same way as described in the section called "TCP/IP on the Server." If you are not using a DHCP or DNS server, the "hosts" file must be changed. The "hosts" file is normally placed in the same directory as the "services" file, and must be changed for each client. A new entry must be made as follows: x.x.x.x where x.x.x.x specifies the server's TCP/IP address and should be replaced with the name of the server with which you start the client program. How to Test Network Communications ---------------------------------- To test whether the network communication works, you can use different test utilities, or you can try to establish communication between the server program and the client. One utility you can use with TCP/IP is PING. From the client computer, use the PING command to check if the TCP/IP connection is OK. To test the communication between the server program and the client program, you must start the server program. Switch to the disk on which the server program is installed and then to the directory in which the server program is installed. Start the server program with these three parameters: SERVERNAME= NETTYPE= DATABASE= If you don't specify a the server program will default to SERVER1. You can enter any name, but ensure that all the clients are started with the same server name. Also ensure that when TCP/IP is chosen as the network protocol, the HOSTS and SERVICES files use the same server name. When using TCP/IP, the server name in the HOSTS file on the client is used instead of the server name provided on the command line. should either be "netb", when NetBIOS is used, or "tcp" when TCP/IP is used. should contain the full path to the database. An example of how to start the server program under Windows NT is: SERVER SERVERNAME=FinServer,NETTYPE=netb, DATABASE=D:\FDB\DATABASE.FDB (written as one long command) If the server program has problems communicating with the network protocol, it will not start properly. In this case, please check the setup. Once the server program has been started correctly, you should start the client program. The most important parameters for the client program are SERVERNAME and NETTYPE. It is a good idea to add these two parameters to the program start command. When you start the client program with the proper SERVERNAME and NETTYPE, you should be able to communicate with the server program. If you have any problems, please check the communication setup. How to Integrate the Server with Active Directory ------------------------------------------------- When you are installing a Navision Service on a Windows Server, you must extend the Active Directory Schema to add support for the Navision Service Connection Point (NFSCP). The NFSCP is used by both client and server, to take advantage of the service centric design that Active Directory provides: the service publishes itself in the Active Directory and the client uses the published information to bind to the service. Schema Extension Tool SchemaXt ------------------------------ A schema extension tool, SchemaXt is provided with Navision Attain Database Server. SchemaXt.exe is copied to the same folder as Server.exe, when you install the server. The schema extension is valid for an entire forest of domains. Therefore, it is only necessary to perform the schema extension when you install the first Navision Service in a forest. Please note that: · you must have Schema Admin rights in order to extend the schema. · extending the schema cannot be undone. You can invoke the schema extension tool from a Command Prompt, using the command "schemaxt" or by double-clicking SchemaXt.exe in Windows Explorer. A dialog box appears, asking you to extend the schema automatically or to generate an LDIF Script. Automatic Schema Extension -------------------------- The tool will carry out the schema extension immediately. A status message will inform you whether the schema extension was carried out successfully or not. Generation of an LDIF Script ---------------------------- The tool will create an LDIF Script, NFSchemaExtension.ldf in the folder where SchemaXt.exe is located. Use the Windows tool LDIFDE to extend the schema. At a command prompt, type ldifde -i -f \NFSchemaExtension.ldf where is the path of the NFSchemaExtension.ldf file ------------------------------------------------------------- This document is subject to change without notice and does not represent any commitment on the part of Microsoft Business Solutions ApS, Denmark. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS, Denmark assumes no responsibility for any faults or shortcomings in this document.