Console Help Commands in NetWare 5.1: Envset, File Server Name, Help, and IPX Internal Net

Articles and Tips: article

Mark McKell
Editor
DeveloperNet University
mmckell@novell.com

15 Nov 2000

This section is one in a series that intends to describe each of the NetWare 5.1 console commands (both normal and hidden) in alphabetical order and to tell when, why, and how to use them properly. To use the commands described here, simply type the command at the server console prompt followed by the <Enter> key.

Setting the Java Environment

When you first install NetWare 5.1, the Novell JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is also installed by default. The installation process sets default values for key environment variables. Setting environment variables for Java is necessary to run Java-based applications and applets.The ENVSET command allows you to display, set, append, and remove global environment variables. The following table shows the various uses of the ENVSET command:

Command	Function
ENVSET	Displays all environment variables
ENVSET variable	Displays specified environment variable
ENVSET variable=	Removes specified environment variable
ENVSET variable= string	Assigns string value to environment variable
ENVSET variable=$ variable string	Appends string value to environment variable

The value of a variable set with the ENVSET command remains in place until Java is unloaded. To make lasting changes to variable values, add the ENVSET command line in the sys:\etc\java.cfg file. The java.cfg file is read whenever Java is loaded.

Setting the File Server Name

The name of your NetWare 5.1 file server is stored in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file. The FILE SERVER NAME command is part of the SET family of commands. It allows you to set the file server name from the server console and have that change be reflected in the AUTOEXEC.NCF.

Before changing a server's name in versions of NetWare prior to NetWare 4, all you had to worry about was making sure that no other server was assigned the same server name or the same internal IPX address. However, since the inclusion of Novell Directory Services (NDS) in versions of NetWare after NetWare 4, changing the server's name is not as simple as it used to be.

When you change the name of a server running NDS, NDS automatically changes the name everywhere the name is used as a Distinguished Name (DN) attribute. However, NDS doesn't change it anywhere the server name is contained as a string, including attributes that are holding the server name in string format.

For example, if you have a server named "MyServer" that has a volume named "Vol1" and you change the server name to "YourServer," all of the DN attributes that held the value "MyServer" will now hold the value "YourServer."

However, strings will still hold the value "MyServer." For instance, while the value in the ServerName attribute (which is a DN) on Vol1's object will change to "YourServer," in the NWAdmin utility, you will still see the name MyServer_Vol1 because that is a string. The network administrator must change that reference by deleting the old reference and creating a new reference named "YourServer_Vol1".

Changing server names on servers that are offering IP services can cause problems as well. For example, servers running SLP (Service Location Protocol) Directory Agents or DNS (Domain Name Services) servers will need to ensure that the static tables they contain reflect the servername/IP address changes.

The syntax for this command is simple:

FILE SERVER NAME newservername

So, if you really need to rename a NetWare server, you can do it using this command, just be sure to complete the other steps as well.

NetWare Help

From the server console, NetWare provides a useful resource for help with the HELP command. The resulting help menu lists almost all NetWare commands (including the ones we've been covering in Network Novice) and a description of their usage. The syntax varies for the type of help you need.

Command	Function
HELP	Displays a list of all console commands without description
HELP command	Displays specific description for that particular command
HELP ALL	Displays a short description of each console command

This is one command that ranks near the top of my list of frequently-used commands, especially in the preparation of this column each month.

Setting the IPX Network Address

NetWare uses two types of network addresses: internal and external. An internal network address is a destination address that NetWare associates with a particular server and uses to send service requests that are destined to that server. Because of this, the internal network address must be unique, meaning that no server can have the same internal network address as any other server. The internal network address is usually assigned by NetWare during the installation process.

External network addresses are the addresses that you assign to each physical cable segment separated through the use of routers. This is the network number that you assign to IPX during installation and which appears on the BIND IPX line in a server's AUTOEXEC.NCF file. All servers on the same segment must have IPX bound to the same external network address. If two network segments are separated by bridges and not by routers, the segment addresses must be the same.

You can get address conflicts if you have two servers with the same internal network address, or if two network segments separated by routers have the same external network address, or if an internal network address is the same as an external network address.

The network address of your NetWare 5.1 file server is stored in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file. The IPX INTERNAL NET command is part of the SET family of commands and allows you to set the file server's internal IPX network address from the server console and have that change be reflected in the AUTOEXEC.NCF. This number is a twelve-digit hexidecimal number (if you don't make it 12 numbers long, NetWare will prepend zeroes to the beginning of the number.

The syntax is straightforward: IPX INTERNAL NET hexaddress.

Console Command	Function	Example
ENVSET	Allows you to display, set, append, and remove global Java environment variables.	ENVSET
FILE SERVER NAME	Allows you to set the file server name from the server console and have that change be reflected in the AUTOEXEC.NCF.	FILE SERVER NAME marksserver
HELP	Allows you to list most NetWare commands and their syntax.	HELP
IPX INTERNAL NET	Allows you to set the file server's internal IPX network address from the server console and have that change be reflected in the AUTOEXEC.NCF.	IPX INTERNAL NET 99aabbcc

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes

Disclaimer

The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. While Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information, Novell does not make explicit or implied claims to its validity.