Questions Asked During Installation

During installation, you are asked to provide the following information. Some installation screens only appear if you choose to install using Custom setup.

• Your name and your company name

• Serial number

• Installation directory

• Setup type

• Authentication server (Custom setup)

• Enable file locking/sharing (Custom setup)

• Enable user work environment (Custom setup)

• PC-CacheFS preferences (Custom setup)

• License Server (Custom setup)

• NIS/NIS+ name server

Serial Number

Enter a valid serial number from your license certificate or click the Evaluation button. An evaluation license allows you to use the software for a period of 30 days. This license must be replaced by a permanent license before the expiration date if you want to continue using the software.

Installation Directory

The default is to install the Solstice NFS Client software into the directory C:\Program Files\Solstice. If this directory does not exist, you can choose to create it during installation. You can also choose to install NFS Client into an alternate directory.

Setup Type

Choose the setup type to determine which components are installed on your computer.

• Typical - Installs the full Solstice NFS Client product: NFS and Printing support, NFS Server, Printer Server, and PC-CacheFS.

• Compact - Installs a portion of Solstice NFS Client: NFS and Printing support, and PC-CacheFS.

• Custom - Allows you to choose which components and subcomponents to install. Select the component and click Change to see the list of subcomponents for that component.

Authentication Server

If you choose Custom as the setup type, you can specify an authentication server or select Broadcast (the default). The authentication server is the server running the rpc.pcnfsd daemon.

If you specify an authentication server, your client will use only the specified server to check user permissions.

If you select Broadcast, the client will broadcast for an authentication server. Solstice Network Client uses the first server that responds to the broadcast.

Enable or Disable File Locking/Sharing

If you choose Custom as the setup type, you can enable or disable file locking/sharing. Some applications (MS Office, for example) use file locking to request exclusive access to data files. If you are working in a network environment that allows other users to access files you are working on, enabling the file locking/sharing option will safeguard the data in your files.

Some servers do not support file locking (Solstice NFS Server, for example). If you enable file locking/sharing and then attempt to mount drives from an NFS server that does not support file locking, you will not be able to map drives, browse exports, or read and write files on that server.

The default is to disable file locking/sharing.

Enable User Work Environments

If you choose Custom as the setup type, you can select whether or not to mount the /opt/MSPolicy directory from the PCNFSD server. Support for user views, site policies, and script interpreter requires the administrator to create a directory named /opt/MSpolicy on the PCNFSD server. By default, this directory is mounted by the client during login.

If you disable this option, the client will not mount the /opt/MSPolicy directory. However, with this option disabled, you will not be able to run the script interpreter or download user profiles directly from the selected PCNFSD server.

If you enable this option (the default), the client will attempt to mount the /opt/MSPolicy directory. This will increase login time slightly.

For more information about managing Windows 95 and NT clients see the Solstice Network Client Administration and Maintenance Guide.

PC-CacheFS Preferences

PC-CacheFS uses a location on your hard drive to cache or store data. When you open a file on a network drive, the file is written to the cache. This may improve network performance, especially over a serial connection. If you select Typical setup during installation, PC-CacheFS uses default settings. If you select Custom setup, you can customize the following settings:

• Cache on Drive - Designate a drive that PC-CacheFS will use to hold the cached information. Be sure you have enough space on this drive to accommodate the cache.

• Size - You can limit the size of the cache buffer. The default limit for the size of the cache is determined from the amount of available disk space.

• Drives to Cache - By default, PC-CacheFS caches files that you access from any network drives currently mapped and all new drives as they are added. You can choose to:

  • Select which currently mapped network drives to cache

  • Cache files read from the CD-ROM

  • Cache all currently mapped network drives

  • Cache all new drives when they are mapped

License Server

If you choose Custom as the setup type, you are asked to designate a license server. Click Next if you are not using a license server.

The license server manages concurrent licenses. Fill in the host name or IP address of the license server and the port number that this server will use to receive license requests. See the Solstice Network Client Installation and Licensing Guide for more information on how to choose a license server and install licenses.

The port number identifies the port used by this server to monitor license requests. To get the port number of your license server, log in to the license server and type

more /etc/opt/licenses/licenses_combined |grep SERVER

The port number is the last number in this line. In the following example, the port number is 1726.

SERVER bigserver 7220b150 1726

Name Service

Solstice NFS Client uses a name service, such as NIS or NIS+, to locate other machines on the network. Some applications also use either DNS or a local HOSTS file to resolve names and IP addresses.

If your site uses either NIS or NIS+ as a name service, you can configure the service during installation. Enter the domain name and the IP address of the NIS or NIS+ name server. The domain name is case-sensitive; be sure to enter it correctly. The client cannot broadcast for a NIS or NIS+ server.

After installation, you can use the Solstice NIS/NIS+ Services Configuration page to add or change your name service and set up a search order. Access the NIS/NIS+ page from the Services tab in the Network dialog box.

NIS

NIS is Sun's network information service. It is a name service that provides access to a set of network databases that contain information such as server names, IP addresses, and host IDs (Ethernet addresses).

NIS+

NIS+ is a successor to NIS. It is a hierarchical name service that provides read/write access to a set of distributed network databases. NIS+ provides scalability, which makes it suitable for very large networks. It also provides authentication services, which provide security and improved updating capability.

Windows Default

The Microsoft network uses the domain name service (DNS) or a local file named HOSTS as a name service. If you enable DNS, it will be used as the default name service. If DNS is not enabled, the HOSTS file becomes the default.

On Windows 95, a sample HOSTS file is in the C:\WINDOWS directory, called HOSTS.SAM.

On Windows NT, a sample HOSTS file has the path name C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS. If you edit this file using a text editor, save it without a .TXT or .DOC extension.