Remote booting with 3C5XX Boot PROM on EtherLink III

Assumptions:

* The EtherLink III card (3C509, 3C529, or 3C579) has been configured and tested in the machine where it will be installed.

* The installer has Supervisory or Administrative rights on the network.

* The installer has the latest ODI driver and VLMs. The latest version of the 3C5X9.COM ODI driver may be downloaded from 3Com's BBS at 1-408-980-8204 (14.4 8,N,1) - filename: 3C5X9X.EXE, which is a self-extracting file. The latest VLMs may be downloaded from the Novell Forum on CompuServe.

1. At the server's colon (:) prompt, type CONFIG to determine the frame type the server is currently using. If more than one frame type is specified, then choose the most appropriate for the workstation.

2. Program the 3C5XX remote boot PROM for NetWare with the proper frame type. (Refer to the boot PROM manual for detailed instructions.)

3. Create a DOS bootable diskette (requires DOS 5.0, 6.0, or 6.2).

4a. If configuring a workstation for NetWare 3.11, download the VLMs from the Novell Forum on CompuServe. The self-extracting file is DOSUPX.EXE. (X shows the version of DOSUP; make sure you download the latest version, which, as of this writing, was DOSUP9.EXE.)

4b. Type DOSUPX.EXE to extract the file. Once it has been extracted, go to the VLMS subdirectory and copy the files you need to the bootable diskette.

Note: Not all VLMs are required for the NetWare 3.11 environment. If you are not sure which VLMs to use, contact Novell for assistance or use all of them.

4c. Using a DOS editor or a word processor, create a text file that contains at least the lines shown below and save it as NET.CFG:

.lt
Link Driver 3C5x9
Frame Ethernet_802.3
Frame Ethernet_802.2
Frame Ethernet_II
Frame Ethernet_Snap

NetWare DOS Requester
FIRST NETWORK DRIVE = F
.el

Note: The text in NET.CFG is not case-sensitive.

4d. Verify that the first frame type in the NET.CFG file is the same frame type being used on the server.

5a. If configuring for a NetWare 3.12 or 4.X workstation, run the network client installation program provided with 3.12 or 4.X.

5b. Copy all of the files in the root of the NWClient subdirectory (created by the network client installation program) to the bootable diskette.

5c. Use a DOS editor or a word processor to edit the file NET.CFG on the bootable diskette: change the name 3C509 to 3C5x9.

5d. Copy the 3C5X9.COM driver to the bootable diskette.

6. Use a DOS editor or a word processor to create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file which contains at least the lines shown below:

.lt
LSL
RPLODI
3C5X9.COM
IPXODI
VLM
F:
.el

Note: AUTOEXEC.BAT is not case-sensitive.

7. Create a CONFIG.SYS file that has a minimum statement of:

.lt
Files = 40
Buffers = 10
Lastdrive = Z
.el

8. Reboot the computer using the bootable diskette.

If the error message "FATAL: BootROM Stamp not found" appears, ignore it. The error may appear when RPLODI is executed from the boot diskette. It will not appear once RPLODI is executed over the network.

9. Log in as the supervisor or admin, as appropriate for the NetWare version you are using.

10. If a user account for the workstation does not exist, create one using SYSCON or NETADMIN.

11. If the sys:system and sys:login directories are not already mapped to drives, map them using the MAP, SESSION, or NETUSER command.

The following steps assume that Drive Y is mapped to the sys:system directory and Drive F is mapped to sys:login.

12. Go to the F drive. At the DOS prompt, type "Y:Dosgen" and press Enter.

DOSGEN will copy all the files from the bootable diskette and create a file called NET$DOS.SYS in the Login directory.

13. After DOSGEN finishes generating the NET$DOS.SYS file, run RPLFIX.COM against this file.

RPLFIX.COM enables workstations to remotely load properly with MS DOS 5.x and above. RPLFIX.COM is a patch provided by Novell; it comes with the latest VLMs from CompuServe along with its documentation.

14. If more than one workstation will be configured for remote booting, flag the NET$DOS.SYS file as shareable.

15. Remove the boot diskette from the floppy drive and reboot the workstation. The adapter will automatically boot to the server.

Note: If multiple Boot PROM images are required (because you are using different Ethernet cards along with the EtherLink III card), refer to your Novell manual for instructions on creating and implementing a text file called BOOTCONF.SYS.