Tricky to install, CorStream extends LANtastic peer-to-peer networks by seamlessly integrating a NetWare 4.01 server into your installation
Stan Miastkowski
Peer-to-peer networks offer many advantages for small- to medium-size businesses. They're comparatively inexpensive and easy to install, and they don't require the expertise of a full-time system administrator. However, at some point, as businesses grow and network needs evolve, peer-to-peer users often find their networks start to slow down. When that happens, it's time to consider alternatives. Upgrading hardware or dedicating peer servers can improve things for a while, but they're usually only stopgap measures. Conventional wisdom says that for maximum network performance, you need a full-fledged, high-performance, server-based NOS (network operating system), such a
s market-leading Novell NetWare.
If you're already running LANtastic, one of the leading peer-to-peer networks, Artisoft offers CorStream, an alternative to starting from scratch with a new network installation. The heart of
CorStream
is a NetWare 4.01 run-time module that Artisoft licensed from Novell. It offers all the performance advantages of a true multitasking, multithreading 32-bit NOS. The kicker is that Artisoft has surrounded the complexity of NetWare with a Novell-certified
LANtastic NLM
(NetWare loadable module). This offers distinct advantages to both users and system managers. Users ``see'' the CorStream server as just another LANtastic resource that they access and use just like any LANtastic server.
In many ways, CorStream is a quirky product. While it offers impressive power and ease of use once it's up and running, it can be a bear to install. And if you want to use your CorStream server to go beyond the innate abilities of LANtastic c
lients (using readily available NLM-based software or hardware, for example) you may run into problems. According to Artisoft, a high-performance dedicated server was a logical addition to the company's product mix, because the majority of LANtastic users already dedicate LANtastic 6.0 machines as servers, and many asked for a more powerful alternative. That certainly makes sense, but at the same time, Artisoft seems unusually coy about providing the detailed information that's needed for both installing and administering a CorStream network. The documentation is sparse and often confusing, and it is missing both essential information and the type of background data that's essential to understanding what you're doing. If you're not familiar with NetWare--and CorStream is designed for people who aren't--it's easy to get confused during installation.
The Real World
We installed CorStream in an environment that badly needed more network power: a tax accounting office currently runni
ng 12 LANtastic 6.0 systems--10 workstations, one dedicated server and laser printer, and one combination server/workstation. Even with 486/50-based servers running caching controllers and SCSI hard drives, the heavy transaction processing and printing needs during the height of tax season caused unacceptable network response. This installation was an obvious candidate for a NOS upgrade, and because all users and the manager who administers the network were well-versed in LANtastic, CorStream seemed the obvious choice.
It goes without saying that to get the most from NetWare, you need capable hardware. But in the real world of small businesses, budgets are tight. CorStream comes packed with an EISA NIC (network interface card) from Artisoft subsidiary Eagle Technology, so an affordable EISA system (still the industry standard for file servers) was the logical choice.
The crucial component in planning a server is hard disk storage needs. Keeping in mind future storage demands, we settled on 2 GB
of hard disk space. In NetWare, RAM requirements are closely tied to installed hardware, and one area where the CorStream manual is helpful is planning RAM requirements. You start with 10 MB for NetWare itself, then use the supplied formula to figure RAM requirements based on hard disk space. You also need extra RAM if you'll have a printer connected to the server, likewise for a CD-ROM drive. And the more extra RAM you have over and above the minimum, the better the performance: NetWare uses it for cache buffers.
We put together a complete system with an EISA motherboard, a 486/66 CPU, 32 MB of RAM, an Adaptec 2740 EISA SCSI adapter, and dual Micropolis 1 GB hard drives for $3600, a substantial savings over a prepackaged system.
Into the Fray
Installing CorStream isn't a job to do when you're under deadline, stressed out, or working at 3 p.m. on a Friday. There's no getting around that it's complex, especially if you don't have any familiarity with NetWare. You must sit d
own and carefully read the installation section of the manual before you begin. You'll also need to gather the right NetWare drivers for your hardware. A LANtastic 5.0 or 6.0 network must be up and running on the workstations that you'll be using with the CorStream server, and the server hardware must already be connected to the existing network.
At the end of the approximately 1-hour server installation process, NetWare boots up, and you must go to a LANtastic workstation elsewhere on the network to finish installing the server files. But we didn't get that far; the server locked up tight while trying to boot.
After nearly a week of work and hours of phone calls, the problem turned out to be the server motherboard, which wasn't NetWare certified. Installing a new motherboard immediately solved the problem. A painful lesson learned: Make sure all your components--NIC, hard drives, and motherboard--are NetWare certified.
In the Trenches
Once CorStream was installed,
the new server immediately became visible to all LANtastic workstations on the network because the installation creates a default ``wild card'' account that allows all accounts to log into it. Running the standard LANtastic NET MANAGER utility enabled network security. The CorStream NLM has all the access and security features of LANtastic, allowing tight control over who gets access to what and when. ACLs (access-control lists) offer a great deal of versatility, letting the system manager control access to resources (e.g., drives and printers), directories, and even files.
It's possible to run and administer CorStream without facing the intricacies of NetWare. In fact, once CorStream is set up and running, you seldom have to venture into NetWare at all. There are exceptions, though. For example, shutting down CorStream requires entering the NetWare console and typing the DOWN command, and there are a few things you can't do from LANtastic. For example, although the CorStream installation sets up a def
ault printer resource, adding another printer or changing the port requires the NetWare PCONSOLE utility.
Many users, though, will want to learn about how NetWare works. However, except for a section in the CorStream manual on NetWare's MONITOR utility, the manual says little about NetWare. Fortunately, Artisoft includes a CD-ROM that contains complete NetWare documentation in a searchable format.
Performance Power
Because the CorStream NLM acts as an intermediary between LANtastic and NetWare, translating LANtastic packets into NetWare service requests, you might expect a performance hit. But whatever extra overhead is added, it's more than made up for by the fast hardware and 32-bit NOS. Overall, CorStream server performance was nearly five times that of the LANtastic 6.0 server. That number, while impressive, isn't really surprising.
CorStream uses a NetWare run-time module, so some of the features of full-bore NetWare are missing. But they're generally those use
d by large installations, such as NDS (NetWare Domain Services), that allow single log-ins to multiple servers. For multiple disk installations, CorStream offers built-in disk mirroring, duplexing (mirroring using multiple controllers), and spanning (having multiple disks appear as one volume). CorStream also enables NetWare file compression. Any file that hasn't been accessed after a specified period of time (seven days is the default) is automatically compressed. If you call for it later, it's automatically decompressed.
NLMs are common in the NetWare world and are used for a wide variety of functions, such as adding a tape backup unit or management utilities. But one ``gotcha'' in CorStream is that not all NLMs work. Because the NetWare run-time module in CorStream is a two-user version, NLMs that track NetWare licenses won't work beyond two users. The same is true of NLMs that require the NetWare protocol stack on each workstation. A list of supported NLMs should be available by the time you read t
his.
Making Choices
Despite its complex installation process, CorStream is well worth looking at if you need more performance from a LANtastic setup, or even if you're not currently running LANtastic. (CorStream packages are also available with LANtastic 6.0, at a 10- to 30-percent premium, depending on the number of users.) On the other hand, if you're willing to wrestle with the daunting complexity of full-fledged NetWare and need enterprise-wide solutions with full NLM compatibility, a regular NetWare setup is a better choice. (LANtastic 6.0 comes with built-in NetWare client capabilities.) But at the bottom line, CorStream is a great value, delivering most of NetWare's functions wrapped in the easy and familiar LANtastic interface at about half the price of full-bore NetWare.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
Corstream
5 users, $749;
10 users, $1449;
25 users, $2399;
50 users,
$3199;
100 users, $4449;
with LANtastic 6.0:
5 users, $899;
10 users, $1599;
25 users, $2749;
50 users, $3499;
100 users, $5799
Artisoft, Inc.
2202 North Forbes Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85745
(800) 233-5564
(602) 670-7100
fax: (602) 670-7101
illustration_link (34 Kbytes)
The key to making a LANtastic network ``see'' the NetWare 4.01 server as just another LANtastic resource is the Novell-certified LANtastic NLM, which acts as a translator between LANtastic packets and NetWare service requests.
screen_link (28 Kbytes)
The CorSt
ream server comes with a Windows-based monitor that displays server throughput graphically.
Stan Miastkowski is a BYTE consulting editor and co-author of the Windows for Workgroups Bible (Addison-Wesley, 1993). You can contact him on the Internet or BIX at
stanm@bix.com
.
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