December 23, 2005
Novell® Client™ for Linux supports 32-bit hardware platforms only. Even though Novell Linux Desktop might support some 64-bit hardware platforms, Novell Client 1.1 for Linux is designed for 32-bit hardware only.
When running the installation script, two fatal error messages appear, but the Novell Client for Linux installs correctly. The errors are:
These messages will be rewritten in the future to avoid any confusion. They should be ignored in version 1.1.
This version of Novell Client for Linux does not provide an integrated login experience with the initial workstation login screen. Users who have migrated from Windows* desktops to Linux do not have the same experience and must log in to the workstation and then log in to the network using the Novell Client for Linux.
If the CN user identifier variable is used in the login script, it displays the wrong information if the Other Name field is filled in. This results in drive mappings not being made. Depending on how the variable login script is used, errors might occur.
The following is a sample of valid login script syntax for the MAP command:
map my_projects:=server/vol:path
map f:=server/vol/path
map f:=vol:path
map f:=vol:\path
map display on f:=server\vol:path
map display off f:=server\vol:path
map “my projects”:=server/vol:path
map f:=\\server\vol\path
map *1:=server\vol:\path
NOTE:Linux does not support backslashes on the command line. UNC names can be written with forward slashes. For example, map f:=//server/vol/path
The MAP command works differently based on whether you run it from a login script or at the command line. The following is a list of differences in how the MAP command behaves at the command line in Linux versus how it works at the command line in Windows*.
map j:=server1/vol:/path;server2/vol:path
The following login script commands are not currently implemented in the Novell Client for Linux.
DRIVE
MAP S1:=server/vol:/path (Search drives are not implemented but default to creating symbolic links S1..S16)
In Linux, the IF statement cannot be used without the THEN statement. This is not true in Windows. Hence, the following statement does not work in Linux:
IF MONTH=”07”
WRITE “This is July”
To resolve this, include the THEN statement each time.
IF MONTH=”07”
THEN WRITE “This is July”
If you are experiencing problems logging in with Novell Client for Linux, a first step is to check that the needed packages are all running. At the Console Terminal, type ps -A | grep nov.
IMPORTANT:You must have root privileges in order to run this command.
The following should appear:
novell-xregd novfs_ST novfsd
If one of these processes is not listed, restart the Novell Client for Linux.
/opt/novell/ncl/bin/ncl_control restart
If either of these commands displays any errors, restart the Linux machine.
In addition, /opt/novell/ncl/bin/ncl_control status shows whether the NCL drivers are loaded properly or not.
If you are logging in to a tree that does not have a registered DNS name, you must enter the server name in the field to log in.
When using login scripts that contain a PAUSE command, the Close button activates when the script is paused. If the user closes the login script window while the login script is running but paused, then processes are left open. To close the processes, restart the workstation.
There are rare occasions when a login script does not run. To solve this, log in again to rerun the login script.
When a user’s password expires, the user is not notified during login and is not prompted to change their password. When the grace logins have been exhausted, the user cannot login.
An administrator must update the password using Novell iManager or ConsoleOne®.
During a file copy, the workstation hangs because of issues with FAM/iNotify. These issues are not directly related to Novell Client, but happen because of the way FAM validates requests. This means that in order to complete a file copy, you must remove the FAM service.
To remove a service from a runlevel, you must either delete the symbolic links manually from the folder with all the scripts for the desired runlevel, or run the following command:
insserv -r fam
This command removes the service from all runlevels.
Occasionally, non-authenticated (invalid) connections are erroneously displayed in the /var/opt/novell/nclmnt directory. When the server name is displayed along with the volumes and files, this indicates an authenticated (valid) connection.
These features are not fully functional. Messages are sent but they can only be received by Windows workstations.
In NLD when running the GNOME* desktop, you can’t delete a folder if it has been copied from one server to another and then copied back to the original server if you use the GUI. For example, if you copy and paste a folder from Server A to Server B, delete the original folder from Server A, copy the folder from Server B back to Server A, and then attempt to delete the folder from Server B, an error occurs and the folder cannot be removed. To solve this problem, delete the folder using a terminal.
Users are unable to delete files on GNOME if the trash folder is set up at the root of an OES or NetWare® server volume where the users don't have rights. Users are then unable to delete files in subdirectories on the OES or NetWare servers where they do have the proper rights to create/modify/delete files. The following is also true:
A patch for this defect will be posted.
GNOME is leaking file handles, which is causing files to be left open.
A patch for this defect will be posted.
There is no Novell network browsing capability in the Nautilus browser. Full capability is provided with the Konqueror browser.
Nautilus and FAM generate high amounts of traffic during file operations and severely impact the performance of the Novell Client for Linux.
A patch for this defect will be posted. With this patch applied, a polling interval can be configured to improve overall performance of file I/O using the Novell Client for Linux.
Users cannot see cluster virtual server objects through SLP from the Server button. To resolve this, use the IP address instead of the server name.
The Map dialog box drop-down list of drive letters does not display the resources that are already mapped in the same way that Novell Client for Windows does (the Novell Client for Windows displays the drive letter and then the server/volume information).
Without this information, users might map over an already mapped resource without knowing that the drive is already in use. There is no current fix for this issue.
Extended characters are mapped from workstation to server (and back again) incorrectly, resulting in odd or even characters that cannot be displayed. This will be fixed with the next release.
Man pages exist for the NWSEND, NWPURGE, and NWSALVAGE utilities. However, these utilities were not included with version 1.1.
There is a known bug related to the manpath environment variable on both NLD and SUSE® Linux Professional. This has been reported to Novell/SUSE via Bugzilla. The ncl_man utility has been provided for convenience until the manpath bug is resolved. You should invoke the ncl_man utility (instead of traditional man) to view NCL-related man pages. To do this, type the following in a terminal window the first time you want to view a Novell Client for Linux man page:
/opt/novell/ncl/bin/ncl_man
The ncl_man utility modifies the MANPATH to allow the Novell Client man pages to be displayed. If you enter man Novell_Client_man_page_name, the following error is displayed:
“No manual entry for Novell_Client_man_page_name.”If you enter ncl_man Novell_Client_man_page_name, the Novell Client man path is added to MANPATH and the specified man page is displayed.
For more information, see The Novell Client for Linux Commands in the Novell Client for Linux 1.1 Installation and Administration Guide.
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