Readme.txt for Microsoft Business Solutions-Navision Database Server
==============================================

Introduction
------------
This document is a plain text file that can be displayed with
any text editor. It contains up-to-date information about the
following topics:

         o How to set up network communications
         o How to test network communications
         o How to integrate the server with Active Directory


In this document we assume that you have a good knowledge of 
personal computer hardware, LAN, NetBIOS or TCP/IP and the
Windows operating system. Your dealer can help you install the 
server and client programs.


How to Set Up Network Communications
------------------------------------
When the server program runs under Windows you can 
choose to use the NetBIOS or TCP/IP protocol.


NetBIOS
-------
NetBIOS can be any IBM/Microsoft compatible NetBIOS or 
Novell compatible NetBIOS. IBM/Microsoft NetBIOS and Novell 
NetBIOS are not compatible with each other, so you cannot run
IBM NetBIOS on the server and Novell NetBIOS on a client. 
NetBIOS is included with the Windows operating 
systems.

The server program will look at the license file to determine
how many NetBIOS sessions it should allocate. The server 
program will allocate one NetBIOS session for each client 
session purchased, plus one extra. If there are not enough 
NetBIOS sessions available, you can overrule this allocation
by using the server's SESSION parameter. Please see the 
manual "Installation and System Management: Microsoft 
Business Solutions-Navision Database Server" for more 
information about this parameter. You can also read about the 
other parameters in this manual.

The NetBIOS COMMANDS or NCB parameter should be set to number
of client sessions plus 2.

The client program will request 1 NetBIOS session for each 
client session started.


TCP/IP on the Server
--------------------
TCP/IP is included in the Windows operating systems.

The server program will use TCP/IP port 2407 as a default. If
this port is occupied by another process, you can have the 
system use another port by creating a new entry in the 
SERVICES file. The SERVICES file is normally located in the
directory \WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC.

You can make a new entry in the SERVICES file in the 
following format:

        <servername>    3001/tcp

where <servername> should be replaced by the name of the 
server (in uppercase) with which you start the server program,
and 3001 should be replaced by a free port number.

Attention! 
If you make changes in the "services" file on the server, you
should also make changes in the "services" file on all the 
client computers. Otherwise the client will not be able to 
find the server program on the network.


TCP/IP on the Client
--------------------
The client program interfaces with the WinSocket API. This 
means that the client program can run on any TCP/IP that 
interfaces with the WinSocket API. The TCP/IP included with 
Windows can be used.

If you have changed the TCP/IP port for the server program,
you must make the same changes in the "services" file for 
each client. This can be done in the same way as described 
in the section called "TCP/IP on the Server."

If you are not using a DHCP or DNS server, the "hosts" file 
must be changed. The "hosts" file is normally placed in the 
same directory as the "services" file, and must be changed 
for each client. A new entry must be made as follows:

        x.x.x.x   <servername>

where x.x.x.x specifies the server's TCP/IP address and 
<servername> should be replaced with the name of the server
with which you start the client program.


How to Test Network Communications
----------------------------------
To test whether the network communication works, you can use
different test utilities, or you can try to establish 
communication between the server program and the client.

One utility you can use with TCP/IP is PING. From the client
computer, use the PING <host> command to check if the TCP/IP
connection is OK.

To test the communication between the server program and the 
client program, you must start the server program. Switch to
the disk on which the server program is installed and then 
to the directory in which the server program is installed.

Start the server program with these three parameters:

        SERVERNAME=<servername>
        NETTYPE=<nettype>
        DATABASE=<database path>

If you don't specify a <servername> the server program will 
default to SERVER1. You can enter any name, but ensure that 
all the clients are started with the same server name. Also 
ensure that when TCP/IP is chosen as the network protocol,
the HOSTS and SERVICES files use the same server name. When 
using TCP/IP, the server name in the HOSTS file on the client
is used instead of the server name provided on the command 
line.

<nettype> should either be "netb", when NetBIOS is used, or 
"tcp" when TCP/IP is used.

<database path> should contain the full path to the database.

An example of how to start the server program under Windows 
NT is:

        SERVER  SERVERNAME=FinServer,NETTYPE=netb,
                DATABASE=D:\FDB\DATABASE.FDB
        (written as one long command)

If the server program has problems communicating with the 
network protocol, it will not start properly. In this case, 
please check the setup.

Once the server program has been started correctly, you 
should start the client program. The most important 
parameters for the client program are SERVERNAME and 
NETTYPE. It is a good idea to add these two parameters to 
the program start command.

When you start the client program with the proper SERVERNAME 
and NETTYPE, you should be able to communicate with the 
server program. If you have any problems, please check the 
communication setup.

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This document is subject to change without notice and does not
represent any commitment on the part of Microsoft Business 
Solutions ApS, Denmark.

Microsoft Business Solutions ApS, Denmark assumes no 
responsibility for any faults or shortcomings in this document.

