Workshop

The File and Print Blues
Previous Table of Contents Next
The underpinning of a file and print client is, of course, the vendor-supplied client you load on the
workstation. (Typically, the server vendor supplies you with a setup program, which then automatically
loads and configures the client on your workstation. It’s really easy.) The first troubleshooting step for
file and print is to verify that the client is the correct version. You’ll have to check with the vendor for
the latest scoop on this, but notice that I say correct, not latest. It’s enough to know that two given
workstations (one of which is broken) have identical versions of the client.
How do clients work? Even though the clients may look simple, they are, of course, complex internally.
Let’s look at the NetWare client as an example. In order to make your file sharing and print sharing
effortless for you, here are some of the things the client must deal with:
• Establishing your login, or authentication, to the network
• Locating a server on the network via Novell Core Protocol (NCP)
• Connecting to a server volume and then reading and writing files and directories to and from
that volume
• Connecting to a server and then transferring files to a printer queue on that server
• Magically making a drive letter or printer appear on your workstation and act as if it were the
real thing, even though the files reside on the server (the redirector)
Troubleshooting these pieces and parts on an individual basis is more trouble than it’s worth—just
realize that the client is more complex than it seems.
An interesting note is that the DOS version of the NetWare client used to load all these capabilities
separately, to allow you to pick and choose which ones you wanted (and thus saving memory). The
modules were called VLMs, or Virtual Loadable Modules.
File and print client software is complex enough that it’s pretty vulnerable to domino-effect problems
from other workstation software. Verifying good workstation configurations is also really important for
file and print troubleshooting.
This section covers the major types of problems you can encounter on file and print systems: