Slow client on new DELL 5.1 server installation

Question

Hi
I'm having some performance (speed) problems on a three user netware
system.
Everything was fine until I replaced an old PC running NetWare 5.0 with
a 'proper' Dell power edge server with SCSI disks etc. Their old
server was running 5.0 and I replaced it with 5.1, fully patched - I
used the 5.1 support pack dated Jan 2004, and as I downloaded this in
August I believe it to have had some thorough testing.
The clients on the machine were old (read very reliable?) - from
w95331e.exe, and worked extremely well with their old ad-hoc 5.0 server
(ie, not a real server but just a PC running a novell OS).
I plugged in the new server, like for like. Did a byte for byte copy
of their apps and all data.
Applications then ran slower than the old machine (fox pro and Sage),
some processes taking 10x as long.
I've tried installing the client that came with the 5.1 disks, older
than 331 - still slow?!
I've tried the most recent client, from 34cln95e, but that didn't
change anything!!
The only way I can get any speed out of the system is to use
Microsoft's client for Netware. Hey presto - fast networking !?
(not a good ad for Novell!?)
I now intend to try client contained in w98332e.exe, (Client32 ver 3.32
English for Windows 9x/Millennium), but feel I am wasting my time.
Site called to day and is demanding that I install the MicroSoft Win98
client for netware as this has been tested on their third machine over
the past few day and they now want it on the other two.
Advice sought
David Callaghan
PS: I'll ask Dell too, but I don't hold much hope there - it took
them six months just to get the right version of the operating system
to me - they sent me a five user additive licence three times, now
I've got a three user network with 17 spare connections!? Anyone
want to buy a five user netware licence?

Answer 1

As others noted, it could be an IP vs IPX difference. In particular, IPX
is less sensitive to duplex mixmatches on the NICs and switches.
Did you install to traditional NW volumes or NSS volumes? NSS (at least on
5.x, I haven't tested 6.x) is slower than traditional and has higher
latencies, which is most noticeable on client side database applications
such as those written in FoxPro or MS Access.
The most likely source of problems is the client configuration. See this
link for tips and some tools to isolate the problem.
http://www.otcnetworks.com/nwclient.htm
This page has info on maximizing performance of the server and configuring
it for the type of usage you put on it. In particular, the info about RAM
may be relevant.
http://www.otcnetworks.com/servermb.htm
> Hi
>
> I'm having some performance (speed) problems on a three user netware
> system.
>
> Everything was fine until I replaced an old PC running NetWare 5.0 with
> a 'proper' Dell power edge server with SCSI disks etc. Their old
> server was running 5.0 and I replaced it with 5.1, fully patched - I
> used the 5.1 support pack dated Jan 2004, and as I downloaded this in
> August I believe it to have had some thorough testing.
>
> The clients on the machine were old (read very reliable?) - from
> w95331e.exe, and worked extremely well with their old ad-hoc 5.0 server
> (ie, not a real server but just a PC running a novell OS).
>
> I plugged in the new server, like for like. Did a byte for byte copy
> of their apps and all data.
>
> Applications then ran slower than the old machine (fox pro and Sage),
> some processes taking 10x as long.
>
> I've tried installing the client that came with the 5.1 disks, older
> than 331 - still slow?!
>
> I've tried the most recent client, from 34cln95e, but that didn't
> change anything!!
>
> The only way I can get any speed out of the system is to use
> Microsoft's client for Netware. Hey presto - fast networking !?
> (not a good ad for Novell!?)
>
> I now intend to try client contained in w98332e.exe, (Client32 ver 3.32
> English for Windows 9x/Millennium), but feel I am wasting my time.
>
> Site called to day and is demanding that I install the MicroSoft Win98
> client for netware as this has been tested on their third machine over
> the past few day and they now want it on the other two.
>
> Advice sought
>
> David Callaghan
>
> PS: I'll ask Dell too, but I don't hold much hope there - it took
> them six months just to get the right version of the operating system
> to me - they sent me a five user additive licence three times, now
> I've got a three user network with 17 spare connections!? Anyone
> want to buy a five user netware licence?
>