Very Computer

I've converted my PC at work to WFWG v3.11 and would like to
'reduce' the number of vendors (that's another story) to use
TCP/IP to network my PC.

I still need to attach to a Novell network that does have
TCP/IP support.

On the Microsoft ftp/www archive there are two TCP/IP
packages for WFWG:

    wfwgtcp.zip
    tcp32b.zip

1) what is the 'best' configuration (pros and cons) for my
   PC ?

   and

2) does someone have an example configuration ?

back to the 'easy' world of UNIX and TCP/IP only networks

thanks ..

-pete

My client site has 50-some workstations using WFWG on a token-ring
network.  We just added a WindowsNT server.  Tcp32b (made as an install
disk for WFWG from the NT 3.5.1 software) works very well (so far!).

We also have a SunNetra (enhanced Sparc20) bridging the tokenring LAN
to 10BaseT, and connected to an ISP.  The 10BaseT hub connects only to
the Sun, the router, and a single 486 PC running WFWG.  I cannot get
WFWG to connect anywhere.  I need help, if anyone has a suggestion.

The PC pings itself successfully.

I've tried two different ethernet nics and swapped slots.  Both nics
exchange packets (i.e., broadcast) successfully, but I cannot ping,
telnet, etc., to the Sun, the router, or anything beyond the router.

I've tried Trumpet Winsock, MS - TCP/IP for WFWG (16-bit), MS-TCP/IP32b,
and Sun SolarNet TCP/IP for Windows --- all with the same results.

The Sun and the PC do not talk to each other even if I disconnect the
router from the hub.

Once I accidentally typed in the Sun IP address as the PC host IP
address.  When I tried to ping the PC from the Sun there was no
connection (of course), but when I came back to the PC there was a
message on the PC screen telling me that WFWG discovered a conflict
between the IP address and the ethernet address on the Sun.  (Hmmmm....
something seems to be working....)

Somebody suggested that the release of WFWG 3.11 that I am running on the
PC needs upgrading, but how do I find the release/revision
number...HELP/ABOUT only gives me version 3.11 as a reference number.  Is
there a product number embedded in the software somewhere that I can
read?  The MS Web page has nothing I could find regarding this problem.

MS rivals the IRS for shear difficulty in finding the right technical
help.

Thanks in advance.

Mike Burke

Chances are, your ISP only provided you with one IP Sub-network
address -- which is a good reason to try to use a translation bridge
between the TR and the Ethernet.  But there are often problems with
this approach.

Many translation bridges can handle non-routable protocols like
NetBIOS and LAT just fine, but they often have difficulty supporting
routable protocols like IP and IPX.  The problem is usually with the
IP ARP packets (or IPX SAP packets).  They contain the 48 bit hardware
(or MAC) address twice -- once in the MAC frame as the h/w Destination
& Source Addresses, and again at the Network Layer in the IP ARP (or
IPX SAP) header.  The translation bridge correctly converts these
Addresses at the MAC frame level, but many such devices fail to
convert them in the Network Layer header.  Since IP uses ARP
broadcasts to initially establish connections, the connections are
never completed (the same is true for IPX SAP requests).

You could get a router that supports both tokie ring AND Ethernet.
You could ditch tokie ring altogether and simplify your life.
You could then buy 10/100 Fast Ethernet NICs for all of your PCs.
You could run them at 10 Mbps for now on your current hub.
Later you can buy a Fast Ethernet hub and run at 100 Mbps.
Or a 10/100 Fast Ethernet switch and enjoy dedicated 100 Mbps!

So, are you really bridging? Or are you routing?
Are you sure that you are using the same protocol on each PC? (MS
supports native NetBEUI, IPX Compatible, and TCP/IP  transports.)
And what frame types are you using?  (MS supports all flavors --
ESPEC2, IEEE 802.2 LLC, IEEE 802.2 SNAP)  Does the Sun/router support
the frame types that your PC systems are using?

Also, check out MS' Web site:    www.Microsoft.com

Hope this helps!

Buddy