NetWare 3.x to Win NT 4

Though operating systems (OS) are getting bigger and better

by the day, some companies prefer to stick to older technologies. This can be

due to resource constraints, or simply because the bigger and better OSs are

more than what they actually need. For instance, in India a lot of companies

still run NetWare 3.x. This OS from Novell runs in what’s called the Bindery

mode. In this mode, all users login to specific servers. It’s fine for

companies with a small network to use NetWare 3.x type servers. For

organizations with a growing network, however, using multiple NetWare 3.x

servers means creating multiple user accounts for those who need to access more

than one server. So a user has to remember multiple user names and passwords to

login to different servers, and the administrator has to manage them all. One

way out of this is to upgrade the OS to a newer version of NetWare running

Novell Directory Service (NDS). Another option is to migrate to a different OS

altogether. In the latter case, one option is the Win NT 4 server. Win NT 4 has

a tool that let’s you migrate all users, groups, and data from a NetWare 3.x

server. There will, of course, be many issues to consider when planning this

migration. We have covered these in "The complete FAQ on migration",

page 45, in this issue. In this article we’ll only talk about how to do the

migration.

Getting started

You’ll need a server with a configuration suitable for

running NT server and handling the network load. Install Win NT 4 with service

pack 3 on it. You’ll need to add the Gateway services for NetWare. For this,

open Control Panel in NT, and start the network applet. Here, go to the services

tab, and click on Add. You’ll get a list of services to choose from. Choose

the Gateway (and client) Services for NetWare and click ok. It will ask you to

insert the Win NT CD-ROM, and restart after installing the service.

After restarting your machine, start the service by going

to Start Menu>Administrative Tools and choosing Migration Tools for

NetWare. You’ll now need to add the NetWare servers you want to migrate

to Win NT. Click on the Add button and give names of the source and

destination servers. The two buttons with the three dots let you find the

servers on your network

Once the NetWare server is found, give a username and

password with administrative rights on that server. If the information is

correct, you are ready to start the migration

To start the migration, simply click on the Start

Migration button. Before you do this, however, it’s advisable to first

do a trial migration to make sure everything’s in working order. Once

this is successful, proceed with the actual migration. The migration

process is pretty straightforward and simple. It transfers all the

usernames, passwords, and the data in their home directories. It also

transfers user groups, and all the data in SYS volume on the NetWare

server

If you’re using an older version of NetWare, chances are

that you’re still using the older DOS and Win3.x based clients on your

network. Many people may not know, but Win NT comes with clients for Win

3.x, 9x, OS/2 and even DOS. You can create the diskettes for these by

opening the Administrative Wizards from the Administrative Tools menu

After the migration

Once the migration is over, you will also need to transfer

the data residing in other directories on your NetWare server and assign

appropriate sharing rights on the NetWare server. Another thing you’ll have to

configure will be client access. NT uses a different client than NetWare, so you’ll

have to make those changes on all the nodes on your network as well.

Anil Chopra and Sanjay Majumdar

Here the x can be 1 or 2 depending upon whether it’sNetWare 3.11 or 3.12. Though all files are needed for migration, they need touse tsa31x.nlm file. You’ll then need to restart the NetWare 3.x server.

Run the Novell Upgrade wizard program from the client machine. This will ask you the version of NetWare to migrate from. Select NetWare 3.x or 4.x to NetWare 5, depending upon the one you have to migrate from. In the next step you have to give a name to this migration project. All information related to this project will be stored in an MDB file	In the next step, specify the source server and destination tree. Since NetWare 3.x works in bindery mode, you have to specify the server, and since NetWare 5.x works under Novell Directory Services (NDS), you have to specify the tree
The migration of objects can be done in multiple steps. You can choose a particular volume from the NetWare 3.x window and drag-n-drop it on a corresponding volume in the NetWare 5.x window. Before doing the actual migration, you can go to the project menu and select Verify Project. This will do a trial migration, and inform you of any errors in the process. This way, you can rectify all errors before proceeding with the actual migration	Once the utility has accessed both servers, it will display their contents in a split window. The migration process is now as easy as dragging an object from the source NetWare 3.x server to the destination NetWare 5.x server
During the actual migration process, the wizard may ask you to do a number of tasks like selecting and applying a template object to the users being migrated, and choosing a volume to migrate the bindery print object. Once it’s satisfied with all the answers, it will migrate everything to the NetWare 5.x server. This includes everything from users, groups, all their rights, and even the login scripts. At the client end, you’ll need to update the machines with the latest client that supports logging in to NDS. The NetWare 5.x server comes with the appropriate client.

The time and process required for shifting to Windows 2000depends upon the size and structure of your network. If it’s a small network,then you can simply upgrade an existing Win NT Server. However, it’s a totallydifferent ball game if you have a large Win NT network with hundreds of domainslocated across the globe. In this case, it makes more sense to migrate to a newmachine rather than to upgrade an old one. For this, you’ll first have to setup Windows 2000 on a different machine, and then use a third-party utility tomigrate everything across from your Win NT Server. One Point DomainAdministrator from Mission Critical Software is one such utility. You candownload a demo version from www.missioncritical. com. We’ll show you how todo a simple migration using this utility in this article.

Prerequisites

The first thing to understand about performing a migration isthat it’s not easy, and you’re not likely to succeed at one go. If you havea large network setup, then the migration process can take several months.Therefore, create a detailed plan of your migration path and follow itprecisely. Since the heart of Windows 2000 is the Active Directory, you’llneed to understand how it works, and design your network around it.

Don’t perform the migration directly on your network.Instead, create a separate setup to test it first. After all, this can affectyour entire network. Install a new Windows 2000 Server on a different machine.Install Active Directory on it and create a structure that matches with yourcompany. For example, different divisions like marketing, production, etc, canbe represented as different Organizational Units (OU). Make this installation ofWindows 2000 Server as the Domain Controller.

You’ll also need to clean out your Win NT Server of allobsolete user accounts, machines, and unwanted data. This way, these problemswill not be carried over to the new server.

For a smooth migration, create a two-way trust relationshipbetween the source and target domains. Also ensure that the user that logs intothe Windows 2000 domain has domain admin rights to the target the Win NT domain.

Using Domain Migration Administrator

Install the DMA software on the Windows 2000 Server. It’llcreate its own program group in the Start Menu, so you can launch it from there.When you run it, you have to create a migration project. DMA will store it as anAccess database file. A project is created between a source and a target domain.The target domain will of course be the Windows 2000 Server you just created.The source domain will be a Win NT Server. It will show you a list of all theWin NT domains to choose from on your network. Each source domain you migratewill form a different project.

DMA runs through the Microsoft Management Console, which isdivided into two panes. The left part shows you all migration projects youcreated, while the right side shows you a list of steps to follow for doing themigration. Click a migration project in the left pane and click on a migrationstep in the right pane. The procedure is as simple as that, but it isn’t thateasy when you actually do it.

The next step is to run the Reporting wizard. This willcollect all information about your source domain such as the users, computers,services, etc, and put it in a database. Next you have to migrate all trustrelationships with the target domain. Once this is done, all the data is storedinto a database by DMA. You’re now ready to migrate the users, groups, andcomputers or merge multiple groups into a single group.

All tasks have wizards to guide you through the process.After the wizard has finished its work, it’ll display all errors that haveoccurred. Store them in a log file. You can later view them to see where theproblem occurred.

When you migrate users, you can specify a target container inthe Active Directory where they should be placed. The wizard also prompts youwith various options such as whether to transfer the original password, orwhether to disable the account after migration on the source or target domain.You can also update the user rights so that their group memberships don’tchange after the migration.

Lastly, you can also undo a migration using DMA if it doesn’tgo well.

Anil Chopra and Sanjay Majumdar

Though operating systems (OS) are getting bigger and betterby the day, some companies prefer to stick to older technologies. This can bedue to resource constraints, or simply because the bigger and better OSs aremore than what they actually need. For instance, in India a lot of companiesstill run NetWare 3.x. This OS from Novell runs in what’s called the Binderymode. In this mode, all users login to specific servers. It’s fine forcompanies with a small network to use NetWare 3.x type servers. Fororganizations with a growing network, however, using multiple NetWare 3.xservers means creating multiple user accounts for those who need to access morethan one server. So a user has to remember multiple user names and passwords tologin to different servers, and the administrator has to manage them all. Oneway out of this is to upgrade the OS to a newer version of NetWare runningNovell Directory Service (NDS). Another option is to migrate to a different OSaltogether. In the latter case, one option is the Win NT 4 server. Win NT 4 hasa tool that let’s you migrate all users, groups, and data from a NetWare 3.xserver. There will, of course, be many issues to consider when planning thismigration. We have covered these in "The complete FAQ on migration",page 45, in this issue. In this article we’ll only talk about how to do themigration.

Getting started

You’ll need a server with a configuration suitable forrunning NT server and handling the network load. Install Win NT 4 with servicepack 3 on it. You’ll need to add the Gateway services for NetWare. For this,open Control Panel in NT, and start the network applet. Here, go to the servicestab, and click on Add. You’ll get a list of services to choose from. Choosethe Gateway (and client) Services for NetWare and click ok. It will ask you toinsert the Win NT CD-ROM, and restart after installing the service.

After restarting your machine, start the service by going to Start Menu>Administrative Tools and choosing Migration Tools for NetWare. You’ll now need to add the NetWare servers you want to migrate to Win NT. Click on the Add button and give names of the source and destination servers. The two buttons with the three dots let you find the servers on your network

Once the NetWare server is found, give a username and password with administrative rights on that server. If the information is correct, you are ready to start the migration

To start the migration, simply click on the Start Migration button. Before you do this, however, it’s advisable to first do a trial migration to make sure everything’s in working order. Once this is successful, proceed with the actual migration. The migration process is pretty straightforward and simple. It transfers all the usernames, passwords, and the data in their home directories. It also transfers user groups, and all the data in SYS volume on the NetWare server

If you’re using an older version of NetWare, chances are that you’re still using the older DOS and Win3.x based clients on your network. Many people may not know, but Win NT comes with clients for Win 3.x, 9x, OS/2 and even DOS. You can create the diskettes for these by opening the Administrative Wizards from the Administrative Tools menu

After the migration

Once the migration is over, you will also need to transferthe data residing in other directories on your NetWare server and assignappropriate sharing rights on the NetWare server. Another thing you’ll have toconfigure will be client access. NT uses a different client than NetWare, so you’llhave to make those changes on all the nodes on your network as well.

Anil Chopra and Sanjay Majumdar