At the console prompt, type
SET <Enter>
The following information appears:
Figure 41
Current operating system configuration information
To select a category, type the number of the category and press <Enter>.
Use SET to view the current operating system parameters and to configure the operatingsystem to fit your situation. Most of the parameters do not need to be changed. They have been set to give maximum performance to most users. However, by changing some of the parameters, you may be able to increase the performance of your operating system.
The following tasks are explained on the indicated pages:
SET [parameter]
The available parameters (listed under Communications Parameters through View Current Operating System Configurations) are divided into nine categories.
The categories, along with their parameters, are explained on the following pages.
| Category | Page |
|---|---|
Communications |
|
Memory |
|
File caching |
|
Directory caching |
|
File system |
|
Locks |
|
Transaction tracking |
|
Disk |
|
Miscellaneous |
SET can be used to display or change current settings, control memory allocations, and configure other types of operating system functions. The following sections give a brief overview of SET.
SET can be used both to display and change current settings.
SET controls how much memory can be allocated for the following items and how fast the additional memory can be allocated:
SET also configures the following functions:
Most SET parameters can be executed from the console prompt and saved permanently in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file. However, some parameters can only be changed in the STARTUP.NCF file; a few others can be changed in the STARTUP.NCF file, at the console, or in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file. Most of the parameters can be set at the console prompt. If you try to enter a STARTUP.NCF file parameter at the console prompt, you are prompted to enter it into the STARTUP.NCF file. When a parameter is set at the console, the operating system is immediately configured to that setting. Any setting in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file is automatically overridden until the file server is rebooted. Any parameter set at the console prompt can be saved in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file.
Edit the AUTOEXEC.NCF file with INSTALL. The following parameters must be set in the STARTUP.NCF file. They cannot be set at the console prompt or saved in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file.
The STARTUP.NCF file can be edited from within the INSTALL utility. The following parameters can be set in any one of either the STARTUP.NCF file, the AUTOEXEC.NCF file, or at the console.
These parameters control the display of alert messages about hardware, loadable modules, and hard disks. The parameters can be entered as the first commands in the STARTUP.NCF file so that the alerts appear for all modules that you load and all hardware devices that you add. Some SET parameters control how the operating system dynamically allocates services. Three types of parameters interact to control the actual allocation of a resource:
For example, if the minimum number of directory cache buffers is set to 20, the operating system immediately allocates another buffer resource as soon as a request is made until 20 cache buffers have been allocated. When 20 directory cache buffers have been allocated, the operating system waits 2.2 seconds (default) when a request comes in, and then allocates another buffer if the request is still active.
However, if the minimum number of directory cache buffers is set to 40, the operating system allocates 40 directory cache buffers before it starts slowing the growth by waiting 2.2 seconds after each request.
The SET categories and their associated parameters are listed in the following tables. The parameter name and default value are listed in the left column and the parameter limits are shown in the right column. The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Communications parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Communications.
Configuring Memory Allocations
Configuring Other Types of Operating System Functions
Entering Parameters
At the Console Prompt
In the AUTOEXEC.NCF File
In the STARTUP.NCF File
Console, AUTOEXEC.NCF File, or STARTUP.NCF File
Using Parameters that Control the Allocation of Services
Parameters
Communications Parameters
Table 16. Communications parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Console Display Watchdog Logouts = OFF |
ON, OFF |
New Packet Receive Buffer Wait Time = 0.1 seconds |
0.1 to 20 seconds |
Maximum Physical Receive Packet Size = 1514 |
618 to 4202 |
Maximum Packet Receive Buffers = 400 |
50 to 2000 |
Minimum Packet Receive Buffers = 10 |
10 to 1000 |
Number of Watchdog Packets = 100 |
5 to 100 |
Delay Between Watchdog Packets = 59.3 seconds |
9.9 seconds to 10 minutes 26.2 seconds |
Delay Before First Watchdog Packet = 4 minutes 56.6 seconds |
15.7 seconds to 20 minutes 52.3 seconds |
NCP Packet Signature Option = 1 |
0 to 3 |
Enable Packet Burst Statistics Screen = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Reply to Get Nearest Server = ON |
ON, OFF |
Enable IPX Checksum = ON |
ON, OFF |
Allow LIP = ON |
ON, OFF |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Memory parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Memory.
Table 17. Memory parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Cache Buffer Size = 4096 bytes |
4096, 8192, or 16384 bytes |
Maximum Alloc Short Term Memory = 8388608 |
50000 to 33554432 |
Auto Register Memory Above 16 Megabytes = ON |
ON, OFF |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the File Caching parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see File Caching.
Table 18. File Caching parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Maximum Concurrent Disk Cache Writes = 50 |
10 to 1000 |
Dirty Disk Cache Delay Time = 3.3 seconds |
0.1 to 10 seconds |
Minimum File Cache Report Threshold = 20 |
0 to 1000 |
Minimum File Cache Buffers = 20 |
20 to 1000 |
Read Ahead Enabled = ON |
ON, OFF |
Read Ahead LRU Sitting Time Threshold = 10 seconds |
0 seconds to 1 hour |
Reserved Buffers Below 16 Meg = 16 |
8 to 300 |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Directory Caching parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Directory Caching.
Table 19. Directory Caching parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Dirty Directory Cache Delay Time = 0.5 seconds |
0 to 10 seconds |
Maximum Concurrent Directory Cache Writes = 10 |
5 to 50 |
Directory Cache Allocation Wait Time = 2.2 seconds |
0.5 seconds to 2 minutes |
Directory Cache Buffer NonReferenced Delay = 5.5 seconds |
1 second to 5 minutes |
Maximum Directory Cache Buffers = 500 |
20 to 4000 |
Minimum Directory Cache Buffers = 20 |
10 to 2000 |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the File System parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see File System.
Table 20. File System parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Maximum Extended Attributes per File or Path = 8 |
4 to 512 |
Immediate Purge Of Deleted Files = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Maximum Subdirectory Tree Depth = 25 |
10 to 100 |
Volume Low Warn All Users = ON |
ON, OFF |
Volume Low Warning Reset Threshold = 256 |
0 to 100000 |
Volume Low Warning Threshold = 256 |
0 to 1000000 |
Turbo FAT Re-Use Wait Time = 5 minutes 29.6 seconds |
0.3 seconds to 1 hour 5 minutes 54.6 seconds |
Minimum File Delete Wait Time = 1 minute 5.9 seconds |
0 seconds to 7 days |
File Delete Wait Time = 5 minutes 29.6 seconds |
0 seconds to 7 days |
NCP File Commit = ON |
ON, OFF |
Maximum Percent of Volume Used By Directory = 13 |
5 to 50 |
Maximum Percent of Volume Space allowed for Extended Attributes = 10 |
5 to 50 |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Lock parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Lock.
Table 21. Lock parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Maximum Record Locks Per Connection = 500 |
10 to 10000 |
Maximum File Locks Per Connection = 250 |
10 to 1000 |
Maximum Record Locks = 20000 |
100 to 200000 |
Maximum File Locks = 10000 |
100 to 100000 |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Transaction Tracking parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Transaction Tracking.
Table 22. Transaction Tracking parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Auto TTS Backout Flag = OFF |
ON, OFF |
TTS Abort Dump Flag = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Maximum Transactions = 10000 |
100 to 10000 |
TTS Unwritten Cache Wait Time = 1 minute 5.9 seconds |
11 seconds to 10 minutes 59.1 seconds |
TTS Backout File Truncation Wait Time = 59 minutes 19.2 seconds |
1 minute 5.9 seconds to 1 day 2 hours 21 minutes 51.3 seconds |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Disk parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Disk.
Table 23. Disk parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Enable disk read after write verify = ON |
ON, OFF |
Concurrent Remirror Requests = 2 |
2 to 30 |
The following table lists the default value and limits for each of the Miscellaneous parameters. For an explanation of these SET parameters, see Miscellaneous.
Table 24. Miscellaneous parameters
| Parameter | Limits |
|---|---|
Maximum Outstanding NCP Searches = 51 |
10 to 1000 |
Allow Unencrypted Passwords = OFF |
ON, OFF |
New Service Process Wait Time = 2.2 seconds |
0.3 to 20 seconds |
Pseudo Preemption Time = 2000 |
1000 to 10000 |
Display Spurious Interrupt Alerts = ON |
ON, OFF |
Display Lost Interrupt Alerts = ON |
ON, OFF |
Display Disk Device Alerts = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Display Relinquish Control Alerts = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Display Old API Names = OFF |
ON, OFF |
Maximum Service Processes = 20 |
5 to 40 |
Display Incomplete IPX Packet Alerts = ON |
ON, OFF |
Replace Console Prompt with Server Name = ON |
ON, OFF |
Allow Change to Client Rights = ON |
ON, OFF |
To view the current configuration for the SET parameters, complete the following steps.
At the console prompt, type
SET <Enter>
The following information appears:
Figure 41
Current operating system configuration information
To select a category, type the number of the category and press <Enter>.
To change a SET parameter that can be set at the console prompt, type "SET" and the parameter.
For example, to set the "Allow unencrypted passwords" parameter so that unencrypted passwords are valid, type
SET ALLOW UNENCRYPTED PASSWORDS = ON <Enter>
To set the parameter each time the file server is booted, add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.NCF file:
SET ALLOW UNENCRYPTED PASSWORDS = ON
You can modify the AUTOEXEC.NCF file with INSTALL or SYSCON.
Some SET parameters can be set only in the STARTUP.NCF file. For a list, see In the STARTUP.NCF File.
To change one of those parameters, complete the following steps.
Load INSTALL.
At the console prompt, type
LOAD INSTALL <Enter>
Select "System Options."
Select "Edit STARTUP.NCF file."
Complete one of the following:
NOTE: If the STARTUP.NCF file is located in a DOS partition directory other than C:\, verify that the proper directory path is specified following the drive letter designation.
Add the SET parameter to the file. For example, to change the maximum subdirectory depth to 30, type SET MAXIMUM SUBDIRECTORY TREE DEPTH = 30 Save the file with the changes. Answer "Yes" to the exit prompts. Down the file server by typing DOWN <Enter> Reboot the file server.
The following parameters are described according to their groupings in the SET information screens.
The communication parameters determine the settings for the packet receive buffers and the watchdog packets.
This parameter determines whether a console message is displayed when a connection is cleared.
Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter determines the maximum size of packets that can be transmitted on any of the file server's networks. The default allows 1 KB (data with the packet header) to be transmitted.
This parameter cannot be modified at the console prompt. To modify the default, you must include the parameter in the STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: 618 to 24682 Default: 1514 This parameter determines the maximum number of packet receive buffers that the operating system can allocate. Before increasing this parameter, use MONITOR to view the file server's current use of packet receive buffers and service processes.
Supported values: 50 to 2000 Default: 400
This parameter determines the minimum number of packet receive buffers that the operating system can allocate. Rather than waiting for requests to come in, the operating system allocates the minimum number of buffers as soon as the file server boots. Before increasing this parameter, use MONITOR to view the file server's current use of packet receive buffers. If the allocated number is higher than 10 and the server is slow in responding immediately after it has been booted, increase this number. If you have EISA or microchannel bus master boards in your file server and are receiving "No ECB available count" errors (see LAN Information) right after the file server boots, increase this parameter. Increase the parameter so that each board can have at least 5 packet receive buffers. This parameter can be changed only in the STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: 10 to 1000 Default: 100 This parameter determines how long the operating system waits after receiving a request for another packet receive buffer before granting another buffer. This parameter prevents the operating system from granting too many packet receive buffers during a sudden peak in usage. If you have an EISA bus master board in your file server, this parameter should never be changed. Supported values: 0.1 seconds to 20 seconds Default: 0.1 seconds This is the number of watchdog packets that the server will send out, without receiving a reply from a workstation, before eliminating the workstation's connection. Supported values: 5 to 100 Default: 10 This is the amount of time between watchdog packets. After the server sends out the first watchdog packet, it waits the specified time before sending out the succeeding packets if it receives no reply. Supported values: 9.9 seconds to 10 minutes 26.2 seconds Default: 59.3 seconds This is the amount of time the server waits without receiving a request from a workstation before it sends out the first watchdog packet to that workstation. Supported values: 15.7 seconds to 20 minutes 52.3 seconds Default: 4 minutes 56.6 seconds This parameter determines the packet signature level for the server. The signature level that is set on the server works in conjunction with the signature level of the client to determine the effective packet signature. Supported values: 0 to 3 Default: 1 This parameter can be set in the STARTUP.NCF file. NOTE: After startup, you can only increase the packet signature level.
The following table explains each of the packet signature level options for the server.
Console Display Watchdog Logouts = value
Maximum Physical Receive Packet Size = number
Maximum Packet Receive Buffers = number
Minimum Packet Receive Buffers = number
New Packet Receive Buffer Wait Time = time
Number of Watchdog Packets = number
Delay Between Watchdog Packets = time
Delay Before First Watchdog Packet = time
NCP Packet Signature Option = number
| Number | Explanation |
|---|---|
0 |
Server does not sign packets (regardless of the client level) |
1 |
Server signs packets only if the client requests it (client level is 2 or higher) |
2 |
Server signs packets if the client is capable of signing (client level is 1 or higher) |
3 |
Server signs packets and requires all clients to sign packets (or logging in will fail) |
Some combinations of server and client packet signature levels may slow performance. However, low CPU-demand systems may not show any performance degradation. Network supervisors can choose the packet signature level that meets both their performance needs and their security requirements
This parameter determines whether the NCP Packet Burst Statistics Screen is displayed.
Supported values: ON and OFF
Default: OFF
This parameter determines if the server will respond to Get Nearest Server requests from workstations that are attempting to locate a server.
This parameter can be set in the STARTUP.NCF file.
Supported values: ON and OFF
Default: ON
This parameter determines the level of IPX checksums to be performed.
Supported values: 0 to 2
Default: 1
The following table explains each of the IPX checksum level options.
| Number | Explanation |
|---|---|
0 |
No checksums performed |
1 |
Checksums performed if enabled at the client |
2 |
Checksums required |
This parameter determines if Large Internet Packet support is enabled.
Supported values: ON and OFF
Default: ON
The memory parameters control the size of the dynamic memory pool, the block size of the cache buffers, and the automatic registering of memory on EISA bus computers.
The Alloc Short Term Memory pool stores the following information:
This parameter controls how much memory the operating system can allocate to the Alloc Short Term Memory pool. The 8MB default should be sufficient for up to 1000 users, each with 26 drive mappings.
Use MONITOR to view the amount of memory allocated to the "Alloc Memory Pool" (the "Server Memory Statistics" window).
Supported values: 50000 to 33554432
Default: 8388608
This parameter controls the automatic registering of memory above 16 MB in EISA computers.
If you install one of these boards and the file server addresses more than 16 MB of memory, the board will corrupt file server memory. The board will address low memory rather than its assigned high memory and corrupt the low memory being used by the operating system.
This parameter cannot be set at the console prompt. To change the value, you must add the parameter to the STARTUP.NCF file and reboot the file server.
Supported values: ON and OFF
Default: ON
This parameter controls the block size of the cache buffer.
This parameter cannot be modified at the console prompt. To change the default value, include the parameter in the STARTUP.NCF file or run SERVER with the -c parameter. See SERVER.
Supported values: 4096, 8192, and 16384 bytes
Default: 4096 bytes
File caching allows faster access to frequently used files by holding a file (or a portion of the file) in memory. Files that are being read from or written to are kept in file cache buffers. The number of files kept in memory depends on the number of file cache buffers. The number of file cache buffers is determined by the amount of available memory and the "Minimum file cache buffers" setting.
Following are the operating system file caching parameters.
This parameter sets the minimum number of cache buffers that the operating system can allow for file caching. All memory not allocated for other processes is given to file caching. As memory is requested for other uses, the file server gives up cache buffers. This limit specifies when the file server should stop giving file cache buffers to other processes.
If you set the minimum too high, other server processes may not be able to allocate necessary memory resources. For example, a loadable module could fail to load because the file server has run out of available memory.
Supported values: 20 to 1000
Default: 20
This parameter determines how many write requests for changed file data can be put in the elevator before the disk head begins a sweep across the disk.
You should monitor the number of dirty cache buffers on the information screen of MONITOR. If this number is above 70% of the total cache buffers, you can optimize the write speed by increasing the limit for "Maximum concurrent disk cache writes."
Supported values: 10 to 1000
Default: 50
This parameter determines how long the operating system will keep a write request (that does not fill a cache buffer) in memory before writing the request to disk.
If your users are making many small write requests, you can increase the time to make disk writing more efficient. If you decrease the time, you only slightly reduce the chances of losing data and you can drastically reduce performance.
Supported values: 0.1 seconds to 10 seconds
Default: 3.3 seconds
This parameter sets a threshold so that the operating system warns you when it has allocated all available cache buffers within a specified number greater than the minimum. (Use SET to view the "Minimum file cache buffers" parameter for your system.)
For example, if the minimum number of cache buffers is set to 20 and the "Minimum File Cache Report Threshold" is set to 20, the operating system warns you when all but 40 cache buffers have been allocated for other processes (directory caching, server processes, loadable modules, volume FATs). When the threshold has been reached, you receive the following message:
Number of cache buffers is getting too low.
Regardless of how this parameter is set, the operating system warns you when the operating system's memory allocation resources reach the minimum number of cache buffers. When this threshold is reached, you receive the following message:
Cache memory allocator exceeded minimum cache buffer left limit
Supported values: 0 to 1000
Default: 20
When set to ON, and while sequential file access is taking place, background reads are done in advance to get blocks that are to be put into the cache.
Supported values: ON and OFF
Default: OFF
This parameter determines the time after which the read ahead will occur. If the cache LRU sitting time is below the threshold setting, the read ahead will not take place.
Supported values: 0 seconds to 1 hour
Default: 10 seconds
This parameter determines the number of cache buffers to be kept for certain device drivers which are unable to access memory above 16 MB.
This parameter can be set only in the STARTUP.NCF file.
Supported values: 8 to 300
Default: 16
Directory caching allows fast access to frequently used directories. A directory cache buffer is a portion of file server memory that holds entries from the directory table.
A directory entry stays in a cache buffer as long as it is being accessed frequently (the default setting is 33 seconds). When the directory entry is not being accessed frequently, the operating system can overwrite the entry if all the allocated directory cache buffers have been accessed more frequently.
When the file server boots, the operating system allocates a minimum number of directory cache buffers (the default is 20). The operating system creates these buffers immediately when it receives a request for a new directory cache buffer.
When the minimum number of directory cache buffers has been allocated and another one is needed, the operating system must wait a specified amount of time (the default is 1.1 seconds) before allocating another buffer. If necessary, the operating system keeps allocating directory cache buffers until the maximum number is reached.
If a sufficient number of directory cache buffers have been allocated and enough memory is available for directory caching, the complete directory tables can be cached in memory.
As directory cache buffers increase, file cache buffers decrease. Thus, a trade-off exists between directory caching and file caching. If you adjust the system to use too much memory for directory caching, you can leave too little memory for file caching, and vice versa. Directory caching and file caching need to be carefully balanced for maximum performance.
Six directory caching parameters control the allocation of directory cache buffers. Usually, only the first three parameters listed below need to be changed.
This parameter sets how long a directory entry must be cached before it can be overwritten by another directory entry.
Supported values: 1 second to 5 minutes
Default: 5.5 seconds
This parameter sets the maximum cache buffers used for directory cache buffers. When the operating system allocates a directory cache buffer, the allocation is permanent until the file server reboots; the buffers do not return to file caching when the need for directory cache buffers decreases.
This parameter keeps the operating system from allocating too many directory cache buffers so that memory is available for other file server processes.
Supported values: 20 to 4000
Default: 500
This parameter determines the minimum number of cache buffers that the operating system can allocate for directory caching. The parameter needs to be high enough that directory searches can be done quickly, but no higher than necessary.
Supported values: 10 to 2000
Default: 20
This parameter determines how long the operating system keeps a directory table write request in memory before writing it to disk.
Supported values: 0 to 10 seconds
Default: .5 seconds
This parameter determines how many write requests from directory cache buffers can be put in the elevator before the disk head begins a sweep across the disk.
Supported values: 5 to 50
Default: 10
This parameter determines how long the operating system must wait after allocating a new directory cache buffer before it can allocate another buffer. During this time, all requests for a new directory cache buffer are ignored.
If directory searches seem slow even after the file server has been running for 15 minutes, you may want to decrease this time.
Supported values: 0.5 seconds to 2 minutes
Default: 2.2 seconds
File system parameters are used to control the following:
The file-purging parameters influence other parameters which, in turn, control warnings about almost-full volumes. All deleted files remain on the disk for a specified minimum amount of time. The operating system calculates a volume's remaining space by subtracting the following from the total space:
This parameter controls the salvageable file feature.
Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter controls whether the operating system warns users when a volume is almost full. If you choose not to warn your users, monitor the volume statistics at least daily with CHKVOL or VOLINFO. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter controls how much disk space must be freed up before a second warning is issued. (The first warning is controlled by the "Volume Low Warn All Users" parameter.) When a volume is almost full, it can hover at its warning threshold. As users delete files and the files become candidates for purging, the space on the volume can move slightly above the warning threshold; then, as they create new files, the space on the volume can dip below the threshold. If a volume is hovering at its threshold, you do not want to warn users each time the volume dips below the threshold. This parameter controls the minimum amount of space that must be available above the threshold before users will again be warned that the space on the volume has dipped below the threshold. For example, suppose the following conditions exist:
Given these conditions, the volume must gain at least 1 MB of free space (for a total of 2 MB of free space) and then dip below 1 MB before the operating system sends a second warning that the volume is almost full. Supported values: 0 to 100000 blocks Default: 256 blocks This parameter controls how little free disk space can remain on a volume before the operating system issues a warning. The parameter is set by entering the desired number of blocks. (A block is the minimum space allocated to a file; a file can only grow in multiples of the block size.) The block's physical size is determined when the volume is created. A volume can be assigned a 4KB, 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, or 64KB block size. For example, if you enter 256 blocks and the volume's block size is 4 KB, the operating system warns you that the volume is full when about 1 MB of space is left. If your volumes have been assigned different block sizes, each volume will have a different amount of free space when the warning is issued. Supported values: 0 to 100000 blocks Default: 256 blocks This parameter determines how long a deleted file must stay in a salvageable state on the volume. Deleted files that have not met this minimum time limit will not be purged automatically even if the volume is full and users are unable to create new files. Supported values: 0 seconds to 7 days Default: 1 minute and 5.9 seconds This parameter determines when a salvageable file can be purged to create free space on the volume. The operating system tries to keep at least a minimum of 1/32 of the available space on the volume free for new files. When a file has been deleted for a greater time than the "File delete wait time," the operating system marks the file as a candidate for purging. When the volume becomes full of files that can be purged and needs free space to maintain the minimum amount, the operating system begins deleting the oldest files that can be purged. Set this parameter as high as is useful for your users, but remember that this parameter does not guarantee that the file will remain in a salvageable state. The parameter only guarantees that the file will not be purged to maintain the volume's minimum amount of free disk space (1/32 of the volume's size). Files that have not met this time limit will still be purged if the volume is full and the operating system needs space for a user to create a new file. Supported values: 0 seconds to 7 days Default: 5 minutes 29.6 seconds This parameter limits the portion of a volume that may be used as directory space. Supported values: 5 to 50 Default: 13 This parameter limits the portion of volume space that may be used for extended attribute storage. This setting only takes effect when the volume is being mounted. Supported values: 5 to 50 Default: 10 This parameter sets a limit to the number of extended attributes that can be assigned to a file or path (subdirectory). This limit is for all the volumes on the server. Supported values: 4 to 512 Default: 8 This parameter controls whether applications can flush all pending file writes to disk. When a File Commit NCP is issued and the flag is set to ON, a file is flushed from the cache to disk immediately, instead of waiting for the cache manager to flush it to disk some time later. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter determines how many levels of subdirectories the operating system supports. Some DOS applications cannot support more than 10 levels if the subdirectories have eleven-character names.
This parameter cannot be set at the console prompt. To change the value, you must add the parameter to the STARTUP.NCF file and reboot the file server. Supported values: 10 to 100 Default: 25 This parameter determines how long a turbo FAT buffer remains in memory after an indexed file is closed. Once the wait-time value has passed, the operating system can allocate the buffer to another indexed file. The NetWare v3.x operating system automatically indexes any randomly accessed file that has 64 entries in the FAT. When a program starts randomly accessing a file that contains more than 64 FAT entries, the operating system automatically builds a turbo FAT index for the file so that the information can be accessed quickly. Since a turbo FAT index takes time to build, the operating system does not immediately delete the index from its buffer when the file is closed. Having the turbo FAT index already in memory makes reopening the file and accessing the information faster.
Supported values: 0.3 seconds to 1 hour 5 minutes 54.6 seconds Default: 5 minutes 29.6 seconds The lock parameters control how many open files each station can have and how many total open files the operating system can handle. They also control how many record locks each connection can have and how many total record locks the operating system can handle. These parameters control three types of locks: file, physical, and logical.
This parameter controls how many record locks a station can use at one time.
Supported values: 10 to 10000 Default: 500 This parameter controls how many opened and locked files a station can use at one time.
Supported values: 10 to 1000 Default: 250 This parameter controls how many record locks the operating system can handle.
Supported values: 100 to 200000 Default: 20000 This parameter controls how many opened and locked files the operating system can handle. Use MONITOR to view the number of files that are open during peak usage.
Supported values: 100 to 100000 Default: 10000 The transaction tracking parameters control the Transaction Tracking System (TTS). A transaction is a set of write operations that must be completed together in order to maintain file and database integrity. Write operations consist not only of data and data records, but also of changes to the index and the key structures that are important to an application's continual operation. TTS guarantees that a transaction will be either written to disk in its complete form or backed out if incomplete. This ensures database integrity in the event that the workstation, the file server, or the LAN fails before a transaction has been completed. Most of these parameters should not be changed. This parameter determines whether a crashed file server with transactional files can automatically back out any incomplete transactions when the file server is booted.
You can only set this parameter in the STARTUP.NCF file, not at the console prompt. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter controls whether a file will be created to log transactional backout data. When the file server fails during a data write to a file that is flagged transactional, the operating system can back out the incomplete write.
Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter determines how many transactions can occur at the same time. Supported values: 100 to 10000 Default: 10000 This parameter determines how long a block of transactional data can be held in memory. Some blocks of transaction data wait for other transactional blocks to be written first. If one of these blocks reaches its maximum time limit, other write requests are held up and this block is written to disk. Supported values: 11 seconds to 10 minutes 59.1 seconds Default: 1 minute 5.9 seconds This parameter determines the minimum amount of time that allocated blocks remain available for the TTS backout file when these blocks are not currently being used. Supported values: 1 minute 5.9 seconds to 1 day 2 hours 21 minutes 51.3 seconds Default: 59 minutes 19.2 seconds The disk parameters control read-after-write verification and the number of remirror requests per logical partition. The disk parameter Enable Disk Read After Write Verify controls one part of Hot Fix redirection. Hot Fix redirection can occur during a write request, a read request, or a read-after-write verification.
This parameter controls whether information written to disk will be compared with that in memory. Normally, you would not want to disable this portion of Hot Fix. However, if your disks are mirrored and reliable and you need extra speed on disk writes, disabling read-after-write verify can almost double the speed of disk writes. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter determines the number of remirror requests per logical partition. This parameter can be set only in the STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: 2 and 30 Default: 4 The miscellaneous parameters control the following:
Normally, you will only need to change the setting for encrypted passwords. This parameter controls the use of unencrypted passwords. An ON setting allows users to use both unencrypted and encrypted passwords. An OFF setting allows users to use only encrypted passwords. If file servers on your network are running versions of NetWare earlier than NetWare v3.0 and you leave the default to OFF, your users may have problems logging in.
Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter controls the alerts about spurious interrupts. A message is sent to the file server console whenever the hardware in the file server creates an interrupt that has been defined and reserved for another device. Such interrupts, which are labeled spurious, generate the following type of message: This message indicates a serious error in the hardware. If your file server console displays this message, remove all add-on boards and run SERVER. If the message does not appear, add the boards one at a time until you have discovered which piece of hardware is creating the spurious interrupt. Then contact the vender. (Set the parameter to OFF while you are waiting for a resolution.) Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter controls the alerts about lost interrupts. A message is sent to the file server console whenever a driver or board requests a service with an interrupt call and then drops the request before the CPU can respond to the request. Such interrupts, which are labeled lost, generate the following message: This message indicates a hardware or driver problem that could degrade performance. Unload all the drivers, and then reload them one at a time to determine which driver has the problem. Then contact the vender of the driver. (Set the parameter to OFF while you are waiting for a resolution.) Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter controls the informational messages about hard disks. A message is generated each time a hard disk is added, activated, deactivated, mounted, or dismounted. For example, if the parameter is set to ON, the following types of messages appear: Set this parameter to ON if you want such messages displayed when a disk driver is loaded or unloaded, when the file server is booted or downed, or when you are trying to isolate a problem with a disk driver or a hard disk. Set this parameter to OFF if you are not experiencing any hard disk problems. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter controls messages about CPU control. If an NLM uses the processor for more than .4 seconds without relinquishing control to other processes, the following types of messages appear: This parameter controls whether the generated messages are sent to the file server console. Set this parameter to ON if you are writing your own NLMs. Set this parameter to OFF if you are not writing your own NLMs. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter controls messages about NetWare v3.0 API calls. NetWare v3.1x renamed some of the APIs as additional resources were tracked. (Resource tracking protects your file server from loadable modules that try to use more than their share of resources. In addition, resource tracking forces the loadable modules to relinquish all their resources when unloaded.) The following types of messages appear when a module that uses the old APIs is loaded: The old APIs work, but more slowly than the new APIs. If you receive these messages, contact the vender of the module. Set this parameter to ON if you are writing your own NLMs and you are upgrading NetWare v3.0 NLMs to the new v3.1x APIs. Set this parameter to OFF if you are not upgrading NLMs to NetWare v3.1x. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: OFF This parameter is available for certain NLMs to keep an NLM process from using too much CPU time. Set this parameter only as your NLM documentation recommends. Supported values: 1000 to 10000 (raw CPU time, approximately .84 seconds each.) Default: 2000 This parameter determines the maximum number of NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) directory searches that can be processed at the same time. Normally, only one NCP directory search occurs at a time. Increase this default only if you are using applications that support multiple outstanding directory search operations at the same time and you have problems with corrupted or invalid directory information. Supported values: 10 to 1000 Default: 51 This parameter determines how long the operating system waits after receiving a request for another service process before making the allocation. Supported values: 0.3 seconds to 20 seconds Default: 2.2 seconds This parameter determines the maximum number of service processes that the operating system can create. The number that have currently been allocated can be viewed in MONITOR.
Supported values: 5 to 40 Default: 20 This parameter determines if alert messages are displayed when IPX receives incomplete packets. This parameter can be set only in the server's STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter determines if the console prompt should be replaced with the server name. This parameter can be set in the server's STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON This parameter determines whether a server can assume the rights of a client. For example, when this parameter is set to ON, a print on the job server is allowed to assume the rights of the submitter of the queue job as it is being submitted. This parameter can be set in the server's STARTUP.NCF file. Supported values: ON and OFF Default: ON NOTE: The default is for this parameter ON, because certain job servers and third-party applications cannot function without changing to client rights. If the parameter is set to OFF, some of these third-party applications may not function.Immediate Purge Of Deleted Files = value
Volume Low Warn All Users = value
Volume Low Warning Reset Threshold = number
Volume Low Warning Threshold = number
Minimum File Delete Wait Time = time
File Delete Wait Time = time
Maximum Percent Of Volume Used By Directory = percentage
Maximum Percent Of Volume Space Allowed For Extended Attributes = percentage
Maximum Extended Attributes Per File or Path = number
NCP File Commit = value
Maximum Subdirectory Tree Depth = number
Turbo FAT Re-Use Wait Time = time
Lock
Maximum Record Locks Per Connection = number
Maximum File Locks Per Connection = number
Maximum Record Locks = number
Maximum File Locks = number
Transaction Tracking
Auto TTS Backout Flag = value
Incomplete transaction(s) found. Do you wish to back them out?TTS Abort Dump Flag = value
Maximum Transactions = number
TTS UnWritten Cache Wait Time = time
TTS Backout File Truncation Wait Time = time
Disk
Enable Disk Read After Write Verify = value
Concurrent Remirror Requests = number
Miscellaneous
Allow Unencrypted Passwords = value
Display Spurious Interrupt Alerts = value
Spurious hardware interrupt <number> detectedDisplay Lost Interrupt Alerts = value
Interrupt controller detected a lost hardware interruptDisplay Disk Device Alerts = value
Device # 0 (20000) ISA Type 043 addedDevice # 0 (20000) ISA Type 043 activated.Device # 0 (20000) ISA Type 043 deactivated dueDisplay Relinquish Control Alerts = value
<process name> Process did not relinquish control frequently.Module: <module name>Code offset in module: <memory address>Display Old API Names = value
Module is using old API: SetInterruptVectorModule is using old API: ReturnPermanentMemoryModule is using old API: AllocateReturnablePermMemoryPseudo Preemption Time = time
Maximum Outstanding NCP Searches = number
New Service Process Wait Time = time
Maximum Service Processes = number
Display Incomplete IPX Packet Alerts = value
Replace Console Prompt with Server Name = value
Allow Change to Client Rights = value