2.4 Preparing the Network

Depending on your NetWare and NDS/eDirectory versions, certain preparations might be needed before you can install the first NetWare 6.5 server into an existing network.

NOTE:It is strongly recommended that you upgrade all NetWare servers to the latest supported versions of NetWare and deploy the current version of eDirectory as soon as possible. Compatibility between NetWare 6.5 and previous versions of NetWare and NDS/eDirectory is provided as an interim solution only.

2.4.1 Preparing a NetWare 6.5 Network

If you have an eDirectory tree that already contains at least one NetWare 6.5 server, most of the preparatory tasks necessary for NetWare 6.5 have already been completed.

Depending on the eDirectory version in the existing tree, you might need to apply some updates and schema extensions to prepare the tree for the version of eDirectory that comes with OES. See Prepare for New eDirectory for more information.

2.4.2 Preparing a NetWare 6.0 Network

NetWare 6.0 is no longer supported by Novell. See the Novell Support Lifecycle Web site.

Upgrading NetWare 6.0 servers to NetWare 6.5 is not supported in NetWare 6.5 SP8. If you have NetWare 6.0 servers, you should plan to migrate them to NetWare 6.5 as quickly as possible. You have the following options:

  • Use the NetWare Migration Wizard from the Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit to migrate a NetWare 6.0 server onto new hardware running NetWare 6.5. As part of the migration, the old server is shut down and the new server assumes the server name and IP address of the old server.

    For instructions on running Migration Wizard, see the Novell Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit Administration Guide.

  • Use the Novell Server Consolidation Utility from the Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit to copy data from NetWare 6.0 servers onto new NetWare 6.5 or Linux servers. The old servers remain active and retain their server names and IP addresses.

    Verify that users can access the migrated data on your new NetWare 6.5 servers, then remove the NetWare 6.0 source servers from the tree.

    For instructions on running the Server Consolidation Utility, see the Novell Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit Administration Guide.

If your OES network uses NTPv3 for time synchronization, convert the time synchronization method on your migrated NetWare servers from timesync.nlm to NTPv3. For more information, see Migrating Timesync Servers to NTP in the NW 6.5 SP8: NTP Administration Guide.

2.4.3 Preparing a NetWare 5.1 Network

If you have a NetWare 5.1 tree with NDS version 7.x or 8.x, follow these steps to prepare the network before installing the first OES server into the tree.

NOTE:Although you can install NetWare 6.5 servers into NetWare 5.1 trees running NDS 7.62c or 8.85c, installing into a tree with a version earlier than eDirectory 8.7.x can make User objects unmanageable for management utilities other than those that ship with NetWare 6.5.

  1. To ensure that licensing works properly, all NetWare 5.1 servers must have Support Pack 8 applied.

    You can download NetWare Support Packs from the Novell Downloads page.

  2. Verify that your NetWare 5.l servers are running NDS version 7.62c or 8.85c.

  3. In Deployment Manager, complete the Prepare for New eDirectory task to extend the core schema for compatibility with the version of eDirectory that ships with OES.

    For more information, see Prepare for New eDirectory.

  4. To ensure that your tree’s keys and certificates are not broken, run PKIdiag on any servers being upgraded and make sure that the certificates are good. Also, run SDIdiag and fix any tree key issues.

    IMPORTANT:Make sure that you run PKIdiag and SDIdiag after you have applied Support Pack 8 to your NetWare 5.1 servers.

If you prefer to upgrade your NetWare 5.1 servers to NetWare 6.5 SP8, see Section 3.0, Upgrading to NetWare 6.5 SP8.

2.4.4 Preparing a NetWare 4.x Network

NetWare 4.x is no longer supported by Novell. See the Novell Support Lifecycle Web site.

Upgrading NetWare 4.x servers to NetWare 6.5 is not supported in OES 2. If you have NetWare 4 servers, you should plan to migrate them to NetWare 6.5 as quickly as possible. You have the following options for NetWare 4 servers:

  • Use the NetWare Migration Wizard from the Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit to migrate a NetWare 4 server onto new hardware running NetWare 6.5. As part of the migration, the old server is shut down and the new server assumes the server name and IP address of the old server.

    For instructions on running the Migration Wizard, see the Novell Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit Administration Guide.

  • Use the Novell Server Consolidation Utility from the Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit to copy data from NetWare 4 servers onto new NetWare 6.5 or Linux servers. The old servers remain active and retain their server names and IP addresses.

    Verify that users can access the migrated data on your new NetWare 6.5 servers, then remove the NetWare 4 source servers from the tree.

    For instructions on running the Server Consolidation Utility, see the Novell Server Consolidation and Migration Toolkit Administration Guide.

  • Perform a down-server upgrade of NetWare 4.2 servers to NetWare 6.5.

    Down-server upgrades are no longer officially supported by Novell. However, in certain situations, customers can work with Novell Support staff to complete a down-server upgrade. Contact Novell Support for assistance.

If your OES network uses NTPv3 for time synchronization, convert the time synchronization method on your migrated NetWare servers from timesync.nlm to NTPv3. For more information, see Migrating Timesync Servers to NTP in the NW 6.5 SP8: NTP Administration Guide.