Starting and Stopping the Server

For information and procedures on starting the server, bringing it down using an orderly shutdown, and restarting the server without exiting to DOS, see


Starting the Server

To start the server, change to the startup directory (usually C:\nwserver) and enter the following at the DOS prompt:

SERVER

HINT:  You may also place the command to execute server.exe in the DOS autoexec.bat file. Then, whenever the server computer is powered up, the server starts automatically.

When you execute server.exe, the Novell® logo is displayed. To prevent the Novell® logo (server splash screen) from displaying, you can load SERVER with the -nl (no logo) command option.

If the splash screen is active and you want to see a list of modules as they load, you can still display the system console screen by using the procedure below to toggle between server console screens.

  1. Press Alt + Esc, tapping Esc until the system console screen is displayed.

    A list of modules scrolls up the screen. If you have a color monitor, the color in which each module name is displayed indicates how the module is loaded.

    Cyan (light blue) indicates a module is loaded by server.exe
    Red indicates the module is loaded from the startup directory
    White indicates a module loaded from the autoexec.ncf file
    Purple indicates a module is loaded by other modules

  2. After the server is running, you can display a list of all loaded modules by entering the following at the server console prompt:

    MODULES

    The module names are displayed in colors that represent the functional group they belong to, as described above.

For more information, see SERVER and MODULES in Utilities Reference.


Bringing Down the Server

To ensure data integrity, use the DOWN command at the server console before turning off power to the server. DOWN writes all cache buffers to disk, closes all files, updates the appropriate Directory Entry Tables and File Allocation Tables, and exits the network.

If you want to bring the server down and then restart the server immediately, without exiting to DOS, use the RESTART SERVER command instead of DOWN.

NOTE:  Bringing down or restarting a server during a remote console session terminates the session.

  1. Use MONITOR to inform all users that they should close all files and log out.

    1. From Available Options, select Connections.

    2. Highlight each connection you want to inform and press F5 to mark it.

    3. Press F4 to display a Message Text window.

    4. Type the message and press Enter to send the message to the designated connections.

    For example, you might send a message like this:

    Please close files and log out from < servername>

    Going down in 5 minutes

  2. Execute one of the following commands at the server console prompt:

    1. To bring down the server and exit to the local operating system, enter

      DOWN

      You can now shut off power to the system, if necessary.

    2. To reboot the server without exiting to DOS, enter

      RESTART SERVER

Although most modules, including those in protected address spaces, unload automatically when you down or restart the server, some modules might require that you unload them individually first. You can unload them manually with the UNLOAD command. Or you can create a batch file called shutdown.ncf and place the unload commands in it. If you create shutdown.ncf, it is executed automatically whenever you down or restart the server.

For more information about creating batch files, see Using EDIT to Create and Edit Text and Batch Files. For more information about the UNLOAD command, see UNLOAD in Utilities Reference. Also see DOWN and RESTART SERVER in Utilities Reference.