NetWare® licenses client connections in large multiples, such as 100, 250, or 1000 licenses per server.
A network login passes through three connection phases until a license is consumed:
Not Logged-In. Unlicensed---the connection does not count against connection licenses---and is not authenticated to NDS®. This can be the initial attachment of the client before authentication or licensing occurs or it could also indicate users who have logged out, leaving a Not Logged-In connection to the server on which a default drive was located.
Unlicensed connections are indicated by an asterisk (*) in MONITOR's Active Connection list.
Authenticated. Unlicensed and authenticated only to NDS. This connection cannot---in its current state---access other resources on the server. This type of connection occurs most often when users are browsing the NDS tree to view objects located in an NDS replica held on another server. This type of connection can also be from other NetWare servers carrying out NDS synchronization or time synchronization activities.
As unlicensed connections, they do not consume licenses, and as such, they are indicated by an asterisk (*) in MONITOR's Active Connection list.
Authenticated/Licensed. Both authenticated and licensed. Also called a Normal connection. The authenticated state comes about when the user enters a valid username and password. From this information, NDS establishes the user's identity and authenticates the user via the security methods found in its encryption algorithms. However, a user's connection doesn't actually become authenticated and licensed until the user requests access to the server's file and print services. Typically, such requests are initially performed through the container, profile, or user login script.
Once the user is authenticated during the initial login process, background authentication establishes connections to any other servers that are specified in the login scripts. An authenticated/licensed connection consumes one of the connection licenses. Most connections are of this type.
All connections described as licensed or unlicensed, authenticated or Not Logged-In, are considered active connections and are tracked by the server. See Using MONITOR for Connection Management Tasks.
NetWare 5 connection licenses are managed through Novell Licensing Services. You can increase your NetWare 5 connections by purchasing additional licenses and installing them using NLS Manager or Netware Administrator. For more information, contact your Novell Authorized Reseller.