Configuring ARAS

To configure ARAS, complete the following steps:

1. Select Configure Services from the Remote Access Options window.

   The Remote Access Services window is displayed.

2. Select ARAS.

   The ARAS Configuration Options window is displayed.

3. Select Setup Options.

   The Setup Options window is displayed.

4. Select Support Apple Remote Access Client Version.

   1. Select one of the following options:

      • 2.0 Only---Select this option if you have only ARA 2.0 clients. Continue with Step 4b.
      • 1.0 and 2.0---Select this option if some clients dial in with ARA 1.0 and some dial in with ARA 2.0. Skip to Step 5.

      IMPORTANT:  When you select 1.0 and 2.0, the remote access software disables hardware compression on all ports that can be accessed by ARAS. We recommend that you either restrict ARAS to using specific ports (to minimize the number of ports with hardware compression disabled) or update your ARA 1.0 clients to ARA 2.0 clients. To restrict ARAS to using specific ports, refer to Authorizing Ports for Specific Services.

   2. If you select ARA 2.0 Only, specify the following parameters:

      • Prompt User for Remote Client Password---Select Yes if you want the user to enter the password manually. Select No if a stored password can be used by the client. The default is No.
      • ARAS Greeting---Enter the text that is displayed when the remote user establishes a connection with remote access. The default is blank.

5. Select Forward Packet to AppleTalk with CRC Embedded, and specify Yes or No.

   If this parameter is enabled (Yes), data packets from the remote node are forwarded with CRC embedded. If the AppleTalk network is sending frames with CRC embedded, then this option must be enabled for the remote nodes as well. The default is disabled (No). Refer to the following section for more information.

Verifying Data Integrity

To verify that the data packets on the AppleTalk network have CRC embedded, check the LOAD command for loading the AppleTalk protocol stack. If the AppleTalk protocol stack is loaded with the following command line parameter, then the AppleTalk network is sending frames with CRC embedded:

checksum=yes

An alternate way to verify that the data packets are sending frames with CRC enabled is by using INETCFG. Select Protocols and AppleTalk, then check the DDP Checksum field. It should be enabled.

The CHECKSUM parameter is used to detect data corruption in the AppleTalk packets. When this parameter is enabled, AppleTalk calculates the CHECKSUM value for the outbound packet, stores the value in the packet, then sends the packet out. When the packet is received at the destination, AppleTalk verifies the value to find out if the packet is good or bad. If the packet is bad, AppleTalk discards it. CHECKSUM helps to ensure data integrity; however, extra CPU time is required to compute the value.

If the network media has a high rate of data corruption, we recommend that you enable CHECKSUM; otherwise, leave it disabled for better performance. To enable CHECKSUM, select the DDP Checksum option in the AppleTalk section of the Protocols and Routing option of NIASCFG.