NetWare 6.0 Server Installation Guidelines

Support

This guest operating system is supported on the following VMware products:

General Installation Notes

Note: Support for Novell NetWare 6.0 as a guest operating system is experimental at this time.

You can install NetWare 6.0 in a virtual machine using the standard Novell NetWare 6.0 CD-ROM.

Keep the following issues in mind:

Preparing a Linux Host

If you are going to create and run this NetWare virtual machine on a Linux host, change the host's color depth to 256 colors (8-bit color) before you create the virtual machine and install the guest operating system.

Creating and Configuring the NetWare Virtual Machine

  1. Create a new virtual machine. For the most part, you can choose your own settings, except as noted below.
    1. For the type of configuration, select Custom.
    2. For the guest operating system, select NetWare 6.0 (experimental).
    3. Keep the memory setting for the virtual machine at its default of 256MB.
    4. Create a new virtual disk no smaller than the default size of 4GB.
  2. After you finish creating the new virtual machine, use the Configuration Editor to remove all USB controllers.
  3. If you created this virtual machine on a Linux host, open the configuration file (<netware>.vmx) in a text editor and add the following line:
    gui.iconLEDS = false

    This removes all the LED icons in the virtual machine window, which prevents the virtual machine display from appearing incorrectly when you power it on while the host is in 256-color mode.

  4. Install the guest operating system and VMware Tools. See below for details.

Installation Steps

To install NetWare 6 in a virtual machine, take the following steps.

  1. Begin installing the NetWare 6.0 guest operating system. Insert the Novell NetWare 6.0 CD-ROM and power on the virtual machine.
  2. Read and accept the license agreement.
  3. When prompted, choose IDE CD-ROM.
  4. Create a new boot partition. The guest operating system reboots.
  5. To configure IP networking, do one of the following:
  6. Finish the installation.

    After you finish the installation, install VMware Tools, which installs and loads the CPU idler program.

VMware Tools for NetWare 6.0 Guest Operating Systems

Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details, see the manual for your VMware product.

Installing VMware Tools also installs and loads the CPU idler program. NetWare servers do not idle the CPU when the operating system is idle. As a result, a virtual machine takes CPU time from the host regardless of whether the NetWare server software is idle or busy. To prevent unnecessary slowdowns, VMware recommends that, after you install VMware Tools, you keep the NetWare CPU idle program loaded.

Known Issues

Disconnecting VMware Tools ISO File

After the virtual machine reboots while installing VMware Tools, make sure the virtual machine releases the VMware Tools ISO image. Choose Edit > Removable Devices > CD-ROM, and if the CD-ROM's configuration shows the VMware Tools ISO image, change it back to Use physical drive.

Installation Failure on First Try

During the installation of the guest operating system, if you get an ABEND error in the JVM.NLM module, try installing the operating system again. This is a third-party problem that occurs rarely, but when it does, it occurs during installation only. Once you complete the installation, you should not see this error again.

Support Pack 2

If you installed NetWare 6.0 Support Pack 2 in your guest operating system, you cannot mount CD-ROMs. To mount a CD-ROM with the support pack installed, do one of the following:

Grabbing the Mouse Pointer

If the virtual machine is unable to grab or ungrab the mouse, it may be due to a Java class not being referenced in the virtual machine. In the NetWare 5.1 guest operating system, check the xinitrc file, which is located in sys:\java\nwgfx\. Take the following steps.

  1. In the virtual machine, switch to the system console, then type:
    load edit
  2. Press the Insert key to browse to the sys:\java\nwgfx\xinitrc file.
  3. In the file, look for this line:
    java -classpath $JAVA_HOME\classes\VMWtool.jar;$CLASSPATH VMWTool -iw
  4. If the line does not exist, add it to the file. Press the Esc key. Save the file.
  5. Restart the guest operating system. In the system console, type
    restart server

    The virtual machine should be able to grab and ungrab the mouse now.

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