Ethernet Frame Types for NWLINK (104024)

When you install NWLink, you need to provide a value for "Frame Type" that specifies the frame format that the NWLink packets will use. Although default frame types exist for different versions of Novell NetWare, NetWare networks can conceivably use one of six different frame types. For those cases, this article describes how to determine the correct frame type for NWLink when setting up Windows NT on an existing NetWare network.

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NetWare version 2.2 and 3.11 servers use the Ethernet_802.3 frame type by default. In NetWare networks, this is often referred to as "raw 802.3." NetWare version 4.0 servers use the 802.2 frame type by default.

These defaults are summarized in the following table:

   NetWare Version         Default Frame Type
   ------------------------------------------
   2.2                     Ethernet_802.3
   3.1                     Ethernet_802.3
   4.0                         802.2

Assuming the person who created the network didn't deviate from the settings listed above, the appropriate default frame type should be selected when installing NWLink. However, if a Windows NT computer, acting as an application server, is not able to communicate with a Novell MS-DOS client computer after selecting the relevant default frame type, you can determine the correct frame type by examining the NET.CFG file located on the NetWare client.

The NET.CFG is a text file containing configuration information for a NetWare workstation. It maintains section headings and defined options that deviate from the established defaults for the regular workstation. Using any text file editor, or by displaying the file at the command prompt (that is, using the MS-DOS TYPE command), locate the Link Driver section, under which the Frame parameter is set. This setting should look like the following:

   Link Driver "drivername"
   FRAME "frame_type"

In the above example, "drivername" is the name of the network adapter driver and "frame_type" is the frame type that is used with the network board. The Link Driver section supports many entries, and the FRAME parameter may not be the first line following the section header.

NWLink's "Frame Type" parameter must be identical to the frame type specified in the NetWare client's NET.CFG file to use NWLink to communicate with a NetWare client.