TITLE: Workgroup Theory and Duplicate Workgroups DOCUMENT ID: TID021234 DOCUMENT REVISION: 1 DATE: 01Jul95 ALERT STATUS: Yellow README FOR: NA NOVELL PRODUCT and VERSION: PERSONAL NETWARE V1.0 ABSTRACT: NA --------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: THE ORIGIN OF THIS INFORMATION MAY BE INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL TO NOVELL. NOVELL MAKES EVERY EFFORT WITHIN ITS MEAN TO VERIFY THIS INFORMATION. HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. NOVELL MAKES NO EXPLICIT OR IMPLIED CLAIMS TO THE VALIDITY OF THIS INFORMATION. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE: For convenience and security the network can be divided into workgroups, each containing one or more PERSONAL NetWare servers. A workgroup consists of a number of users who require the same access to certain information. Rather than making a file or directory available to any user on the network, you can make it available to the members of a workgroup only. PNW WORKGROUP FACTS: 1. A server and its resources can only belong to one workgroup at a time. 2. A user can only be logged into one workgroup at a time. 3. Users are only able to see resources belonging to the workgroup to which they are currently logged into. 4. If Novell NetWare is part of the network and multiple network addresses (segments or routes) exist, workgroups are not limited to a single segment but can span multiple network addresses (segments or routes). 5. If a user's machine belongs to workgroup A, it is possible for the user to log into workgroup B and use the resources available in workgroup B without moving the server and server resources to workgroup B. 6. To move a server from one workgroup to another, you must know a valid username/password combination for the new workgroup. 7. It is possible to have two workgroups with the same name on a network. If this happens, users will be confused because the assumption from users is that there is only one workgroup when in reality there are two or more separate workgroups with the same name. This situation is rare, but is easy to confirm and correct. 8. A workgroup exists as long as there is at least one server that belongs to that workgroup. After there are no servers in a given workgroup, the workgroup will be automatically deleted. Stated in another way, the only way to delete a workgroup is to move all of its current servers to a different workgroup or workgroups. 9. For small networks, one workgroup is probably sufficient. CREATING WORKGROUPS The initial creation of a workgroup is accomplished by running SETUP/FIRST after the installation of PERSONAL NetWare 1.0. If more information is desired about creating workgroups, please refer to chapter 4 in the PERSONAL NetWare manual. Pages 4-3 through 4-6 discuss the specific steps required to create a workgroup. If a new workgroup is created, the machine where the new workgroup was created will become the first server in the new workgroup. A workgroup must have a server in it before it can exist. Remember, SERVER.EXE must be loaded before a workgroup can be created. DUPLICATE WORKGROUPS One of the more common problems that can occur when installing PERSONAL NetWare 1.0 is the inadvertent creation of duplicate workgroups. If PERSONAL NetWare 1.0 is installed onto two machines that cannot see each other on the network because of interrupt conflicts, corrupt files, or different frame types, then it is possible to create a workgroup on a network server that might have the same name as another network server workgroup. This condition can also occur if a workgroup is created during the PERSONAL NetWare installation on one machine and then that machine is turned off while a workgroup with the same name is created during the installation of PERSONAL NetWare on a second machine. This situation cannot occur if the machines can communicate on the network and both machines are turned on as PERSONAL NetWare does not allow a workgroup to be created if that workgroup already exists on the network. This prevents duplicate workgroups from being inadvertently created. If two machines have had a communication problem and now have workgroups created on them that have the same name, and later a hardware or configuration problem was solved so that the machines can now see each other, then the following error message will occur when logging in to one of the workgroups or when a NET WGLIST is issued: MESSAGE Duplicate workgroups were found! Available Workgroups --------------------------------- --------------------------------- 1. WGNAME 020f42CB 2. WGNAME 7F6723E7 Type the number corresponding to the workgroup to select or type M to get the extended workgroup list (Enter to exit): The solution to this problem is really quite simple. One of the workgroups needs to be deleted and the server(s) in that workgroup needs to be moved into the other workgroup. There is no way to delete a workgroup other than to move all servers out of that workgroup, and then the workgroup will cease to exist. A subsequent NET WGLIST will not display the workgroup that the server(s) was moved from. It can be confusing to know which workgroup belongs to that machine. The easiest way to resolve this problem is to create a new workgroup with a totally different name, and then move one of the servers to the new workgroup. At this point, there would be two workgroups but the workgroups would have different names and would be easily associated with a particular machine by typing NET INFO. To remove or delete a workgroup, perform the following from the machine whose workgroup is to be deleted: 1. Type NET ADMIN 2. Highlight the server that is to be moved (the one that shows LOCAL, IN WORKGROUP WGNAME in the NOTES column). 3. From the pull-down menu, pull down WORKGROUP and press ENTER on CREATE. 4. Enter a workgroup name that is distinct from the other workgroup names and press ENTER on OK. 5. A note will be displayed that says THE SERVER ON THIS MACHINE IS NOW IN WORKGROUP [WGNAME]. Press ENTER on OK. 6. Highlight the local server again and press ENTER. 7. Highlight SET WORKGROUP and press ENTER. 8.Highlight the workgroup to which the other machine belongs and press ENTER. (There should only be one at this point. If not, then there are other servers that are still in the workgroup that you are trying to delete.) 9. Highlight OK and press ENTER. 10. The user can then login to that workgroup by entering his username and password and pressing ENTER on OK. 11. A message will appear that says that the server is now in workgroup [wgname]. Press ENTER on OK. 12. The machines are now in the same workgroup. If the user issues NET SLIST, at least two machines will be in the same workgroup. MACHINES DON'T COMMUNICATE It is also possible that two machines are functioning perfectly but they do not see each other on the network. One of the possible causes of this condition is that the user has set up each machine so that it is in its own workgroup. If the user enters NET SLIST, he can only see his own server. If the user enters NET WGLIST and sees more than one workgroup when only one workgroup is desired, then he needs to move one of the machines so that they are all in the same workgroup. The solution is similar to the duplicate workgroup solution where one of the server machines needs to move his server into the other workgroup. After the move, then the previous workgroup will cease to exist assuming there are no more servers in that workgroup. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------