7.4 Managing Connections to the Server

On the Connections page, you can view information about and manage connections to your server.

Figure 7-5 Example Connections Page

To access the Connections page, click the Connections link in the navigation frame.

This section provides information for the following tasks:

7.4.1 Viewing Connection Information

Viewing connection information in the connection table on the Connections page lets you learn information about each connection to the server and in some cases perform specific tasks related to the information you are viewing.

The following table describes the information that you can view and the tasks that you can do based on the information you see.

Table 7-3 Information and Tasks on the Connections Page

Information

Explanation

Associated Tasks

Connection Slots Allocated

Displays the number of slots currently allocated for use. As connection slots are required on this server that exceed the current number of slots displayed here, new slots are allocated.

Depending on the server’s memory, connection slots are usually allocated in blocks of 16. Connection slots are allocated as needed by users, NetWare Loadable Module™ (NLM) programs, and other services.

NA

Connection Slots Being Used

Displays the number of connection slots currently in use. As this number matches or exceeds the Connection Slots Allocated entry, more connection slots are allocated to the connection table.

NA

Signing Level

Displays the level at which NCP™ packet signature signing is set on the server. NCP packet signatures prevent packet forgery by requiring the server and the workstation to sign each NCP packet. A higher packet signature number impacts the performance of your server. At some point, the need for security might outweigh certain performance issues.

NA

Login State

Displays whether users are allowed to log in to the server.

To disable users from being able to log in to the server (for server maintenance or other reasons), enter disable login at the System Console prompt.

To allow users to log in to the server, enter enable login at the System Console prompt.

Licensed Connections

Displays the number of connections that are currently licensed. Licensed connections are authenticated, logged in, and consume a license. An unlicensed connection does not consume a license and can be authenticated or not. An unlicensed, authenticated connection can access the eDirectory database but cannot access any other resources.

NA

Peak License Connections

Displays the number of licensed connections that have been concurrently logged in while the server has been up.

NA

Not Logged In Connections

Clears all user connections that are open but not currently authenticated to the server. The connections can be cleared whether they are based on an NLM or based on a user.

Use to clear all user or NLM connections that are not logged in.

IMPORTANT:Some connections based on an NLM, such as backup NLM programs, maintain a Not Logged In connection until it is time to log in and perform the specified service. If the connection is cleared, the NLM might not be able to reestablish a connection to the server unless it is unloaded and reloaded. This might prevent the NLM from performing the required task.

Connections Total Bytes Read

Shows the total number of reads made by all the current connections to the server.

NA

Connections Total Bytes Written

Shows the total number of writes made by all the current connections to the server.

NA

Connections Total NCP Request

Shows the total number of NCP requests made by all the current connections to the server.

NA

The table under the Connections heading on the Connections page displays the following information about connections:

Table 7-4 Detailed User Connection Information on the Connections Page

Heading

Information Displayed

Station

Shows the connection number for each connection. Connection 0 is the connection used by the server. The server’s operating system uses connection numbers to control each station’s communication with other stations. Remote Manager does not distinguish connections that don't count against the server's connection limit.

Name

Shows the name of the user, server, service, or login status and links to specific information about that user connection such as the login time, connection number, network address, login status, number of NCP requests, files in use, and security equivalence.

Connections with an asterisk (*) displayed next to the name indicate an unlicensed connection (it does not consume a license). These licenses can be either authenticated or not authenticated. An unlicensed, authenticated connection can access the Novell eDirectory database but not other server resources.

From this detailed Connection Information page, you can also clear the connection or send a message to the user.

Reads & Writes

Shows the number of reads and writes made by the each connection.

NCP Request

Shows the number of NCP requests made by the each connection.

Login Time

Shows the login time for the connection and a Clear link next to the time for any connection that can be cleared.

7.4.2 Sorting Connection Information

When considering which connections to clear, you can sort the connection information by station, name, reads or writes (in bytes), NCP requests, or login time.

To sort the connection listing, click the applicable table heading. The Login Time heading sorts from the least recent to the most recent. The default sort is by stations.

7.4.3 Clearing All Not-Logged-In Connections

If users are not able to connect to the server, all the licensed user connections might be in use. You can view and clear these users connections from the Connections page. The connections that you want to clear are the connections of users not logged in to the server.

For example, if a user reboots a workstation without properly logging out, the server sends a watchdog packet to that workstation to see if it is still communicating with the server. The server continues to send watchdog packets until the workstation logs in again and re-establishes its connection with the server, or until the watchdog drops the connection because of the lack of response from the workstation.

IMPORTANT:You should be careful in clearing connections based on NLM programs because some backup NLM programs establish a connection during the server initialization process and maintain a Not Logged In connection to the server until it is time to log in and run the backup process. These types of NLM connections cannot re-establish a connection to the server unless the NLM is manually unloaded and reloaded at the server console, which might prevent it from functioning properly at the designated time of execution.

To clear all connections to the server that are open:

  1. Click the Connections link in the navigation frame to open the Connections page.

  2. On the Connections page, click the Clear All “Not Logged In” Connections link on the Connections page.

    The connections cleared can be based on NLM programs or users.

7.4.4 Clearing Specific Connections

If a user's workstation quits working, it usually leaves its connection to the server open and files open.

To clear a specific connection:

  1. Click the Connections link under the Manage Server heading in the navigation frame to open the Connections page.

  2. On the Connections page, select each specific connection listed in the Connections table that you want to clear, then click Clear All Marked Connections.

If you want to view details about the connection before you clear it, click the link in the name column, view the information, then click the Clear Connection link on the detailed Connection Information page.

7.4.5 Viewing a List of Files in Use by Any Specific Connection

Before clearing a connection, you might want to get an idea of the types of files that the user or operation might be accessing.

  1. Click the Connections link in the navigation frame to open the Connections page.

  2. On the Connections page, locate the specific connection listed in the Connections table, then click the link for the connection under the Name column.

    The list of files that this connection has open are shown in the Open Files section of the Connection Information table for this connection. You can then clear the connection or close the file.

7.4.6 Sending Messages to Users

Before you shut down, reset, or restart your server for any reason, you can send a message to everyone that has connected to it using the Novell Client™. You might also want to send a message to a specific user to see if you get any response before closing a file or clearing a connection. To do so, see the procedures in the following table.

Table 7-5 Tasks and Procedures for Sending Messages to Users from the Connections Page

To

Do This

Send a message to all users

On the Connections page, type the message in the Broadcast Message to Everyone field, then click Send.

You can enter up to 252 characters and spaces in the message.

On Windows-based workstations, the message appears in a pop-up dialog box at the workstation.

Broken connections and users that are not logged in through Novell Client software do not receive the message.

Send a message to a specific user

On the Connection Information page for that user, type the message in the Send Message field, then click Send.