Delays Connecting to NetWare Servers in Mixed Network

ID: Q194827

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you are working in a mixed network server environment, connecting to Novell NetWare servers (using Novell's IntraNetWare Client [Client32] version 2.2) and to Microsoft Windows NT and other SMB-based servers (using Microsoft's Client for Microsoft Networks), connecting to a NetWare server may sometimes take a long time.


CAUSE

This problem can occur if all of the following conditions exist:




Under these conditions, Windows attempts to resolve the server name first using the NetWare network client, then using the Microsoft Networking client. When the NetWare server does not respond to the request to resolve the server name using Service Advertising Protocol (SAP), the Microsoft Networking client attempts to resolve the name using DNS. Because the NetWare server is registered with the DNS server, the DNS server may be able to resolve the NetWare server name sooner than the NetWare server itself can respond to the SAP request.

If this behavior occurs when the conditions listed above exist, the NetWare server name may be incorrectly marked as a Microsoft (SMB-based) server name when it is saved in the local registry. Subsequently, attempts to connect to that server name refer to the information stored in the registry and use the Microsoft Networking client first, and try to connect using the NetWare client only after the first attempt times out. Because of the length of the time-outs specified for DNS name resolution and TCP/IP connection operations, it may take one minute or more for the first attempt to connect to the NetWare server to time out, after which Windows tries to connect using the NetWare client.


RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

You can work around this issue by using any of the following methods:




This functionality is included in Microsoft Windows 98, and can be enabled by setting the "MaxElements" registry value to zero, as documented above.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95 and OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2).


MORE INFORMATION

This issue is documented in the Novell Knowledge Base as document 2929988, "Slow Client Performance Due to DNS Query." The Novell Knowledge Base can be accessed from the following Internet location:

http://support.novell.com

The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

For additional information about Windows 95 updates, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q161020
TITLE : Implementing Windows 95 Updates

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : kbnetwork 3rdpartynet win95 win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 7, 1999