Networking software for DOS and Windows 3.x

New! 14-Feb-2003: added reference to Lantastic.
20-Feb-1998: added reference to DEC Pathworks client.
13-oct-1997: included instructions on how to add server capabilities to the MS Client for DOS. Click here.

Index

Back to "Using Samba with DOS or OS/2"


Introduction

You want to access files and/or printers located on other machines on the network, but you are using DOS. You might also have Windows 3.x (the "regular" one, not Windows for Workgroups because if you have WfWg you're better off using its TCP/IP stack). Does that mean you are out of luck? Fortunately, no. There are several software packages which allow you to connect to SMB/NetBIOS servers such as Samba, Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups, Warp 4/Connect, Warp Server etc. etc. I have some some background information for you on this. Some of these packages are even free. I know of the following ones (in no particular order): Each of these has its pros and cons, with respect to (conventional) memory usage, driver support, features and being able to connect to a Samba server at all. Most people choose between the LAN Manager Client and the Microsoft Network Client because they are free, and then probably pick the latter because Microsoft says so.

In the following, I'll discuss the various clients.

Back to top


The IBM LAN Client for DOS

If you happen to have a genuine IBM network card, you can download the IBM LAN Client for DOS (it is also mentioned elsewhere on the IBM website). Its features seem to be better than the various Microsoft clients. For instance, it uses less memory (up to just 4 KB!). Please note that you really need an IBM network card. The IBM LAN Client doesn't support standard NDIS, ODI or packet drivers, because it only works with the following IBM cards: IBM Auto LANStreamer PCI Adapter, IBM PCI Ethernet Adapter, IBM Auto 16/4 Token-Ring ISA Adapter, IBM Token-Ring 16/4 ISA-16 Adapter, IBM Token-Ring Auto 16/4 Credit Card Ada, IBM EtherJet ISA Adapter, IBM EtherJet 10BASE-T ISA Adapter, IBM Auto 16/4 Token-Ring MC Adapter, IBM Token-Ring 16/4 Adapter/A, IBM Auto Wake Token-Ring ISA Adapter, IBM PCI Token-Ring Adapter, IBM PCI Turbo 16/4 Token-Ring ISA Adapter.

Although the IBM LAN Client requires much less conventional memory, you do need at least 4 MB RAM and extended memory must be available (must be configured by EMM386 or your other memory manager).

Under DOS, you can use the IBM LAN Client connect to machines running Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, OS/2 Warp etc. as long as those machines have the NetBEUI protocol installed.

However, the TCP/IP stack included with the IBM LAN Client cannot be used under DOS. It only works under Windows 3.x. This is because the TCP/IP makes use of the network driver in protected mode. This means you cannot connect to a Samba server with IBM LAN Client under pure DOS, you need to boot Win 3.x first.

I tried to install the IBM LAN Client but failed because I don't have an IBM network card. It seems straightforward though, it even has a nice graphical user interface.

Back to top


IBM DOS LAN Services/Requester

LAN Server comes with the "IBM DOS LAN Requester 3.0", while Warp Server has the "IBM DOS LAN Services 5.0" (DLS) on its CD (in \CID\CLIENT\DLS\ as well as in \DOS\CLIENT\). This means it is payware, not freeware. DLS 5.0 also can be downloaded from the IBM FTP server by getting the files LD*.DSK. But this is legal only if you are a licensed user of LAN Server / Warp Server. Of course, IBM has no way of knowing that the person downloading the files is actually a registered user, so it's up to your own conscience...

This DLS client does not seem to be the same as the IBM LAN Client mentioned above (confusing, eh?). However, perhaps with the "LAN Support Program" as an add-on to the IBM LAN Client you get the same features as DLS (i.e. being able to use non-IBM network cards as well). I also found out that this client is on my Warp Server demo CD.

DLS can be a peer-to-peer server, but it is restricted to one user at a time. Enough for some incidental file copying. DLS searches specifically for a domain server. I haven't tried it with Samba nor NT yet. (Lower) memory usage seems to be comparable to the LanMan client.

Back to top


Pathworks client for DOS

Igor mentioned to me that the Pathworks client for DOS and Windows 3.x (made by Digital) works well with Samba servers (tested with version 5.1 of Pathworks). You will need to install its TCP/IP transport protocol.

Back to top


Artisoft Lantastic

Lantastic for DOS and Windows is available from Spartacom. It is no longer marketed by Artisoft. Its main focus is towards usage with Point-of-Sale terminals connecting to Windows servers. Interoperability with Samba is currently unknown.

Back to top


Windows for Workgroups (real-mode)

The networking support of Windows for Workgroups can also be started under DOS (i.e. you don't run WIN.EXE or WIN.COM then; of course I don't mean a DOS window running under Windows). This is called "real-mode" because that's what DOS runs in. Windows runs in "protected-mode". You can use the real-mode parts of Windows for Workgroups to connect to machines running Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, OS/2 Warp etc. as long as those machines have the NetBEUI protocol installed.

However, the TCP/IP stack you installed in Windows for Workgroup does NOT run under DOS. That means you cannot connect to a Samba server with a DOS machine running the Windows for Workgroups networking stuff.

Microsoft also seems to have an older version of the TCP/IP stack for Windows for Workgroups, based on NDIS-2 network card drivers (= real-mode?). It might work under DOS so that you can access Samba, but I haven't tried that. Does anyone know?

Back to top


The Microsoft Workgroup Add-On for DOS

This is an SMB client and server from Microsoft for DOS. The Workgroup Add-On also supports Windows 3.x, should your DOS machine also have it. Windows will then make use of its network functionality. (Only regular Windows 3.x of course, because Windows for Workgroups already comes with networking support).

The Windows for Workgroups Add-On for DOS is very similar to the Microsoft Network Client for DOS but with a couple of extra features: the Add-On is a server too and an MS Mail client is included. That means that other people can have access to the resources on your DOS machine, and vice versa.

Microsoft still sells the Add-On for DOS but it might be hard to find. On the other hand, you might be able to pick up a copy in a garage sale or so. Some companies on the Internet still sell it (try clicking here). Mark Valiukas mailed me the following:

I work for an on-campus computer reseller, and have access to up-to-date pricing and availability information from two Microsoft distributors. Both list it as current, but I don't know what Microsoft have planned for it for the future. One has a small amount of stock, the other has a small amount on order to fulfill back-orders. The price is $89 Australian.
Latest news: server capabilities can be added to the MS Client so that you don't have to buy the Microsoft Workgroup Add-On for DOS (sorry, Mark; not so sorry, Bill G.:-). See below.

The DOS machine can only see the machines which are in the same WORKGROUP. To make sure that you are in the same WORKGROUP as that of the other machine(s) you want to access, just run SETUP from the Add-On directory and make sure that you type in the right WORKGROUP name - which is same as that of the other machine(s). Also make sure that, you click on the right WORKGROUP name and the right Computer name in the Network Neighbourhood of the other machine(s). To get the names, run NET CONFIG at the command prompt of the DOS Add-On machine. Now, you should be able to see the DOS machine from other machine(s) and vice versa.

Back to top


Differences/similarities between MS Client and LanMan

Check out the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q122297

Most people will choose MS Client over LanMan because Microsoft tells them so: "Microsoft has optimized this client to work with Windows NT version 3.5 servers, and will be the focus of future development efforts for MS-DOS - based clients for Windows NT". You've got to take this with a grain of salt: do you honestly believe Microsoft is going to update their DOS software? Didn't they say numerous times that "DOS is dead"? The MS Client hasn't been updated since June 1995.

MS Client needs a Browse Master on the network. This means that in order to 'browse' the network (see which computers are connected to it) at least one computer running Samba, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95 or Windows NT must be on the network and belong to the same workgroup as the computer running MS Client. LanMan on the other hand detects machines on the network by the broadcast messages they generate (you may need to switch on the 'LM Announce' option on these machines). Conclusion: if you have Windows machines on your network, I recommend using MS Client, and if you have OS/2 machines on your network I recommend the LanMan client. Samba servers should work with either one, although for LanMan clients you need to install the 'LM Announce' patch (see below).

One thing Microsoft forgot(?) to mention is that MS Client does not support sending network messages ("WinPopup") using the NET SEND command. LanMan does. Network messages are very useful e.g. for a home network where the kids are using a DOS machine to run games located on a machine elsewhere, and you want to send them a message ("Dinner's ready!")...

If you install the 'Basic' version (valid for both clients), e.g. to reduce memory usage, you can only access Samba if it is running in 'share level' mode. Not in 'user level' mode. This limits the security a lot. See the Samba documentation.

MS Client does not provide drivers for a Windows 3.x network client graphical user interface. However, in Configuration -> Network you can find support for LanManager (namely a graphical Windows shell for it) which can also be used for the MS Client. The GUI client can be used to browse and (dis)connect resources (disks, printers) from within File and Print Manager, similar to Windows for Workgroups.

MS Client implements the same SMB dialects as Windows for Workgroups (except that it cannot be a server, officially). This makes it probably more compatible than LanMan.

Please note that when you want to enter static IP addresses in the configuration of the MS Client, you must use blanks (spaces) within these addresses. LanMan on the other hand needs dots.

MSClient seems to be able to auto-detect your network card while LanMan cannot. Still, it isn't plug and plug because you will need to edit its PROTOCOL.INI and enter the required Interupt, base I/O port, DMA port etc.

Note that LanMan only appends a couple of lines consisting of drivers and commands to the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. It doesn't figure out what the correct locations are. Especially if you have a DOS multi-config bootmenu, it could mean you have to do some tweaking to get the new configuration working. MSClient on the other hand writes seperate files with changes and leaves it to the user to add these lines at the right place in the CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT.

Back to top


The Microsoft Network Client for DOS

You can download it for free by clicking here.

Extract with DSK3-1.EXE -D and DSK3-2.EXE -D to 2 floppies. Speedup installation by extracting to a temp directory instead of floppies, install with SETUP.EXE and then delete the installation files in the temp directory.

Installation of the MS Client is very similar to the installation of the LAN Manager Client (see below) so look there for some tips. I only have instructions on the LanMan installation so far, because 1) I already had written them for the OS/2 version of LanMan and 2) Andrew DePaula had also written something for the DOS version. If you have instructions for installing the MS Client, please forward them to me.

Joel Schneider brought 2 articles in Microsoft's Knowledge Base to my attention. Especially this article is very important. You need to manually copy a file when you want to use the MS Client's WinSock support with the real-mode (DOS) TCP/IP drivers. The other article deals with a documentation bug. Thanks Joel!

If you use static IP addresses (i.e. no BOOTP/DHCP), you need to change "Don't use auto config" from 0 to 1. Confusing, eh? Also be sure to not use dots when specificying IP addresses: MSClient wants spaces instead of dots.

François Visagie wrote the rest of this section:

MS Client works very well from the command line. It is not documented, but I did manage to find out more about its tunable parameters. These did not seem to have too much effect on performance, however. For what it's worth, here is the information.

These parameters appear in MSClient's "system.ini" in the section indicated. Each parameter is preceded by a comment indicating minimum and maximum values, where available. Default values are given in parentheses. To set a parameter to its default value, you could either specify the value directly, omit the parameter, or leave it empty as in the examples. When the installation suggestion of tuning for increased performance is accepted, "sizworkbuf" is set to 1498 as in the example, otherwise it's left at the default by omission:

[network]
; <= 16 (8)
numdgrambuf=
; <= 16
numservices=
; <= 4096 !
numbigbuf=
; >= 4096; <= 32768 (4096)
sizbigbuf=
numworkbuf=
; >= 1024; <= 16384 (1024)
sizworkbuf=1498
If you would like to see a description of the parameters, refer to LAN Manager 2.xx documentation - the same parameters are used there.

The "Microsoft LAN Manager (version 2.0 Enhanced)" Windows 3.x network client graphical user interface works with MSClient and SAMBA 1.9.16p11. This client is distributed with Windows 3.x. For those interested, the following are the relevant configuration file entries and driver files:

system.ini
----------
[boot]
network.drv=lanman.drv
[boot.description]
network.drv=Microsoft LAN Manager (version 2.0 Enhanced)
[386Enh]
network=*vnetbios,*dosnet

windows\lanman.hlp
windows\winpopup.exe
windows\winpopup.hlp
windows\system\lanman.drv
windows\system\netapi.dll
windows\system\pmspl.dll
It may be a good idea to incorporate the [386Enh] settings from MSClient's own "system.ini" into your Windows one (normally C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI).

(more to come) 

Adding server capabilities to the MS Client

Some skillful people have found a way to turn the MS Client into a peer-to-peer server. Normally, you can use it only as a client to connect to (NT) servers and other users cannot connect to your DOS machine to access your resources. Besides, if you need peer-to-peer support under DOS, Microsoft wants you to buy the "Workgroup Add-On for DOS" (see above), or better yet, buy Windows. The problem is that this Add-On costs money, but worse, it is very difficult to find.

The trick to turn the MS Client into a server is as follows. Microsoft has made a bugfix for the Workgroup Add-On, and this bugfix is freely available on their FTP site. However, it turns out that when this bugfix is applied to the MS Client instead on the intended Workgroup Add-On, you will gain server capabilities! The back side is that you won't have the same comfortable interface with which you can start sharing your resources -- you will have to use command line options -- but such an interface is available elsewhere.

But beware! If you use the freely available bugfix to add server capabilities to the freely available client it would probably be illegal or at least unsupported by Microsoft. That's because the bugfix is probably only intended for registered users of the Workgroup Add-On. However, there is no licence information included with this bugfix, and both the bugfix and the MS Client are up for grabs on Microsoft's FTP server. You'll have to decide for yourself if you can live with this or not.

Saved Usenet articles with more information
The Workgroup Add-On for DOS bugfix
The optional user interface

Back to top


The Microsoft LAN Manager Client for DOS

You can download the Microsoft LAN Manager Client for DOS (referred to as LanMan in the following) for free by clicking here. You need 4 files: DSK3-1.EXE,DSK3-2.EXE,DSK3-3.EXE, and DSK3-4.EXE. While you're in the downloading mood, there are two text files that you might find somewhat useful. The first is the README.NOW file found at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/Clients/, and the second is the readme.txt file that gets created in the LANMAN.DOS directory once you're done installing Lanman to the hard disk of your DOS machine. See below for further installation instructions.

The "Microsoft LAN Manager 2.2c for MS-DOS" software provides much the same functionality as MSClient + "Microsoft LAN Manager (version 2.0 Enhanced)".

Back to top


Features of the LAN Manager Client

Back to top


Installation of the LAN Manager Client

For simplicity, I assume in the following that your boot partition is C: and you are installing LanMan in C:\LANMAN. Change that if your situation is different. Configuring LanMan isn't very difficult, as long as you have the information you need to fill in: a suitable name for your machine, your username, the domain you're on and (if you want to use NetBIOS over TCP/IP) your IP address, netmask and possibly the IP address of a gateway. Please get this information right now or otherwise you will get stuck later on.

In short, here's what you'll have to do:

  1. Some safety precautions.
  2. Get an NDIS driver for your network card.
  3. Get LanMan.
  4. Run SETUP.EXE and configure the Client.
  5. Configure the interrupt, DMA, I/O address etc. for your network card in C:\LANMAN\PROTOCOL.INI
  6. Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT
  7. Reboot (keep an eye on error messages during startup).
  8. Start using LanMan.
A suggestion: if you print these instructions on paper you have a much better overview.

Back to top


  1. Some safety precautions.

  2.  

     
     
     

    If you've tried installing LanMan already, and failed, remove the aborted installation completely before proceeding. That is, edit your CONFIG.SYS and remove the two lines REM == LANMAN == DO NOT MODIFY == and everything between them. Remove all references to the LAN Manager directory in the paths. Then reboot and delete the LAN Manager directory.

    Make sure that you aren't loading any other network drivers or programs in your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and that no network services and/or network drivers are currently running on the machine

    Before you continue, please make a safety backup of the DOS versions of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. An error in the CONFIG.SYS should not keep the system from booting. In most cases, you will be able to press Enter and then the boot process continues. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. So, should you not be able to boot normally, you can restore the backup copy of your CONFIG.SYS.

    Back to installation overview


  3. Get an NDIS driver for your network card.

  4.  

     
     
     

     Before we actually go and install the LanMan software, you need a driver for your network card. What good is it when you're halfway down the installation process and then you realize you need to reboot because you forgot to download a driver?

    Ok, an NDIS driver is a piece of software which provides a standard interface to network cards. This means that makers of networking software can write to the NDIS standard and do not have to worry about each and every network card.

    You can use the DOS NDIS driver which was supplied with your network card (if you're lucky to still have the disk). You can recognize the driver by its *.SYS extension. In most cases, it is located in the directory MSLANMAN.DOS (or one of its subdirectories) on the driver disk supplied with your network card. Or if you downloaded a zipfile with drivers from the Internet, look in that zipfile. If you can't find a driver, you may look for one in ftp://ftp.cdrom.com or elsewhere.

    Back to installation overview


  5. Get LanMan.

  6.  

     
     
     

    Before you install LanMan, please read the licence agreement included with it: see ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/BusSys/Clients/README.NOW. It isn't a bad idea to browse through these installation instructions a bit. Not everything is interesting but if you are not familiar with network clients in general you might want to have a look. I have tried to make the instructions below as self-contained as possible, i.e. they should be sufficient.

    Get the Microsoft LAN Manager 2.2c Client for DOS by downloading all files in ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/BusSys/Clients/LANMAN.DOS/. Note that even though the version is 2.2c, you can see version 2.2a mentioned here and there in the documentation and the software...

    You can install from floppies or from hard disk. If you choose to install from floppies, get 4 blank disks and extract each of the 4 archive files to a disk. Installing from hard disk is much faster. Disk 4 contains many small files which makes the disk drive grind like crazy. Create a temporary directory on the hard disk and extract each of the 4 archive files to that directory. The archive files contain a couple of duplicate files so when you get a message that the file already exists, just say yes. Or no. Doesn't matter.

    You unpack the archive files by executing them directly: DSK3-1.EXE -D etc. Or use Info-Zip's UNZIP or PKWare's PKUNZIP: UNZIP DSK3-1.EXE etc. Don't forget to specify the -D parameter if you execute them directly because otherwise the files will be extracted without their paths.

    Back to installation overview


  7. Run SETUP.EXE and configure LanMan.

  8.  

     
     
     

    Goto A: or the temporary directory on the harddisk and execute SETUP.EXE. Follow the instructions on the screen. I won't explain here each and every screen you get. It is reasonably straightforward. You can use the mouse but you can also get around with the keyboard. Press Alt to get the menu. Navigate using the cursor keys and by pressing Tab, Return and Esc. You select choices with the spacebar.

    Follow the instructions until it asks you to choose between the Basic or Enhanced Client installation. See the README.NOW mentioned above, under section III A (Planning for Lan Manager Instalation and Configuration on MS-DOS (R) Computers). If you want to run Samba in user level or server level security (which is normally the case; see also security_level in the Samba docs directory), you need to install the Enhanced Client. For share level security (= less secure but good enough for home use), you can do with the Basic Client (costs less conventional memory).

    In the screen "Network Adapter Drivers" you get a list of drivers included with LanMan. Be warned that the list is very limited and that the drivers date from 1995, so they are quite old. You might want/need to use a (newer) driver from the disk supplied with your network card. In that case, go to "Other Driver" and press Enter. Specify the directory in which you can find the MSLANMAN.DOS directory. But if you have another driver located, say, in the directory MSLANMAN.DOS which can be found in C:\TEMP, select "Other Driver" and specify the path C:\TEMP.

    The default domain/workgroup name used by Samba, WfWg and Win95 is WORKGROUP. For the English version of Warp 4 and Warp Connect is IBMPEERS. Use the name STANDALONE if you don't connect to big time servers such as NT, LAN Server, Warp Server. LanMan searches for these servers and it will timeout faster if you use STANDALONE.

    NetBEUI ("NetBIOS over NetBEUI") is one of the supported protocols. The other one, "NetBIOS over TCP/IP" (TCPBEUI), is required is you want to connect to Samba servers. You can select it by checkboxing TCP/IP. If you enable both options, you get both "NetBIOS over NetBEUI" and "NetBIOS over TCP/IP". I have no idea what NetBIOS 3.0 is and what it is for. I don't change the other default settings.

    At this point you'll need to provide the instalation program with all the IP information it needs. If there is a DHCP server on your network, the client can retrieve all its configuration information from this server. In this case, you can forget about all the entries in this dialog box except to make sure that automatic DHCP configuration is enabled and click OK at the bottom of the dialog box. If DHCP is not supported on your network, here's what to put in the first three fields of the dialog box:

                    IP Address:  enter the IP address of your DOS machine here
                   Subnet Mask:  enter your subnet mask here (e.g. 255.255.255.0)
      Default gateway (router):  if you have one, its IP address goes here
    If you have a WINS server on your network (this can be a Samba server, if it is specifically configured as such!), enter the appropriate IP address(es) in the last two fields of the dialog box and click OK at the bottom. If you want to use a DNS server, then leave the WINS server fields blank and click Advanced at the bottom of the dialog box. This brings up a dialog box where you can configure Domain Name Resolution, and Socket Settings. Enter your username and hostname at the top. Enable use DNR for hostname resolution, and fill in the remaining fields as follows:
      Primary Nameserver IP Address: Enter your primary DNS server IP address here
    Secondary Nameserver IP Address: Enter your secondary DNS server IP address here
                 Domain Name Suffix: enter your domain name here (e.g. "wwc.edu")
    Enable windows sockets at the bottom so that the DNR service gets loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file (??? JdL) and click OK. Click OK again to exit the TCP/IP settings dialog box. Enter your computer name, username, and domain again in the workstation settings dialog box and click ok. Follow the rest of the instructions until installation is complete. Exit the installation program. Do not reboot yet.

    Back to installation overview


  9. Edit PROTOCOL.INI

  10.  

     
     
     

    You have to configure some settings (interrupt, DMA, I/O address etc.) for your network card in C:\LANMAN\PROTOCOL.INI. There should be an entry ("section") for that network card in the PROTOCOL.INI.

    Now edit the section for your network card in C:\LANMAN\PROTOCOL.INI. If you have an NE2000 clone for example, you'll need to specifify the Interrupt (IRQ) and the I/O base address. Of course, they have to agree with the settings of your network card. In many cases, you set the IRQ and I/O base with jumpers on the card. Newer cards do not have jumpers on them, you have to use a DOS configuration program to change settings.

    If you have an EtherLink III however, generally you don't have to edit the [ELNK3_NIF] section since this card is 'self-configuring'. It finds the IRQ and I/O base on its own.

    The example PROTOCOL.INI on your network card's driver disk usually contains a description of all the "keywords" you can use for the network card's section. You can change the settings if it is needed. Since every network card is different, I can't really tell what to do, but in many cases the default settings should work.

    Back to installation overview


  11. Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT

  12.  

     
     
     

    If you are using a CD-ROM, you probably have a line for MSCDEX.EXE in the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Move this line after the LanMan stuff. Somehow, LanMan's network drivers won't load if MSCDEX.EXE is already loaded. (This one got me puzzled for a long time!).

    Back to installation overview


  13. Reboot.

  14.  

     
     
     

    ...and watch any errors you get.

    Back to installation overview


  15. Start using LanMan.

  16.  

     
     
     

    If you got this far, don't you sit there waiting! Try it out! Start with a simple case. For instance, if you installed the TCP/IP stack included with LanMan, try using its PING.EXE on the command prompt. Ping your gateway machine or your Domain Name Server (DNS) for example, using their numerical IP addresses. If that works, it means the software and the network card are working. Next, try to ping a machine using is alphanumerical name. If that works, it means that LanMan can find the DNS and it is working OK. Also try to access resources of a machine near you. See if NET VIEW works. Etc. etc.

    Back to installation overview
     
     

Back to top


Using the LAN Manager Client.

I won't discuss using LAN Manager in depth, but here are some tips and loose comments. Back to top


Creating HOSTS/LMHOSTS files

A DNS translates an Internet address which a human can understand (such as ftp.cdrom.com) into a numerical Internet address a computer can understand (such as 165.113.58.253).

There is a HOSTS file in C:\LANMAN\ETC\HOSTS. A HOSTS file is a simple set of lines. Each line contains a numerical IP address for a host and a alphanumerical hostname under which this host is known to your PC. There is also a file called LMHOSTS in the same directory. This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to computer (NetBIOS) names. If your Samba server is across a router from the DOS machine you are configuring, you must add a line similar to the following to the LMHOSTS file in the \LANMAN.DOS\ETC directory:

www.xxx.yyy.zzz SRV_NAME # SRV_NAME is my Samba server

(where www.xxx.yyy.zzz is the numerical IP address of the Samba server)

You need to add an entry for other machines to the HOSTS file if you want to bypass the DNS. For instance, if you don't have a DNS because you're on a simple network at home. The same goes up for the LMHOSTS if there is no big time server on the network.

Please note: the last line of the HOSTS and LMHOSTS files need to end with a Carriage Return/Line Feed, otherwise that line will not be recognized. And that can lead to strange errors which are difficult to trace.

Back to top


Acknowledgements

I'd like to thank François Visagie for 'borrowing' his test of DOS clients (and all his other helpful posts!) on the Samba mailing list. Andrew DePaula posted instructions on how to install a LanMan client to the Samba mailinglist. He had some stuff I didn't have and I had some stuff he didn't have. This webpage now contains the stuff we both had :-) Thanks Andrew!

Back to top

Back to Back to "Using Samba with DOS or OS/2"

Back to Jacco's homepage