When installing eCS, you'll notice no provision is made NOT to install networking. Since Java 1.1.8 runtime is installed automatically, it is not clear what would happen if you chose to deselect all the networking boxes (including Netscape Communicator) and tried to continue. The fact is, eComStation is designed around networking. Consequently this article will discuss the networking setup once eCS has completed the basic installation, including networking and Communicator.

There are several differences noticed by various users, including your Guide, between the Preview version of eCS, and Warp 4 client. Some of them are WAD (working as designed)--i.e. that feature has been deliberately changed, and others are problems that have in most cases been reported to Serenity Systems or IBM. Most of the items in both groups have work-arounds to make them work the way they should and/or the way they did in Warp 4.

Here is a list of the more significant ones:¹

eCS Network Issues

	Problem	Nature of Problem	Work-Around
1	File and Print not started automatically by REQUESTER	Working As Designed (WAD)	In STARTUP.CMD, replace NET START REQ /Y with NET START PEER. Better solution: in \IBMLAN\IBMLAN.INI add ",PEER" (excl. quotes) to the line that starts "wrkservices = "
2	eCS machine is not visible on the LAN --even to itself.	WAD	In \IBMLAN\IBMLAN.INI, change "srvhidden=no" to "srvhidden=yes" (excl. quotes)
3	Peer to Peer connections do not start automatically at LOGON.	Problem also in Warp 4 with some Peer FP's	Use required NET USE commands in STARTUP.CMD
4	User ID and Password assigned during Install do not "stick"	Problem has been reported to IBM.	Use User ID = USERID and Password = PASSWORD. Change the User ID and Password after Installation.
5	1608 error during network install.	Long-standing Warp Problem: some NIC's don't like to be scanned by MPTS sniffer.	Remove NIC during install, and replace it after eCS has been installed.
6	Domain or server errors when trying to connect to known good workstations, including WiseMachine.	While not the only cause, I have found the defaults on the "Configuration" tab on "Sharing and Connecting" object are too small, and can often cause this problem.	Increase (e.g. double) the defaults of the values using RAM, and reboot.

Post-Install Hints and Tips

1. eCS has a convienient list showing the Status of each Network Service (i.e. Peer, Requester)
   1. Logon with any valid Userid/Password
   2. Open the following objects:
      1. Connections
      2. Network
      3. Network Services
      4. LAN Server Administration
      5. Local Workstation + <Computername>
      6. Services

2. Provide one-click access to frequently used LAN functions.

   1. Double-click on Connections | Network | Network Services.

   2. Open the Properties of "Logons", and make Icon view the default view on the "Menu" tab.

   3. Open the Icon view of "Logons".

   4. Drag shadow of "Sharing and Connections" into "Logons"

   5. Open Properties view of the "Start File and Print", and replace X:\IBMLAN\NETPROG\NETSTCMD.CMD in with X:\IBMLAN\NETPROG\NET.EXE. This will reduce the number of extraneous warning and error messages produced by the system.

   6. Use the Pop-Up menu (<Right-Click>) to make another copy of the Start File and Print object in the Logons folder, changing the name to "Stop File and Print".

   7. Open Properties view and change START REQ in "parameters" to STOP REQ /Y.

   8. Drag a shadow of "Logons" onto the Warp Center or ObjectDesktop Control Center.

3. Create new Admin user id and password, then delete current userid--USERID. This will increase security.

   1. Make sure you are logged on using USERID/PASSWORD.

   2. Open "Logons", and Start "Sharing and Connecting".

   3. Click on "Users" tab.

   4. Click on "Create user..." button at bottom of window.

   5. Fill in User ID and Password with information you will be able to remember, but others will not be able to guess. Fill in "Description" if desired. Click on "Administrator" and "Password Required". Reenter the Password in the box provided, and click on "OK".

   6. Close windows and exit "Sharing and Connections".

   7. Logoff

   8. Logon using new Userid and Password.

   9. Start "Sharing and Connections".

   10. Click on "Users" tab.

   11. Delete old USERID user.

4. TCP/IP has been upgraded to v. 4.3

   1. If you use InJoy, you should test your system to see if previously reported problems with v4.3 are occurring in your system.

      1. If they are, contact F/X Communications: Support or your eComStation agent for the fixes released by IBM.

For Further Reading:

Known Issues with eCS as of 3 Nov 2000
Detailed list of problems in eCS for date given with workarounds for most.

A True Revolution for OS/2 - eComStation
Two OS/2 users give their view of what eComStation means to the OS/2 community.

—Walter Metcalf