12 EtherShare utility programs

The following programs are created automatically in the "HELIOSDIR/bin" and "HELIOSDIR/sbin" directories during the EtherShare installation:

12.1 atechoping

You may use the AppleTalk echo diagnosis program "atechoping" to test the network for services, and thus see if the EtherShare base system is communicating with other AppleShare nodes. When you run this program on the host, you should get one response line for the host's loopback channel and one for each Mac which is switched on and connected to the same network segment. If no Mac computers are connected you should get a single response line for the host's loopback channel.

# cd /usr/local/helios/bin
# ./atechoping

got packet from 21.27, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 29.216, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.128, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.218, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.229, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 25.62, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 26.143, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 24.30, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 21.214, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.143, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 21.39, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.230, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 28.175, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.251, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 27.54, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.249, skt 4, type 4
got packet from 20.144, skt 4, type 4
#

You can also enter atechoping <nn>, where <nn> is the network number, to echo test other networks. Other EtherShare hosts also return a one-line message.

12.2 poll

The HELIOS "poll" program is a command line utility for network checks (compare 12.3 "vpoll"). It can be executed automatically in the background, e.g. if you include the "poll" command into a batch program. "poll" returns one message line for each AppleTalk service (entity) on any network, that answers within a second response time. This includes one response line for the HELIOS servers "atalkd", "afpsrv", "termsrv", "timesrv", "admsrv" and "mailsrv" for each EtherShare host that can be found and for each registration (if the services are registered in several zones). In addition, each "papsrv" print spool will have a message line.

Each line shows the network number, node number, socket number, object name, object type and zone name.

poll "=:Laser=@*" lists all services whose type starts with "Laser". The "*" represents "this zone"; the zone you are currently a member of.

"poll" may display entities multiple times - depending on the route an "echo" took; this is normal.

The following example shows the responses you may get when using the "poll" program:

# cd /usr/local/helios/bin
# ./poll

20 168 2 690c0d3e EtherShare *
20 143 253 p610 AFPServer *
20 143 238 printpreview-SpoolerLaserWriter *
20 143 245 p610-PrintToDisk-SpoolerLaserWriter *
20 143 246 p610-lw8500-spoolerLaserWriter *
20 143 248 p610-color-spoolerLaserWriter *
20 143 243 p610 MailServer *
20 143 2 0025f98a EtherShare *
20 128 2 DEMO_002614cb EtherShare *
20 251 2 DEMO_00205420 EtherShare *
41 142 251 HELIOS EtherShare PublicAFPServer *
41 142 253 proxy AdminServer *
20 143 229 p610 UNIXTerminal *
20 143 231 p610 AdminServer *
20 196 2 6906eae9 EtherShare *
20 241 2 807de1b8 EtherShare *
20 211 2 2bbf260c EtherShare *
20 230 2 7758302e EtherShare *
20 144 2 726041aa EtherShare *
20 249 2 80024a74 EtherShare *
20 250 2 56010ee6 EtherShare *
20 229 2 2be5ffb7 EtherShare *
20 141 2 0c027a2f EtherShare *
#

Note: "poll" outputs all names in the default AppleTalk client encoding, e.g. MacRoman. To display UTF-8 names "uniconv" can be used for the conversion, e.g.:

# ./poll | ./uniconv MacRoman UTF8

12.3 vpoll

Our application "vpoll" can be used to get a more detailed view of the available AppleTalk devices on the network. It is a very sophisticated program that can be used for different purposes - not only for verifying the installation. "vpoll" is an interactive program that lets you set several parameters before starting the network check, and it lets you observe how fast the different devices in your network respond to the network check.

cd /usr/local/helios/bin
./vpoll

Note that "vpoll" provides the information online, but also allows to save the data in a file. Use "Ctrl-W" for that purpose. If you enter "Ctrl-W", e.g. in the "Device List" window, you will be queried for a "Logfile Name" where current settings and lists should be saved as ASCII. Subsequent saves will be appended to the log file. After finishing and restarting "vpoll", the first "Ctrl-W" you enter will induce the program to query for a "Logfile Name" again.

Whenever a user changes any parameters (as shown in Fig. 40), the new settings will be saved for this specific user. You can use the Name and Type lines to limit the network check to specific devices. The "=" is used as a wildcard.

Please note that the bottom line gives short descriptions of the currently selected item (Fig. 40).

In Fig. 41, we have set up a network check for all devices in zone "HELIOS Entwicklung".

To start the network search, proceed to the Ok button (using the TAB key) and then press RETURN.

You will get a device list like that shown in Fig. 42. All devices of the zone "HELIOS Entwicklung" are listed - they are sorted by name. The device list includes the network number (Net), the node number (Node), the socket number (Sckt.) and the Name, Type, and Zone of the respective device. Usually, any combination of Net, Node and Sckt. should be unique. It is possible, however, that a combination appears several times; in that case the zones are different.

Scroll through the device list and press RETURN to open the "Device Ping" dialog for a specific device.

In the "Device Ping" dialog you can again set individual parameters for a device check, namely: the number of packets, the packet size, the poll interval and a value for timeout.

The device check will start the moment you select the Ok button in the "Device Ping" dialog (see Fig. 43 and 44).

You can stop and restart the ping statistics at any time; the behavior of the respective button (the Stop button in Fig. 44) will change, depending on the status.

Use the Cancel button (or the ESC key) to close the current dialog. The Cancel button in the "Network Search" dialog (see Fig. 39) will quit the "vpoll" program.

12.4 zones

The "zones" program can be used to list the names of all zones that can be found on the network, and to quickly find out the current AppleTalk default zone.

Since the "zones" program uses the EtherShare AppleTalk protocol modules, which reference the "Preferences" file for configuration details, mistakes in this file will cause you to see less zones than those shown on the Mac clients. For example, if you get the zone name(s) wrong for a router, "zones" will not show any zones which exist on the other side of the router. Mistakes in "Preferences" will affect "vpoll", "poll" and "atechoping", too, for the same reason.

In the following example, you see all zones and an "*" in front of the current default zone "HELIOS I":

# cd /usr/local/helios/bin
# ./zones
* HELIOS I
HELIOS II
HELIOS Support

Note: "zones" outputs all names in the default AppleTalk client encoding, e.g. MacRoman. To display UTF-8 names "uniconv" can be used for the conversion, e.g.:

# ./zones | ./uniconv MacRoman UTF8

12.5 restart-pap

The shell script "HELIOSDIR/sbin/restart-pap" is used internally by EtherShare to enable - via "srvutil" (see the Base manual) - printer configuration changes to come into effect immediately, without restarting the entire HELIOS system.

12.6 rmtrash

The "rmtrash" command allows emptying a particular network trash can which is specified with the <path_to_volume> parameter.

"rmtrash" can also be called from HELIOS Admin, with the respective volume highlighted in the Volumes list and then choosing Empty Trash- from the Volume menu. This method is recommended.

rmtrash [-f] <path_to_volume>

Deletes the whole "Network Trash Folder" in the volume. With -f not specified, only the files in the "Network Trash Folder" are deleted.

# cd /usr/local/helios/sbin
# ./rmtrash /home/macuser

12.7 kconfig

The "kconfig" utility is used during the EtherShare installation/deinstallation in order to install AppleTalk kernel modules, or to remove them, respectively.

# bin/srvutil stop afpsrv now
# kconfig install
# kconfig uninstall

12.8 convertvol

Converts a volume from its current file name encoding as given in the "Preferences" file to a new encoding as defined with the -C parameter. In doing so, however, the entry in the "Preferences" file is not affected, so you have to set the volume preferences manually. The changes are recorded in the volume in "convert.log".

The options are simply passed through to the "rebuild" program (see the respective chapter in the Base manual).

convertvol [-p] [-s] [-v] -C [oldes|utf8]
[-U charset] <path_to_volume>

Volume encoding can be converted to another character set

If the volume under "/support/temp" is encoded in old-style EtherShare ":Hex" syntax it can be converted as follows:

convertvol -C MacRoman /support/temp

Note: We recommend to convert old-style ":Hex" volumes using EtherShare Admin. This is straightforward by switching off Unicode/UTF8, selecting the desired character set from the AFP Charset pop-up menu, and saving the volume settings anew.

12.9 converthome

"converthome" converts an old style EtherShare home directory to a UTF-8 based volume using the current charset of the home directory specified in the "Preferences" file as default. In doing so, however, the entry in the "Preferences" file is not affected, so you have to set the volume preferences manually. The changes are recorded in the volume in "convert.log".

You may overwrite the default charset by using the -U option. The passed home directory must not be in use when calling converthome, even when calling for scan only.

converthome -v -s [-U charset] path_to_homedir
converthome -h (show help)

converthome -U SJIS /home/macuser

12.10 netconf

The HELIOS "netconf" utility offers a very convenient user interface for network configuration.

It is described in detail in 4.1.4 "Manual network configuration". By means of example manual network configurations, the usage of "netconf" is explained step-by-step.

12.11 LanTest

HELIOS LanTest is a tool for testing and measuring the performance of AppleShare services. It offers detailed AppleTalk network evaluations for file and record locking as well as for many typical file system operations. LanTest results can be used for finding bottlenecks, for troubleshooting, or just for maintenance purposes.

Fig. 45: HELIOS LanTest dialog window

The LanTest tool is stored in the "HELIOS Applications" volume in MacOS > EtherShare Tools > HELIOS LanTest.

Start the LanTest version appropriate for your client Mac OS. The LanTest dialog window (Fig. 45) opens. From the File menu choose Select Test Volume- and confirm with the Select "<Volume name>" button. Before you start examining the performance you should state the type of your network:

From the File menu choose Preferences and select the net type you are connected to (Fig. 46). Depending on the network specified in this window, LanTest determines the test load, i.e. the size of test files that are processed at a time.

This is sensible because Fast Ethernet (100 Mbit/s) networks have a higher data throughput than the standard Ethernet (10 Mbit/s). Gigabit Ethernet reaches a data throughput of up to 1 Gbit/s (1000 Mbit/s), and 10 Gigabit Ethernet up to 10 Gbit/s (10000 Mbit/s).

12.12 File System Test

HELIOS File System Test is a professional tool for network administrators, software vendors, and 3rd party developers to test file server compatibility. It allows every Mac user to easily determine if their file server is fully compatible with Mac OS X clients.

Fig. 47: HELIOS File System Test dialog window

The File System Test tool is in the "HELIOS Applications" volume in MacOS > EtherShare Tools > HELIOS File System Test. After double-clicking on the program icon the File System Test dialog window (Fig. 47) opens.

From the File menu choose Open Test Directory- and select the tests you wish to run by means of the checkboxes in front of each test item line.

EtherShare UB⁺ User manual