User manual LAPLINK REMOTE NETWORK ACCELERATOR - QUICK START GUIDE

Copyright notice No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any human or computer language, in any form or by any means, without the express written permission of LapLink, Inc. 18912 North Creek Parkway, Bothell, WA 98011, USA Trademarks LapLink, Inc., the LapLink logo, LapLink and SpeedSync are trademarks or registered trademarks of LapLink, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. LapLink Remote Network Accelerator 1997-2002 LapLink, Inc. All rights reserved 18912 North Creek Parkway Bothell, WA 98011 USA Remote Network Accelerator Installation and Quick Start Guide 2002 LapLink, Inc. 1 Contents What is Remote Network Accelerator (RNA)? Getting help Installing LapLink RNA Server and Client Distributing Remote Network Accelerator to end users Customizing client installations (for administrators) Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script Installing LapLink RNA client (for end users) Understanding the LapLink RNA Service Manager Keeping an activity log Logging activity in Windows 98 Logging activity in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Troubleshooting Problems with the LapLink RNA Service Manager Problems with logging 4 5 6 7 8 9 13 14 16 17 18 19 19 19 2 What is Remote Network Accelerator (RNA)? What is Remote Network Accelerator (RNA)? LapLink RNA speeds up access to your office network from remote locations without changing the way you work. Running in the background on your computer, LapLink RNA client software communicates with the LapLink RNA Server on the office network to improve performance by reducing the amount of data transferred over the connection. Whether your connection is wired or wireless (802.11 and GPRS), or uses a VPN or RAS server, your remote network connections can benefit from LapLink RNA. Speeds up remote access Like an increasing number of business people, you can no longer do without the network when you leave your office. Whether from home, a hotel, or some other remote location, you connect to your office network via a VPN Internet connection as a matter of routine. Unfortunately these VPN connections typically are so slow that they reduce productivity and often incur unnecessary costs. LapLink RNA speeds up VPN access to the network by 300-400 percent. It does so by caching and compressing data and transferring it more efficiently, thereby reducing network traffic and making you more productive. LapLink RNA works regardless of how you connect to your office network. Connections are improved whether you connect over the Internet through a virtual private network (VPN) connection or a remote access server. Works in the background When you connect to the office network you work much as you do when connected directly to the network in the office. Adding LapLink RNA accelerates your work, but nothing else changes: you don't have to learn new routines or change the way you work. Except for the improved performance, you aren't even aware that LapLink RNA is running. A client/server software solution LapLink RNA consists of two services: · · LapLink RNA (the client service) LapLink RNA Server The client runs on the computer you use to connect to the office. The server runs on a computer on your office network. The client and the server work together to accelerate connections. LapLink RNA is entirely a software solution; there's no need to buy new equipment. And it works with a variety of remote access servers, (Windows NT/2000/XP RAS, for example) and hardware. 3 Getting help Getting help The LapLink RNA documentation set consists of electronic manuals and online Help. The electronic manuals help you understand how LapLink RNA works. See LapLink RNA Help for quick reference, step-by-step procedures, and a glossary of terms. Where to look for information For your convenience, the LapLink RNA manuals are provided in Adobe Acrobat format on the RNA CD-ROM. This documentation set is comprised of these components · · This Remote Network Accelerator Installation and Quick Start Guide provides installation instructions and information. The Remote Network Accelerator User's Guide and the Remote Network Accelerator Administrator's Guide provide specific information about the server and client service. LapLink RNA Help is online documentation providing instructions, complete troubleshooting, and reference. It contains detailed information about options in the software, and a glossary of LapLink RNA terms. · Accessing Help For definitions of terms used in any LapLink RNA document, look in the glossary in LapLink RNA Help. The help system provides easy access to answers about the software. LapLink RNA Setup installs Help for the RNA Service Manager. There are many ways to access RNA Help. Choose the method that best suits the situation. To access LapLink RNA Help: · · From any dialog box in LapLink RNA, click the Help button. From the LapLink RNA Service Manager, click the Help button on the toolbar, click LapLink RNA Help Topics on the Help menu, or press F1. From the Windows Start menu, point to the LapLink RNA program group and then click Help for LapLink RNA. · Using Help LapLink RNA Help is a Windows Help file with a Help Topics window that lets you navigate through the help system and find the information you need. To return to the Help Topics window from any help window, click the Help Topics button. To use What's This? Help: 1 · · · 2 In any LapLink RNA dialog box, do one of the following: Right-click the option you want help on and click What's This? on the shortcut menu. In the top right corner of the dialog box, click the question mark button and then click the option you want help on. Click or tab to an option and press F1. Click anywhere or press any key to close the pop-up window. 4 Installing LapLink RNA Server and Client Installing LapLink RNA Server and Client Install LapLink RNA server on a network server or a computer connected to the network. Insert the LapLink RNA CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and click Install LapLink RNA Server. Before you install LapLink RNA Server, be sure that your computer meets the installation requirements. Check the Installation Requirements section of the Administrator's guide for details. Install the LapLink RNA Server on your network server or on a computer connected to the network. This computer does not have to be dedicated, but you must have administrator's rights to it and it should be available at all times. In order to install LapLink RNA Server, you must have Windows administrator rights to the computer. To install LapLink RNA Server: 1 2 3 4 Insert the LapLink RNA CD-ROM in a CD-ROM drive. On the LapLink RNA welcome screen, click Server. Follow the instructions on your screen. Restart Windows to enable the LapLink RNA Server. To install LapLink RNA client: 1 2 3 4 Insert the LapLink RNA CD-ROM in a CD-ROM drive. On the LapLink RNA welcome screen, click Client. Follow the instructions on your screen. Restart Windows to enable the LapLink RNA client. 5 Distributing Remote Network Accelerator to end users Distributing Remote Network Accelerator to end users Use Make Client Diskettes on the Remote Network Accelerator setup screen to make copies of the Client software available to users. For wider distribution, copy the client installation folder to an available network drive. Creating diskettes for client installation To create diskettes for installing the client: 1 2 3 Insert the LapLink RNA CD into your CD-ROM drive and click Client. Click Make Client Diskettes. Follow the steps on the screen. !TIP You will need 3 blank formatted diskettes before beginning. Setting up the client installation on a network Putting the client installation on a network is a convenient way to make the service available to many users at once. To set up the client installation on a network: 1 2 3 Explore the LapLink RNA CD-ROM with Windows Explorer. Copy the contents of the LeClient folder to an available network folder. When a client has connected to the network, have them run Setup.exe from the network folder. 6 Customizing client installations (for administrators) Customizing client installations (for administrators) You can customize client installations by hiding them from users, specifying particular LapLink RNA servers, naming the folder in which to install LapLink RNA, and so on. To change a client installation, create a setup file named Script.txt and include the edited file in the LapLink RNA Setup folder (LECLIENT) folder is located. Before distributing LapLink RNA you can create a Setup script file to modify the installation. This file specifies how Setup proceeds on client computers, and what settings take effect. For example, you can completely hide Setup or show certain dialog boxes while hiding others. Or you can display dialog boxes but not allow users to change the settings you have specified. This kind of Setup (sometimes called "scripted" or "silent") is particularly useful for controlling options that some users might have trouble designating, such as LapLink RNA servers. NOTE We recommend a short path to the install folder. For example, C:\LLRNA. 1 In Notepad or another text editor, open the sample script file that best suits your needs. For information about the different sample scripts provided with LapLink RNA, see the document "Sample Installation Scripts.doc" in the Sample Installation Scripts folder on the LapLink RNA CDROM. 2 Alter the settings as necessary. For details about the settings in the script, see the section Modifying the RNA Setup script. 3 Save the file as Script.txt in the LapLink RNA Setup folder you created on the network. 7 Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script Modifying the Setup script, Script.txt, changes how an installation proceeds and options are set. This section lists the various settings in the file and how they affect installation. Controlling the execution of Setup Create and modify Script.txt in Notepad or another text editor. You can change settings in Script.txt to alter the way in which Setup proceeds. Hiding all or part of the installation [Setup] User Interface=VISIBLE Change the setting to HIDDEN to completely hide Setup from the user. The progress of Setup is recorded in a log file. Change the setting to FALSE to keep a particular dialog box from being displayed during Setup. Note that Dialog Name is the name of one of the Setup dialog boxes as listed in Script.txt. Change the setting to TRUE to prevent a user from changing any settings in the dialog box. Setting the type of installation [Setup] Setup Type=TYPICAL Change the setting to CUSTOM to require a custom Setup. [Dialog Name Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE Restarting the computer after Setup [Setup] Reboot=FALSE Change FALSE to TRUE to restart the computer at the end of Setup. This setting applies only if the Finish Setup dialog is hidden by the script. Setting the setup log file option [Log File] Log=FULL Change FULL to ERRORS to record only error messages or to NONE to record nothing. Leave at FULL for a complete report. There can be only one [Setup] section in the Script.txt file. Specifying LapLink RNA servers Users can create lists of RNA servers to which they can connect. From this list of preferred servers they choose the server they want to accelerate their network access. 8 Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script Using the Setup script, you can create a list of preferred servers and designate the one to connect to. This saves users the trouble of finding a server on the network and discourages them from making inappropriate connections. To specify LapLink RNA servers create a new section and give it this header: [Preferred Server List] Specify a server first by its name and then by either the type of connection or the server's IP address. You can designate just one preferred server or as many preferred servers as necessary. Designating a preferred server [Preferred Server List] ServerNameN=NAME For N type 1 for the first server, 2 for the second, and so on. The number differentiates between the servers. For NAME type the name of the server. For example, type this to add the first server, named ACME LapLink RNA Server, to the list: ServerName1=ACME LapLink RNA Server For N repeat the number used with Server- Name. For TYPE specify the connection type: TCP/IP, IPX, or SAP. For N repeat the number used with Server- Name. For ADDRESS type the server's TCP/IP address. For example, this specifies the ACME LapLink RNA Server computer's IP address: 255.255.255.255 (Optional) For N repeat the number used with ServerName. For DOMAIN type the name of the domain in which the server is located. Use this option when you have to distinguish the designated server from another server with the same name. ConnectionTypeN=TYPE or ServerAdressN=ADDRESS DomainNameN=DOMAIN From the list of preferred servers, you can specify the one server to be used for network acceleration. Include this option in the [Preferred Server List] section. Designating the LapLink RNA server 9 Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script ServerName1=NAME For NAME type the name of the server as designated in ServerName. For example, type this to designate ACME LapLink VPN Server: ServerName1=ACME LapLink VPN Server Specifying other Setup options Creating an uninstall script [Setup] Uninstall=TRUE Normally, Script.txt installs LapLink RNA. However, you can make it an uninstall script by adding this line to the Setup options. Settings that are meaningless in an uninstall script (such as which servers are designated) are ignored when the script is run. Designating the installation folder [Setup] Destination=NAME For NAME, specify the drive and folder in which LapLink RNA is to be installed. For example, this line installs LapLink RNA in a subdirectory of the ACME directory: Destination=C:\LLRNA Setting registration information [Setup] User=NAME Organization=NAME Serial Number= NUMBER Use these three options to preset the name of the user, the organization, and the product serial number. For example, these lines specify registration information for users at ACME, Inc.: User=Acme Employee Organization=Acme, Inc. Serial Number=1234567 A sample Script.txt file The following text is from the sample installation script "Partially Interactive Install.txt" available on the RNA CDROM. [Setup] User Interface=VISIBLE Setup Type=TYPICAL Destination=C:\LLRNA 10 Modifying the LapLink RNA Setup script Program Group=ACME LapLink RNA User=Acme Employee Organization=Acme, Inc. Serial Number=1234567 [Services] Network Accelerator=TRUE [Log File] Log=FULL [Preferred Server List] ServerName1=ACME Remote Network Accelerator Server ServerAddress1=255.255.255.255 Network Accelerator=ACME Remote Network Accelerator Server [Welcome Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE [License Agreement Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE [Registration Info Dialog] Visible=FALSE [Setup Type Dialog] Visible=FALSE [Service Selection Dialog] Visible=FALSE [Program Group Dialog] Visible=FALSE [Finish Setup Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE [Start Configuration Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE [Finish Configuration Dialog] Visible=TRUE ReadOnly=FALSE 11 Installing LapLink RNA client (for end users) Installing LapLink RNA client (for end users) Before you can use LapLink RNA, you must install the client software on your computer. To install from a network, run the Setup.exe file from the network folder designated by the system administrator. To install from the CD-ROM, click Install Client on the LapLink RNA welcome screen. In the RNA Setup program you can choose between a typical or a custom installation. You can also specify the folder for installation. You may receive LapLink RNA preconfigured, with network and installation information set for you. When system administrators distribute LapLink RNA Setup via a network, they can customize the installation in various ways. For example, they can specify a server for you or hide all or part of the installation. If you have questions, contact your system administrator. Your system administrator installs and sets up the RNA Server. When Setup is complete, you must restart Windows before using LapLink RNA. To install LapLink RNA client from diskettes: 1 2 Double-click Setup.exe on Disk 1. Follow the instructions on your screen. To install LapLink RNA client from a network: 1 Navigate to the network folder containing the LapLink RNA installation files. Contact your system administrator for the location of the installation files. 2 3 Double-click Setup.exe. Follow the instructions on your screen. To install LapLink RNA client from a CD-ROM: 1 2 3 Insert a LapLink RNA CD-ROM in a CD-ROM drive. On the LapLink RNA welcome screen, click Install Client. Follow the instructions on your screen. 12 Understanding the LapLink RNA Service Manager Understanding the LapLink RNA Service Manager Manage Remote Network Accelerator from the LapLink RNA Service Manager. Open the Service Manager by double-clicking its icon on the Windows taskbar. Enable and disable the service, double-click the service to view or change its properties, or designate LapLink RNA servers. You can manage the RNA service using the LapLink RNA Service Manager. The Service Manager displays the service, including its status and description. Enabling and disabling services The Service Manager lists the installed service (appears as LapLink RNA Server if appropriate), and whether acceleration is enabled or disabled. You can change acceleration status for the service by clicking the Enable or Disable button. To enable or disable a service: 1 2 3 Open the Service Manager by double-clicking its icon on the Windows taskbar. Click the name of the service on the toolbar. Click the Enable or Disable button. Viewing properties View and change LapLink RNA service properties in the RNA Properties dialog box. To open the LapLink RNA Properties dialog box: 1 2 · · · · Open the Service Manager by double-clicking its icon on the Windows taskbar. Do one of the following: Double-click the name of the service. Click the name of the service and click the Properties button. Click the name of the service and click Properties on the Service menu. Right-click the name of the service and click Properties on the shortcut menu. Designating and connecting to a Remote Network Accelerator server Remote Network Accelerator clients can open the Designate Servers dialog box from the Service Manager. For more information on designating servers and connecting, see the Remote Network Accelerator User's Guide. 13 Understanding the LapLink RNA Service Manager To designate a LapLink RNA Server: 1 2 3 4 Open the Service Manager by double-clicking its icon on the Windows taskbar. On the Service menu, click Designate Servers. Select the server you want to use, or type in the IP address. Click OK Contact your network administrator to get the IP name or address of the LapLink RNA server. If you need to determine the IP address yourself, information is available in LapLink's online knowledge base. Use this URL: (Link: http://www.laplink.com/support/ kb/article.asp?id=204)http://www.laplink.com/support/kb/ article.asp?id=204 To connect after designating a LapLink RNA Server: 1 2 3 Click the Connect button. Confirm the name or IP address of the LapLink RNA Server you want to connect to. Click Connect, and then Close when the connection is made. !TIP 14 Keeping an activity log Keeping an activity log LapLink RNA uses a log to track its activity. Change logging settings in the Logging tab of the RNA service. Check or clear the Enable Logging box to turn logging on or off. In the Log Activity box, check the types of information you want to log. LapLink RNA can log activity to keep a record of the events that occur while it's running. Logs are chronological lists of occurrences, such as connections, transfers, and disconnections. In Windows 98, logs are stored in a text file and viewed in Microsoft WordPad. In Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, events are recorded in the Event Log that Windows maintains. Understanding logged events Each event in the LapLink RNA log shows this information: · · · · Time the event occurred Type of event (information, warning, or error) Event ID number Description of what occurred These details help you understand what happened during your RNA work session. Specifying what to log You can control which types of information LapLink RNA stores in the log. For example, you can specify that you want to see only connection and disconnection information. To specify what to log: 1 2 3 · · 4 Open the LapLink RNA Service Manager by double-clicking its icon on the Windows taskbar. Double-click the service name and then click the Logging tab. Do one or more of the following: Turn logging on or off by clicking the Enable Logging box. Under Log Activity, specify the types of information to log. Click OK. 15 Logging activity in Windows 98 Logging activity in Windows 98 In Windows 98, LapLink RNA stores the logs in text files. Change the log file location by typing or selecting a new path. Specify how many days to store daily logs in the Number of Daily Logs to Save box. To remove all messages from today's log, click the Empty Today's Log button. To view the log in WordPad, click the View Today's Log button. When RNA services run on Windows 98, they store the logs in text files. There is a different log file for each day. Each event in each log appears on one line of text. Setting logging options in Windows 98 Set Windows 98 logging options to specify where to store the logs and how many daily logs to store. Determine where to store the log by specifying a folder on your local hard disk. LapLink RNA cannot store logs on a network, floppy, or CD-ROM drive. To clear all events from the current day's log file, click the Empty Today's Log button. Choose how many daily logs to save to control how long an old log file remains on your computer. You can save between 1 and 99 logs. When choosing this number, consider how likely it is that you will need to check previous days' log files, and how much disk space you can spare on your computer. To set logging options in Windows 98: 1 · · 2 From the Logging tab, do one or more of the following: Type a path in the Location box, or click the Browse button to search for a folder where you want to store daily logs. In the Number of Daily Logs to Save box, type a number or click the arrows to set how many daily logs to save. Click OK. Viewing the log in Windows 98 In Windows 98, LapLink RNA displays the log in Microsoft WordPad. LapLink RNA runs WordPad and opens today's log file for you; there is no need to search for the file. To view today's log in Windows 98 · If you do not have Microsoft WordPad, you can install it from your Windows 98 disk(s). From the Logging tab, click the View Today's Log button. Logs from previous days are stored in the folder specified on the Logging tab in the Location box. Use Windows Explorer to locate the appropriate log file and open it in WordPad. LapLink RNA log files are named with the prefix FAC, followed by the date. For example, the log file named FAC0407.log is the RNA log for April 7. 16 Logging activity in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Logging activity in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP In Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, LapLink RNA records activity in the Event Log. To view the log in Event Viewer, click the View Event Log button. To show only LapLink RNA events, click Filter Events on the View menu in Event Viewer, and then click the LapLink RNA service in the Source box. Viewing the log in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP When LapLink RNA services run on Windows NT-based computers, they log activity in the Event Log created and maintained by Windows. Each event appears on one line of the Windows Event Viewer. To view the log in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP: · From the Logging tab, click the View Event Log button. Showing LapLink RNA events only The Windows NT Event Viewer includes events logged by other programs running on your computer. When LapLink RNA service opens the Event Viewer, it automatically filters the display to show events for that service only. This lets you easily read the LapLink RNA information you need. Any time you run Event Viewer from the Windows Start menu rather than from the Logging tab in LapLink RNA, you can change the display filter yourself. To show LapLink RNA events only in Windows NT: 1 2 3 4 On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs and Administrative Tools and then click Event Viewer. On the View menu click Filter Events. In the Source box click the LapLink RNA service. Click OK. To show LapLink RNA events only in Windows 2000 or Windows XP: 1 2 3 4 5 Right-click My Computer and point to Manage. Click to expand Systems Tools, then Event Manager, and highlight Application. On the View menu click Filter. In the Event source box click the RNA service. Click OK. 17 Troubleshooting Troubleshooting This section provides suggestions for solving problems and improving performance. These suggestions are designed as a quick overview of possible solutions, with enough information to guide experienced users to solutions. Problems with the LapLink RNA Service Manager Everything in the Service Manager is grayed. The Service Manager appears grayed when you suspend all services. To return to normal running state, click Suspend All Services on the Service menu so that it is unchecked. Text in the Service Manager table is cut off. You can resize the columns in the Service Manager. Drag the dividers that separate the column headings to resize them manually. You can also double-click a divider to automatically resize the column to fit the text. When I click the LapLink on the Web item on the Help menu, I get an error. You need a Web browser and an Internet connection to access LapLink's Web site. If you have a Web browser and an Internet connection and the site still does not open, you can open it manually by typing the site address in your browser: http://www.laplink.com Problems with logging I can't find the log. In Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, events are logged to the Windows Event Viewer. To view these events, click the View Event Log button on the Logging tab of the LapLink RNA service. In Windows 98, LapLink RNA stores the log in a text file. The default location is within the LapLink RNA program directory. It might have been moved: check the location on the Logging tab of the LapLink RNA service. The log is empty. Make sure logging is enabled. Check the Logging tab of the RNA service. The Enable Logging box and at least one Log Activity box should be checked. 18 Problems with logging If there hasn't been any log activity (LapLink RNA has not been started or stopped, or no network files have been opened), there won't be any information in the log. The information I need isn't in the log. You specify what is logged on the Logging tab of the RNA service. In the Log Activity box, click the activities you want logged so that they are checked. When I open Windows Event Viewer from the Service Manager to find information logged from other programs, I see only LapLink RNA events. This is as designed. You can change the filtering in Event Viewer to show all events: click Filter Events on the View menu. If you open Windows Event Viewer from outside of LapLink RNA, it should run with normal settings. I don't have WordPad. How can I view the Remote Network Accelerator log in Windows 98? You must have WordPad to view the log in Windows 98. WordPad comes with Windows 98. To install WordPad: 1 2 3 4 Double-click Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel. On the Windows Setup tab, click Accessories and click Details. In the Components list, click WordPad so that it is checked. Click OK, and then click OK again to install WordPad. How can I see the log for a previous day? In Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the Event Viewer settings Maximum Log Size and Event log Wrapping determine how long events remain in the log. If a LapLink RNA event is recent enough that it is still in the Windows log, then you can view it in Event Viewer by scrolling to the day it occurred. For information about Event Viewer settings, see Windows Help. In Windows 98, the Number of Daily Logs to Save setting in the service properties determines how long RNA logs are stored. For example, if the Number of Daily Logs to Save setting is 5, then you can find five previous days' logs on the computer's hard disk. The logs are stored in the folder specified in the Location setting in the service properties, and are named by date. For example, the log for LapLink RNA for August 3 is named FAC0803.log, the log for 19 Problems with logging August 4 is named FAC0804.log, and so on. To view a previous day's log in Windows 98, open the appropriate .log file in WordPad. 20