Knowledge Sharing Program The purpose of our knowledge sharing program is to continue the process of opening the communication lines between those who deal with our customers every day, and those who deal with the servers that our customers use.

Topic 1 General Troubleshooting Web Page Errors AppleTalk OneNet Network Neighborhood Library Catalog Questions and Answers

Web Page Errors

Forbidden  This usually is the result of the user account missing one of the requisite files from their root directory.  Files: index.html, home.html, index.htm, home.htm, homepage.html, homepage.htm, HOME.HTM, HOMEPAGE.HTM, HOME.HTML, HOMEPAGE.HTML (This is the order a browser will search for the default index file)

Troubleshooting  You can see all the files they have in their directory, as well as the previous list of acceptable files, by using the “Web Usage” button in the Support Tool.

OWA  Outlook Web Access failed to load  Webmail.ou.edu (Outlook Web Access) is the web-based client that users can use to access their Exchange account without having to load either Exchange or Outlook on their local machine.

Troubleshooting  Try to log into more than one account using the webmail.ou.edu interface.  If all accounts fail then you should notify the Operations Center immediately that there seems to be a problem with the server. Please see your helpdesk lead first.  If only one account fails then there is probably just a problem with that one account. You should try setting up a profile locally on Microsoft Outlook to see if you can access the mailbox.

Troubleshooting  If you can access the account through Outlook, but not through webmail.ou.edu you should submit a case so that the appropriate person (Microsoft Team) can take a look at that individuals account.

AppleTalk

Description  AppleTalk is a broadcast, routable protocol designed by Apple in the 1980’s to aid in the networking of personal computers. It uses zones to divide the different sections of the network into manageable groups. The zones behave much like subnets, except the zone names are visible via the Chooser, and are used to aid users in finding the resources they are trying to access on the network.

Function  AppleTalk assigns a network number to each node on the network. This identiier is represented by a two part number, the first set of numbers representing the network segment and the second representing the specific node. oThe AppleTalk network number can be found by using the “Get Info” command on the AppleTalk Control Panel.  Network number assignment is done by polling the existing machines on the network segment for un-used numbers.

Where it can be used  As a result of the small number of Mac’s on campus, and the fact that the broadcasting makes this a less desirable protocol to use, AppleTalk is not being supported where it is not needed on campus. This includes all our residential networks, over the wireless LAN and at the egress point of campus. It is being routed in departments that we knew needed to have it, or where a need has been shown to us.

Accessing servers and printers  Currently you have to use the Chooser that is built-in to the OS on the computer you wish to have access to the server or printer. Utilities designed to search for specific services are not supported on our campus at this time.

OneNet

Who they are  OneNet is the service provider for The University of Oklahoma. They are a division of the State Regents for Higher Education, and are run in conjunction with the Office of State Finance. They provide Internet connectivity to the universities and colleges throughout the state of Oklahoma.

Connectivity issues  To check on the connectivity that we are experiencing at any given time you can go to This will take you to Telecom’s home page, and to a graph that will show our current connectivity status. This graph is set to update every five minutes, so the data may be a few minutes old on this graph. If you need to know the real-time status you can ping This is the OneNet side of our outside link.

Network Neighborhood

How it works  You can think of the Network Neighborhood as being very much like the Zones you see in your chooser in AppleTalk. Network Neighborhood, however, does not work nearly as well. Appletalk printers and servers broadcast their information out so everyone can maintain a current list of resources that are available. The list in Network Neighborhood is controlled by a Master Browser, which is one of the machines on the network you are trying to search.

Master Browser  A computer is “elected” as the Master Browser based on a number of criteria. Once a machine is elected it will compile a list based on queries to all the other machines it can find. Because this process takes time, the list is not always updated in real-time. Also, if the Master Browser is taken off-line then a new “election” must take place to create a new list. Because of how dynamic this process is, Network Neighborhood is not always a good way of locating network resources.

Master Browser  If you need to refresh the list that you have in your Network Neighborhood you can:  Go to a command prompt  At the prompt type “net view”  This will return you a complete list of resources that your Master Browser is aware of

Finding Network Resources  A much better, and more reliable means of finding network resources is to do a search for them. The search queries directly to the WINS Server for the computer or printer you are looking for. If that resource is available it will be registered with the WINS Server, and you will be able to find it quickly and easily. Once you find it, you can map directly to it so that resource is available to you any time you are on the network.

Library Catalog

How we interface with it  The Library’s online catalog allows users to search for library resources without the need for them to physically go to the library. This system is locked down so that only students and employees of The University of Oklahoma can gain access. In order to make sure that it is protected from outside use users must have an account in the Active Directory (Sooner domain account).

Troubleshooting  Verify the password works on and ask them if they have been able to log into a lab computer.

Questions and Answers