Question & Answer
Question
What is the Microsoft® Windows® Network Provider Order (NPO), how can the ordered list affect IBM® Rational® ClearCase® performance and are there any known problems related to the list? This technote also provides instructions on how to change the order of the list, if needed.
Answer
About the Network Provider Order
Unable to assign drive to view: error 1204
The RPC server is too busy. Cannot terminate the operation
"Unable to access storage location" error creating a VOB or View
VOBs not remounting at logon even though 'Remount at logon' is checked
ABOUT THE NETWORK PROVIDER ORDER
The Network Provider Order (NPO) is an ordered list of network protocols on the Windows host machine.
The order of the list is applied from the top down; the top most protocol having the highest priority (used first).
The order of this list is only significant when ClearCase MultiVersion File System (MVFS) is installed on the local host. If MVFS is not installed, ClearCase Dynamic Views will not be included in Network Provider Order list; hence, there will not be any performance impact when using ClearCase, and there is no need to change the NPO.
A Network Provider Order list can contain the following (well known) types of protocols:
ClearCase Dynamic Views
Microsoft Windows Network
NFS
Terminal Services
Web Client Network
Netware
COMMON SETTINGS
- Windows - Homogeneous environment (all Windows machines)
The Network Provider Order for a ClearCase machines accessing VOBs on Windows should be as follows (unless directed otherwise):
ClearCase Dynamic Views
Microsoft Windows Network
<everything else>
- Windows - Heterogeneous environment (mix of Windows and UNIX/Linux machines): SMB interop
The Network Provider Order for a ClearCase machines accessing VOBs on UNIX® or Linux® using SMB (TAS or Samba) interop should be as follows (unless directed otherwise):
ClearCase Dynamic Views
Microsoft Windows Network
<everything else>
- Windows - Heterogeneous environment (mix of Windows and UNIX/Linux machines): NFS interop
The Network Provider Order for a ClearCase machines accessing VOBs on UNIX® or Linux® using NFS (DiskAccess or Maestro) interop should be as follows (unless directed otherwise):
ClearCase Dynamic Views
Microsoft Windows Network
NFS
<everything else>
Note: In all cases where Netware is used on Windows clients, the Netware provider should always be last in the provider order.
WHY IS ORDER IMPORTANT?
By changing the order of protocols bound to those providers, you can improve performance. For example, if your LAN connection is enabled to access NetWare and Microsoft Windows networks, which use IPX and TCP/IP, but your primary connection is to a Microsoft Windows network that uses TCP/IP, you can move Microsoft Windows Network to the top of the Network providers list on the Provider Order tab, and move Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to the top of the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks binding on the Adapters and Bindings tab.
Note: Limiting the number of protocols on your computer enhances its performance and reduces network traffic. If your computer encounters a problem with a network connection, it attempts to establish connectivity by using every network protocol that is installed and enabled. By only installing and enabling the protocols that your system can use, the operating system does not attempt to connect with protocols it cannot use, and returns status information to you more efficiently.
STEPS TO ACCESS NETWORK PROVIDER ORDER LIST
To access the Network Provider Order list on Windows, follow the instructions below:
- Windows Vista:
- Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Network Connections
- Press ALT to display the menu bar, and then on the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings.
- If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
- On the Provider Order tab, in the Network Providers list, select the provider that you want to move up or down in the list, and then click the up or down arrow buttons to rearrange the order.
- Windows XP:
Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Advanced -> Advanced Settings -> Provider Order
- Windows 2000:
Start -> Settings -> Network and Dial-up Connections -> Advanced -> Advanced Settings -> Provider Order
- Windows NT 4.0:
Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network -> Services -> Access Order
TROUBLESHOOTING
GENERIC PROBLEMS:
- Boot up is slow
- Overall performance is slow
- Unable to assign drive to view: error 1204
This error occurs when attempts to map a dynamic view from the MVFS drive (M:\ by default) to a mapped drive (Z:\ for example).
SYMPTOMS:
- The drive letter (Z:\ in this example) is not in use.
- Also, the view can be mapped to Z:\ if the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path is used (\\view\view-tag as opposed to M:\view-tag).
- ClearCase Dynamic Views is not listed under the Network Provider Order.
- The RPC server is too busy. Cannot terminate the operation
This error is seen in the Event Viewer logs and indicates the network access order may not be set up correctly. If the provider order is set in a such a way that searching becomes less than optimal, then the network search could be very slow and some adjustment may be necessary to the network search order. For example Windows might be trying one network provider (Netware) through the another (Microsoft Windows Network) to resolve network naming.
- "Unable to access storage location" error creating a VOB or View
Attempts to create a VOB or View on Windows with a Novell client installed reports the following error message: Unable to access storage location.
Note: Uninstalling the Novell client results in a successful VOB or View creation.
This problem is caused by having the Novell client to high in the network access order. Changing the Network Provider Order so that Novell is last solves the problem.
- VOBs not remounting at logon even though 'Remount at logon' is checked
Client for NetWare may be installed on the system and appears before ClearCase Dynamic Views in the Network Access Order list.
The access order could affect the mounting of a VOB depending on the network.
Related Information
Was this topic helpful?
Document Information
Modified date:
29 September 2018
UID
swg21135684