NetWare Evolves from NOS to Intranet Platform
Received: October 24, 1996 06:23am EDT From: Computer Shopper
From Computer Shopper for November, 1996 by Stephanie Izarek-Smith
With the fall release of NetWare 4.11 and a sister product called
IntranetWare, Novell hopes to reclaim some of the market share its
venerable network operating system has lost to Microsoft Windows NT by
providing a comprehensive intranet platform. Both products contain the
same core NOS capabilities and will carry similar prices, but
IntranetWare provides additional tools that facilitate the
transformation of a corporate LAN to an intranet.
"As more companies embrace the intranet concept, this market will
continue to emerge quickly. IntranetWare plants us firmly in the
intranet arena," says Novell marketing manager Peter Clegg. "[The
product] is directed at current NetWare users who want to expand their
existing network infrastructure to include Internet/intranet technology.
Obviously, [we see it as] a great value since it allows them to use what
they've already got in place and to build on it."
The core features of both NetWare updates include Novell's NetWare Web
Server 2.5, an enhanced version of Novell Directory Services (NDS), a
gateway between TCP/IP and IPX/SPX protocols, a NetBasic scripting tool,
and enhanced security. The Web Server supports the NetBasic scripting
engine and other Web-based services such as Java applets, JavaScript,
the Remote Common Gateway Interface, the Local Common Gateway Interface,
access controls, and logging.
According to Clegg, the new server is "the only Web server that allows
companies to publish NDS information while letting users browse the
directory for information about other network users, e-mail addresses,
URLs, and company-owned PCs and applications." The NDS access controls
let administrators keep their intranets secure by managing access to the
Web based on IP addresses, user names, host names, user groups, or
directories.
James Gaskin, a consultant for Gaskin Networking Services in Dallas,
says, "Out of the box, IntranetWare allows customers to get the most out
of Web technology, particularly with the inclusion of NetBasic." The
latter lets users execute Basic scripts running on NetWare across the
Internet, using platform-independent Web browsers. In turn, this allows
automatic HTML page creation and remote access to a company's existing
databases and to NetWare services and administration features.
Perhaps Novell's biggest advantage over Microsoft is NDS. Microsoft has
been working on its own enterprise-class directory services, originally
planned for inclusion in 1988's Cairo OS but now planned as a standalone
product for Windows NT--even as Novell says NDS for NT will ship in the
first half of 1997.
Nevertheless, Windows NT 4.0's graphical interface at the server level
and the appeal of Microsoft's BackOffice server suite pose a serious
threat to NetWare's NOS dominance. "NT is the better platform," boasts a
Microsoft spokesperson, "and it already includes the necessary Internet
tools."
Novell's Clegg responds, "At this time Novell is still the market
leader, with a 63-percent market share. And the release of IntranetWare
will only solidify that position."
While "this release [primarily] represents a small positioning step
forward for Novell," Gaskin says, "integrating Web technology with
NetWare will increase overall network flexibility for users. And while
these advances may score a direct hit on NT, it's the customer who
really stands to gain the most."
While Novell will continue to sell and support NetWare, it will focus
all future development efforts on IntranetWare. Company representatives
suggest that businesses would be wise to purchase the IntranetWare
product in place of NetWare 4.11, since the former will let them install
or skip the individual intranet components as required. |
