Hidy Ho Steve (and all..) <G> Here's some more reasons for taking "Pepto"....
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Novell's Web server strategy thrown for
loop
By Christine Burns
Network World, 11/3/97
By year-end, Novell, Inc. was supposed to ship a revamped Web server that
would be faster, easier to administer and better for building applications.
But after several delays and months of silence, customers are wondering what
will ever become of the product designed to be IntranetWare's strongest link
to the World Wide Web.
Why the uncertainty? Novell's work has been upstaged by its own spinoff -
Novonyx, Inc. A joint venture started last June by Novell and Netscape to
port SuiteSpot applications to NetWare 4.X, Novonyx is set to deliver
Netscape's Enterprise Server 3.0 Web server for NetWare in December.
''Why would anybody want Novell's pitiful Web server if they could get one of
the industry kingpin servers?'' said Ira Machefsky, an analyst with Giga
Information Group, Inc., in Santa Clara, Calif.
Novell officials apparently agree. ''We know the only real advantage our
product has over the Novonyx one is price at this point,'' said Jim Greene,
product marketing manager for Novell's platform division. The Novell Web
Server comes free with IntranetWare.
Novell officials say they will deliver a new version of the Novell Web Server
that can rival the Novonyx offer. They just do not know when or what the
product will contain. ''We know we have to reevaluate the features we need to
add to our Web server that will present a stronger argument for existing users
to stick with us,'' Greene said.
The most recent iteration of the Novell Web Server, Version 3.0, was
released in March and provides some advantage over other third-party Web
servers because it offers user access control via ties to Novell Directory
Services (NDS). Novonyx will offer that same level of NDS integration.
Although Novonyx has yet to outline pricing, industry observers expect the
cost to be comparable to the $1,295 Netscape charges for versions of the
Web server that run on Windows NT or Unix. Regardless of price, existing
Novell users say a switch to the Novonyx offering is a real possibility.
Some already have forsaken the Novell offering. Hillsborough County, Fla.,
uses IntranetWare for file and print services on its 2,000-seat network, but
does not use the Novell Web Server. ''When we did the upgrade, I looked at
it and it was like a little applet they threw in there just in case you didn't have
an alternate route to the Web,'' said Bill Kanneberg, technology manager for
the county.
Hallmark, Inc. currently uses Unix-based Web servers to deliver Web access
to users on its 60-server NetWare 4.X network. Technical analyst Dan
Blevins never considered employing Novell Web Server be-cause it was not robust enough to
compete with the Unix machines. ''But I have heard good things about Enterprise Server and could
see that as a better way for local users to interface to the Web instead of having them go over the
corporate net to the Unix boxes, Blevins said.
Novell itself does little to support its Web server. Neither BorderManager, Novell's Internet/intranet
management suite, nor the new Web-based components of GroupWise offer any specialized
integration with the latest Novell Web Server.
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"Pitiful" ..... the operative word in this article.
"Pitiful".... <shaking head...>
Regards,
Joe... |
