Users, analysts decry Microsoft refusal to support Novell NDS
Laura DiDio (COMPUTER WORLD)
Microsoft Corp.'s decision not to support rival Novell, Inc.'s Novell Directory Services (NDS) is being greeted with disbelief and derision by industry consultants, technical experts and users.
Earlier this week, buried in a document posted on its Web site, Microsoft said it "cannot support Windows NT Server running Novell's NDS for NT."
NDS for NT, which Novell began shipping on Jan. 5, allows network administrators to manage and monitor all aspects of NT domains and user groups through the NDS directory tree (see story).
However, Microsoft claimed that NDS for NT is "not the right long-term choice for Windows NT server customers' deployment and support."
Specifically, Microsoft said the following:
By replacing critical system Dynamic Link Libraries, NDS for NT makes serious technical changes to Windows NT Server, rendering the system less secure and potentially less reliable.
NDS for NT will break the upgrade from NT Server 4.0 to 5.0.
NDS for NT doesn't solve interoperability questions.
"This is utter and complete nonsense," said David Strom, president of Strom Consulting, Inc. in Port Washington, N.Y. Strom, a technical consultant who specializes in the NT server market, said he has never encountered any problems using or upgrading to NDS for NT in his NT Server test networks.
"I believe that 95% of these so-called 'technical issues' that Microsoft claims exist [are] really nothing more than smoke and mirrors to obscure the fact that Microsoft's own Active Directory is nonexistent at this point," Strom said. "The fact is, NDS for NT is a stable, reliable product and much better than anything that Microsoft has right now,'' Strom said.
Novell wasted no time in responding to Microsoft's charges, posting a detailed statement debunking the Microsoft claims on its Web site. The company said, "Novell will gladly support the customer, where Microsoft says they will not."
Novell also said it has run NDS for NT through "extensive tests" against the BackOffice Suite to ensure interoperability and will aggressively seek BackOffice certification. But according to Novell, getting BackOffice certification comes with a big caveat -- Microsoft has the final word on who gets it. |
