Novell, Inc. took 18 months to upgrade NetWare 4.1 to 4.11, then confused
everyone by introducing IntranetWare as both a new product and a bundle including
NetWare 4.11, scheduled to ship this week this week. But one thing, at least, is
clear: We like NetWare 4.11.
It offers simple Internet connectivity for both NetWare clients and servers, integrates
Web technology, and bundles a worthwhile 32-bit client for Windows 95 and 3.X,
with NT coming soon. TCP/IP is supported in multiple ways by NetWare servers
and clients, multiple processors are supported at no extra cost in the NetWare server,
and graphical network administration is better than ever.
Embracing TCP/IP and the Web makes NetWare stronger, more responsive and
more flexible. The NetWare Web Server gives Novell customers a reason to avoid
buying Windows NT servers to support Web servers. The IPX/IP Gateway lets
local clients reach the Web Server and the Internet without compromising security,
although a firewall is still necessary to protect Windows stations running the TCP/IP
protocol.
While not racing too far forward in the file and print server area, NetWare 4.11, also
known as Green River, answers both TCP/IP bigots' and Microsoft's marketing
challenge. Want to hook your NetWare users to the Internet? NetWare 4.11,
particularly in the IntranetWare bundle, gives the 55 million NetWare clients an easy
way to go surfing with safety. Want a Web server? NetWare running the Web
Server software serves up files just as quickly as the fastest file server in the LAN
business.
Running and using NetWare 4.11
NetWare 4.11 is stable - we've been running early beta versions of Green River on a
486/33 server since the spring, and the server has yet to quit. Although having only
16M bytes of RAM, the upgrade from 4.1 to 4.11 didn't require the 20M bytes of
RAM the manual says is necessary, and the 486/33 has run well.
Administering the server requires Windows 95 support and Client32 software. Other
network clients can still run the older VLM client software by loading the NetWare
client before starting Windows 95, the same as with Windows 3.X clients.
Network clients not running Windows 95 won't see an amazing difference between
versions 4.1 and 4.11. For that matter, neither will clients running Windows 95.
Novell adds some functionality to Windows 95, but the features are well integrated
with the client software. It's hard to tell where Windows stops and NetWare begins.
Client32 adds details to Network Neighborhood, Windows Explorer and the Control
Panel.
NetWare Application Launcher (NAL) is a handy utility that was around in 4.1 but
finally works in 4.11. By treating applications as just objects to be managed,
NetWare 4.11 lessens its reliance on mapped drives and adds finer control
capabilities. Applications can be referenced by their Universal Naming Convention
name, such as \\server1\\WinWord, rather than assigning a drive letter such as
H:=server1:\apps\WinWord. Using NAL eliminates the risk of running out of drive
letters and makes it easier to move applications to different volumes if necessary,
since only the NAL configuration need change.
The most noticeable changes in NetWare 4.11 primarily concern management and
ways of communicating with the TCP/IP world, especially using the Web server and
other products bundled with NetWare 4.11 as IntranetWare. Those of you who are
tired of fighting the internal E-mail vs. Internet E-mail conversion battle can replace
LAN E-mail with any of several Internet E-mail servers, using the IPX/IP Gateway
to support Post Office Protocol 3 E-mail client software.
First Mail, inspired by the popular Pegasus shareware product, was missing in our
copies of NetWare 4.11. Although underpowered and underused in Version4.1,
dropping the mail program without replacing it leaves a big gap in messaging
services (Think Novell wants us to buy GroupWise?).
Managing NetWare 4.11
The most obvious changes since Version 4.1 are in management utilities. Although
evolutionary rather than revolutionary, NWAdmin has improved. NDSMGR at least
makes NDS management more graphical.
The NWAdmin toolbar has some new icons; more functions are available by mouse
click than before. The toolbar is now completely configurable, as you would expect
from a Windows 95 application.
The new NDSMGR program lets you see the entire NDS tree, along with each
server and its status. NDSMGR's ability to upgrade NDS across the network is
much easier than reinstalling NDS on each server. The command buttons on the
right of the control screen can be removed, as they can for all NWAdmin screens.
This isn't quite the same as Windows 95's tabbed dialogue look, but it can be
customized more easily.
You can still control printers with the DOS program PCONSOLE, or you can do it
through NWAdmin. The printer quick setup utility has moved from PCONSOLE to
NWAdmin. We don't think the DOS utilities for clients and managers will be around
much longer; 4.11 could be their last stand.
NetWare 4.11 is easier to manage than earlier versions, but the improvements aren't
earthshaking. NDSMGR is better and provides more information than the DOS
Partition Manager program it replaced. More routine administration can be done
from NWAdmin, but the use of a Windows 95 station is almost mandatory.
Third-party software developers are promised an easier entry point into NDS,
allowing new programs to snap management tools into NWAdmin.
Novell has promised NDS management of Windows NT platforms and a variety of
other systems. That capability is not yet included in NetWare 4.11 but could be
added before year-end. The Windows NT client software is now in beta.
Novell is touting a C2 level of security for NetWare 4.11, but this will have little
impact on most companies. More important is how flexible the password system is.
With NetWare 4.11, users can pick their own passwords based on minimum
standards decided by the network supervisor, such as password length, using
repeatedly different passwords, and time between forced password changes. Users
may also be time restricted; keeping the network clear during the night, for instance,
except for the backup program.
New client software, new challenges
NetWare has always supported more types of clients than any of its competitors. It
also supports more network cards and network architectures; Arcnet is still
supported, for instance. Yet nothing has challenged Novell more than coming up
with a viable 32-bit client.
NetWare 4.1 under Windows 95 was a debacle, as Novell and Microsoft blamed
each other for the lousy client software available. Microsoft, eager to blunt the move
toward NDS, released a client that ignored NDS. Novell, claiming Microsoft
wouldn't provide development software and information, released a client with
severe stability problems.
Novell's Client32 software is a major step forward and one of 4.11's high points.
Installed from CD-ROM directly or by running the upgrade program from a
NetWare 4.11 server, Client32 uses the advanced memory management techniques
available within Windows 95 to good advantage. Even Windows 3.1 clients get a
boost with Client32.
Similar to the NetWare Loadable Module drivers used on NetWare servers for years,
Client32 uses protected-mode 32-bit drivers controlled by the NetWare Input Output
System program hidden within the software. For compatibility, the same 32-bit
drivers used for years on the NetWare server now work with Client32 software.
Within DOS and Windows 3.X, the improvements are not as noticeable as the
change from NETX to ODI drivers were when NetWare 4.0 was introduced.
STARTNET.BAT and NET.CFG files are still used to load network drivers and
configure the interrupt and network frame types for the client. Memory use is cut,
however: on a 486/66 with 8M bytes of RAM running Windows 3.1, all network
drivers were in high memory, leaving 616K bytes of lower memory and 58K bytes
of upper memory available. Extended memory is used for network functions now,
so be prepared for low-RAM machines to have new memory problems. Our client
access speed didn't seem to change, but some users have reported slower
connections than when using the older VLM technology.
Windows 95 is a different story: Client32 software fits within the Network
Properties Sheet within the Control Panel, fully integrated into the Windows 95
architecture. No STARTNET.BAT or NET.CFG files exist because the network
drivers are loaded after Window 95 itself and are configured through the Control
Panel Networking configuration screen.
Automatic Client Update attempts to do what the name promises and generally
works fine. Being an experienced administrator (read ''burned in the past''), I'm
happy if this kind of automated procedure works 80% of the time. Client32 and
Windows 95 work well enough together that nearly all clients can be upgraded
automatically, although workstation configuration is different between different
machines that 100% compliance with any automatic procedure is practically
impossible.
One major difference from clients running 3.1 under Windows 95 is the lack of
NetWare User Tools. Provided first with NetWare 4.0, User Tools was a pop-up
utility that mapped drives, configured printers, and allowed users to navigate around
their network. User Tools has been improved slightly for the Windows 3.1X users,
but Windows 95 clients must use the Network Neighborhood applet on the
Windows 95 desktop. Network Neighborhood is OK, but User Tools is quicker and
more focused on client needs.
Installation and configuration
A feature that hasn't changed is the installation interface. You still work through the
clunky C-Worthy DOS-like interface, although installation is simple enough that it
wouldn't be appreciably improved by a Windows front end. Your server must be
configured with a minimum 15M-byte DOS partition, leaving the rest of the disk
unformatted and waiting for NetWare. All CD-ROM drivers must be loaded and the
CD-ROM drive operational.
While not quite Plug and Play, the installation routine does a better than ever job of
reading existing equipment and supplying the proper drivers for the disk drive and
controller, CD-ROM drive, and installed network adapters. Plug-and-Play slots are
assumed to the point you must specify ''ISA'' in the board initialization command
routine to use older, 16-bit ISA boards in your server.
New for 4.11 is support for IDE and Enhanced IDE CD-ROM drives as NetWare
devices where only SCSI CD-ROM drives were supported earlier. During
installation, you may even mount your IDE CD-ROM as a NetWare volume. The
installation CD includes an index, which helps to speed up the mounting process.
Although we don't favor using a single, server-mounted CD-ROM drive as a
NetWare volume - performance is faster and you need less operating system RAM
when you copy the CD's contents to the hard disk - those of you who havean
essential CD-ROM can now use your IDE drive as a NetWare volume.
The product installation screen includes support for symmetric multiprocessing
(SMP) on the main install screen. This support was available for NetWare 4.1, but
you could only get it by buying NetWare from SMP hardware vendors. Now a part
of the standard NetWare installation, the installation routine warns you if only a
single CPU is found on your system but allows you to install SMP support anyway.
Luckily, there's also an uninstall option.
The Web Server, NetWare/IP, and NetWare Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
are on the Other Installation Items/Products screen in the Install program. The Web
Server installs quickly from the CD-ROM, requiring no real user intervention in the
process, assuming TCP/IP is already configured for that server.
Configuration screens are starting to merge, making it more convenient to manage
everything. The Internetworking Configuration screen is automatically called from
within the Install utility and has responsibility for the IPX/IP Gateway,
Multi-Protocol Router and all other communication utilities. The console-based
Monitor program now includes the Server Manager utility, as well. Graphically,
NWAdmin includes the quick printer setup options once a part of PCONSOLE.
Although it's still possible to administer the network from a Windows 3.X station
running Client32 software, life is much simpler after you upgrade to Windows 95.
Novell has licensed Preferred Systems, Inc.'s popular DS Standard program.
Relabled DS Migrate for NetWare 4.11, this utility along with the File Migrate tool
makes upgrading much simpler than in the past. For the first time, users from
NetWare 3.X servers can be transferred along with their passwords (in encrypted
form), eliminating a major complaint. File ownership attributes carry over more
completely as well.
Printing improvements include smarter printer communications, including a
graphical management interface with easier user control over printer choice and job
properties, but printers to support those functions are not yet available. Users will
only see that Windows 95 workstations can make their attached printers into system
printers for all users to share.
NetWare 4.11 does everything right, but it doesn't do a lot new. It's like a cat
poised ready to race off. We've observed the Novell cat in this prepared pose for a
year or more.
While Novell is still winning with its installed base, Microsoft is winning the
marketing race. NetWare 4.11, and particularly the IntranetWare bundle, can outrace
Microsoft, based on the strengths of NDS, the Web Server and the IPX/IP
Gateway, but only if Novell can remain focused. |
