Jack,
NetWare does not need NetWare 5 to be what you have mentioned. It already has a built-in IPX/IP router and countless organizations use this inherent feature of NetWare for just that purpose. In order to turn a NetWare server into a full functioning LAN/WAN router with full packet filter support, one must bolt-on the MPR software (Multi-protocol router). Because of NetWare's highly efficient kernel, the performance of NetWare as a router is comparable to many low/medium scaled hardware routers. It can also provide a form of switching since it can be treated as a bridge (and that is basically what a switch is).
This new offering of native (all OSI layers) IP support for NetWare 5 has confused a lot of people. Because of this announcement of native IP support, many people believed that current versions of NetWare did not support the IP protocol at all - thats wrong. Even in NetWare 3.x has IP protocol and routing support, but the NCP (NetWare Core Protocol) that all external sources use to communicate with NetWare servers runs on IPX. With the addition of the NetWare/IP software, a company can wrap the NCP packets in IP instead of IPX. Although it removes IPX from the actual wire, it still is not native IP communication support (not to get anything confused - this is EXACTLY what NT server do now except that when they use the IP protocol they are wrapping the hugely inefficient NetBois inside instead of NCP. People call IPX chatty - anyone ever look at NT servers talking to the world? Not Pretty).
In NetWare 5, what Novell is doing (and this is why it has taken so long for them to get NetWare 5 out the door) is actually replacing the key fundamental underpinning to NCP/IPX with native layers of TCP/IP. This means that the RIP/SAPing that we all know and hate must be replaced and that is not an easy task! But they have actually done it. I know for you non-techies this doesn't sound like a big deal, but this would be equivalent to converting your new car into a hover-craft (the wheels are different, the engine is different, the steering is different, etc.) and still making sure that it can be a car to those people that don't know how to drive a hover-craft! I have to give the Novell Engineers a lot of credit!
So what does that mean to the industry? That means that NetWare 5 can run completely an internet protocol which makes it substantially more compatible to the internet than its competitors. I would be surprised if Microsoft converts their NT to full native TCP/IP support until after 2001! The ironic thing is that so many people think that NT has already got this level of support and that NetWare was the NOS that was far behind. In fact, its the other way around!
Anyways, that my technical chat for the day - non-techies you can now open your eyes again.
ToySoldier |
