Timpanogas offers installable NetWare file system for NT
By Scott Berinato, PC Week Online
January 6, 1999 5:33 PM ET
The Timpanogas Research Group Inc. this week introduced software for users looking to mix Windows NT and NetWare server operating system environments.
The company's Fenris software will enable users to retain a Novell Inc. NetWare file system and run it on a Microsoft Corp. NT server. All NetWare file system features will be available to the NT server, including volumes, partitions, mirrors and fault tolerance. Also, the Fenris installable file system will support SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) systems, said Timpanogas officials in Orem, Utah.
Extracting the file system from the network operating system and allowing it to run on either Novell (Nasdaq:NOVL) or Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) servers means users can alternatively mount an NT or NetWare file server without fear of destroying data in the transition, Timpanogas CEO Jeff Merkey said.
Though Timpanogas is not pitching it as such, users can also employ Fenris as a migration tool from NetWare to Windows NT. A conversion tool is due in the same March time frame as the Fenris file system. It will enable users to perform a one-way migration of the file system from NetWare to NT File System, according to Merkey.
"The reality is that it does make NT more attractive and less risky to use because you can now host both NetWare and NT on the same machine and 'dual boot' whichever one you want to use because they can now share a common file system format," Merkey said. "[This is] something customers will applaud."
A similar Fenris product will ship for Linux servers. Though pricing was not available for Fenris running on NT, the Linux version will reportedly cost between $200 and $400, with a conversion utility adding $100.
Microsoft, for its part, could gain much from a tool that helps users convert to NT servers, even if they run a NetWare file system. Despite Merkey's claims that Microsoft has helped with the Fenris project, Microsoft, of Redmond, Wash., denies any involvement, acknowledging only that Timpanogas is an ISV supporting NT.
Timpanogas, of Orem, Utah, is at www.timpanogas.com.
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