Novell continuing to ensure that NDS remains the industry choice for an Open and mature Directory Service...
Novell to open parts of NDS source code
By Scott Berinato, PC Week Online
November 30, 1998 9:00 AM ET
Novell Inc. is embracing open source code
software through two major initiatives,
further pulling the open source model into
the corporate mainstream.
The Provo, Utah, company plans to open up
portions of its cornerstone NDS (Novell
Directory Services) software to users and
developers, a Novell official acknowledged.
In addition, Novell plans to invest in Linux
vendor Caldera Systems Inc., according to
sources.
The moves come as IT managers are
starting to warm up to the benefits of Linux
and other open source code offerings. With
directories becoming a critical tool for
managing enterprise networks, opening up
directory source code would make it easier
for IT managers to control internal
development and maintenance of
directory-enabled applications.
"The beauty of open source for large
companies is you can build applications a
company like Novell would never have the
time or talent to do," said NDS user John
Kretz, an analyst at Enlightened Point
Consulting Group, in Phoenix. "It's
incredibly powerful to own and maintain the
code, if management is of the mind-set to it."
Novell is still working out the details of its
NDS open source plan, which requires a
new business model.
"In some form, we'll be involved in [opening
NDS source code]," said Chris Stone,
senior vice president of strategy and
corporate development at Novell. Right
now, Novell is "scrubbing the NDS code" to
make sure it's usable by the developer
community, Stone said.
He would not give a time frame for the distribution of open source NDS,
but did acknowledge that Novell must act soon. "I have a window while
Active Directory is not there," he said. Active Directory is scheduled to
ship in the middle of next year as part of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows
2000 operating system.
Novell's investment in Caldera's OpenLinux, which already supports
NetWare file, print and directory services, will propel both in-house and
commercial development of Linux-based NetWare and NDS
applications.
Intel Corp. and Oracle Corp., which already have stakes in Linux
developer Red Hat Software Inc., also plan to invest in Caldera, of
Orem, Utah, sources said.
Officials from the companies involved declined to comment on the
potential investments.
Migration to an open source code model is not without potential pitfalls.
First, with a much wider distribution mechanism, vendors may not be
prepared to support additional users should any major bugs arise. In
addition, because the source code will be openly available to all
developers, vendors run the risk of exposing key assets to competing
vendors.
"NDS open source code is a huge development as long as it's controlled
and monitored," said Enlightened Point's Kretz. "They need something
like Mozilla.org [Netscape Communications Corp.'s open source code
management group] in place, and then I will feel much better, much
more enthusiastic about [open source NDS]."
Analyst Jamie Lewis agreed. "Just opening NDS source code does not
guarantee success," said Lewis, president of The Burton Group, in
Midvale, Utah, and a PC Week columnist.
Competitor Microsoft, while recently acknowledging the growing
strength of the open source code software movement in its so-called
Halloween Documents, is showing little interest in opening its own
source code to developers.
Ed Muth, enterprise marketing group manager for Microsoft, in
Redmond, Wash., said only about one in 300 developers wants source
code. "Customers want solutions, not giblets," Muth said. "[They] want
to put themselves in a position to support the business as opposed to
fiddling with the plumbing."
Novell's Stone remains cautious but undeterred.
"There's an enormous amount of management involved," he said. "You
have to make a concerted effort to make it fly. We're thinking through
this. It's a business model we're all going to have to get used to."
Toy |
