What is the advatages and disadvantages of Novell Netware system? What are the criteria that i must look out for when choosing a network system? lets say i have around 50 computers and 2 servers? Thanks

PROS 1. Novell has a far superior security system. 2. NDS is easy to work with and flexible. 3. Novell servers are reliable and hardly ever crash. 4. Works with all systems... (DOS, Linus, Unix, OS400, Win3.x, Win9x, Win2k, WinXP) 5. Novell requires a lot less hardware to operate. 6. Great Webserver as well. 7. Tech Support is the best!!! CONS 1. Somewhat expensive.... 2. ??

+ Install is a snap - full plug and play + Runs forever without rebooting + Can easily build a network with 1000's of servers + Easy management - Depending on your workstation needs, you may need the Novell client installed

Disagree with the last comment from Victor. Total cost of ownership of Netware is likely to be lower than some other network operating systems. Particularly if you use such integrated products as Zen, Bordermanager and Novonyx. The savings come with... lower hardware overheads efficient administration remote administration imaging reliabiliy

so lets put everything in a nutshell.. Novell is the best Network Operating System? since it has no disadvantages so far..

First, this IS a Netware forum, so most people are unlikely to highlight cons.... Netware can be difficult to administer, especially if you are new to it. And very especially if all of your experience is with the WinXX way of thinking. There is a fairly steep learining curve that tends to put off people. That said, administering any OS _properly_ has a learning curve. If you have particular server-side applications that you must run, Netware may not be supported (SQLServer, for instance). There is certainly something available that will do the same job, but not the same package. As mentioned above, Netware can have a higher up-front cost, making it hard to sell to management (I assume you have management). Over time, the TOC truly is lower, in may experience and in studies, than for equivilant (sp?) Windows systems. You can't play solitaire at the server console while waiting for that backup to complete. Oops, wait, that's an advantage. In some cases, support for the latest hardware may be more difficult to find. Of course, you don't need the nvidia graphics card on the server. Overall, I think NW is the best file/print server solution available, still. I'd still probably use Linux for firewall/router, though BM is excellent.

PROS: - Cost - Good fileserving - NOS is reliable and very stable. (Lots of uptime) CONS: - Zenworks and NDPS are flaky at best. - You can't rely on Novell's tech support. - Bordermanager is a beast and their isn't much support for it. I recommend a hardware firewall. These are things that I have experienced myself. Overall, I think Novell is great for fileserving. There are key concepts that Novell seemed to give birth to that are now being used as key components of "other" NOSs.. That should mean something... I hope this helps.