This may be a very dumb question. But what exactly is a novell server? I thought novell just made client type software. If you have a novell server is it simply a windows/linux server running an novell server app on top of the OS? Novell doesn't actually make something comparable to Win Server 2003, does it? Thank you.

Novell began as a text based only server using the IPX/SPX protocol. The most popular version was 3.12, which I suppported for several years. The server is only the server. It cannot be used as a desktop like Windows NT. 3.12 need a 20 meg DOS bootable partition. The operating system installed in a novell based file system. With the use of a workstation, you would run utils from the server to add users, create print servers, and keep tabs on directory structures. You could have used a 386 SX16 as a print server. My office had 2 IBM 486DX266 servers in. Novell was also assiciated with the token ring network. 4.X introduced the Novell Directory structure (NDS) in 1995. Windows active directory is much like NDS. Your Tree structure could have many servers. You had a new administration. 4.11 was the most popular out of these. IP was introduced in 4.x. Eithernet was becoming more popular. I lost track a 5.0 release. I changed my eggs over to the NT basket in 1997. Novell 6.x is to be much more GUI. The version of mail like exchange was called " Groupwise ". I support the 4.x of that product. Also, I had a client whom ran 4.11 with Arcserve as a tape server. Licenses were expensive. They came in 50,100, 200, 500, 1000 etc. Now, with Novell purchasing SUSE linux, Novell had begun the road of heading towards Linux..as a 1 stop solution. Ahhh..login scripts were a pain to write..forgot most of that ... :)) Randy

To respond to the original questions... Yes, Novell Netware is not only comparable to Win server 2003, it's actually A LOT more stable, efficient and safe. If you need a very high-traffic file server, Netware is it. Forget Windows. With Netware, we're talking YEARS of uptime without rebooting. You can have millions of files, thousands of users. The directory Netware uses, called eDirectory, is like Microsoft Active Directory on steroids. As an application server, Windows is more widespread because there's more apps written for it. But with Netware 6 this could change because it supports Java apps. There's even an Apache server on it.

Very good answers indeed. With NetWare 6.x and up, a multitude of Administration information and settings including file server health, NDS health, NDPS printing setup, clustering, disk partitioning, etc.. you name it - is done from a web browser interface utilizing the Apache Web Server that runs on each file server now. The NDS tree also maintains and distributes its own Security Certificates for security of those services. NDS is now called edirectory for the most part. There are also many suites that fit with NetWare such as Zenworks, the Novell equivelent part of MS SMS. Zenworks has won many awards for Network management ability. You can also basically take control of the Windows OS nodes on your network, setting their right handed mouse to the left hand if you want. You can even place restricitons on the users desktops so that the next time they log in, they will get the company policy desktop back, no matter how they screwed it up the the day before. Netware with Zenworks has the ability to take MS Active Directory completely under its wing, where you can administrate Windows AD as a simple entity with in edirectory, as well as Unix systems, LDAP security directory's and the rest. The only thing Netware lacks, is the money to advertise on CNN, or to market like MS does. Novell Distributed Printing Services - NDPS is the absolute slickest printing known to a network. You can even produce a floor plan layout graphic of your building per floor or whatever, and place the printers on the picture. The users just click on the printer to which printer they want to print to. A single administrator can easily update all printer drivers, have them delivered, in the time it takes to update the drivers on a single PC. Even if you have 10,000 users using the same printer, that is all it takes for one Administrator to update all printer drivers on the LAN. We use Microsoft and Novell both where I work, and use the best of both. Netware is the Network that securely provides file system performance, login services, management, and performance with ease of Administration. We use Microsoft for DHCP and DNS services and a few other things. SQL databases and User Applications.

If Novell had the dame marketing punch that MS did nobody would be using MS networks for anything but P2P (which it basically is). We use both Novell and MS 2003 server. I wont put any security issue data on the 2k3 server only on the Novell server. 2k3 is 2 easy to crack. Novell on the other had is only crackable if you have access to the console and any network admin woth their salt has all their servers locked up in a room and then password protected, we are a parodoid lot. Check Novell out if you want a single admin platform. Using NDS that uis NOT like AD (which is a flat file DB) NDS is the only Directory tool that can administer and control, Novell, Windows 2k (2k3 very soon), Linux, MacOS, etc, One tool One interface. The learning curve may be different but it's worth it.