Novell will continue its steady drum roll of product and partnership announcements next week with a new version of NetWare for Small Business.
In addition to the NOS for mom and pop shops, the company has further detailed its partnership with enterprise software vendor PeopleSoft and enhanced its Novell Replication Service software to better cooperate with its flagship NDS (Novell Directory Services).
The moves are part of an ongoing effort by Novell to promote its NetWare and NDS platforms while rival Microsoft works to get Windows 2000 Server out the door. Users have benefited from numerous technology tweaks and platform enhancements through Novell's efforts, and the company may even have won some converts.
"I was considering NT vs. Novell [NetWare 5.0], and I've gone with NetWare," said Steve Curcuru, resident wizard of Mugar Enterprises. "I probably won't go with NT until after 2000. I'll be on [Novell] for at least a couple of years. By June of next year, it will be 'thanks but no thanks' [with Windows 2000]."
NetWare for Small Business version 4.2 includes NetWare 4.11 as its base operating system and GroupWise 5.2 as the e-mail and groupware platform.
New features in the product include support for 50 users (up from 25 in previous versions) and the ability to scale user licenses on an individual basis. Previously, users had to upgrade by five-user licenses at a time.
Setting up a routed Internet connection has also been updated to a wizard format. Novell officials said simplifying the Internet connection configuration was one of users' chief requests for a new NetWare for Small Business server.
Other enhancements
Other enhancements include a 32-bit version of NEAT (Novell Easy Administration Tool), which ties into NDS and helps non-technical users add user accounts, printers and applications to the network, officials said.
A network management agent has also been added. It allows resellers to monitor customers' networks and support them remotely. Partnerships have played a key role in beefing up the latest NetWare for Small Business.
For example, a five-user version of Oracle's Oracle 8 database ships with the server, as does virus protection from Network Associates and NetObjects's Fusion Web design software, officials said.
Pricing has not been set for the product, which ships in two weeks, but users should not expect it to vary greatly from current NetWare for Small Business pricing. The current version lists at $US995 for a five-user license, $US595 for five-user license upgrades, $US895 for 10-user upgrades and $US65 per client, officials said.
Not intended for branch offices
Novell officials said NetWare for Small Business 4.2 is a single-site server, not intended for branch offices. However, Novell is working on a version with virtual private networking functionality as well as other site-to-site features for small businesses that require connections to other offices, officials said. They declined to give a timeline for development and release of such a product.
In other Novell news, the company will provide consulting and services to customers who want to integrate NDS with PeopleSoft software. The consulting will be available through Novell Consulting Services, officials said.
Elsewhere on the product front, Novell Replication Services has received a refresher. Version 1.21 can now replicate data on 241 servers across a single replication tree. In addition, new management tools allow closer monitoring of replication, and users can now lock master servers' file systems.
Available now, Novell Replication Services costs $US995.
Novell can be reached at www.novell.com.
