NetWare 6

NetWare 6

NetWare White Paper

Novell

September 2001

For critical day-to-day online business operations

There is much greater demand placed on servers today than in years past. Once, your company network stayed within your building's walls; now, it reaches all over the world. Once, your company network served only your employees; now, the world demands access to your network. Once, information was protected behind a firewall and accessed only from internal workstations; now, you have widespread Internet access, corporate portals, wireless technologies, and PDAs through which users expect a rich network experience. And as your networks reach outward, the volume of stored data increases significantly. To manage this deluge of information, businesses have begun consolidating the storage that used to reside on multiple servers across town or even across the world. Technologies such as Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN) are playing a more prominent role in managing and accessing this valuable stored data.

Executive summary

Computing, networking, and eBusiness communication decisions can no longer be made solely by the IT department. In today's business world, the demands of global connections through the Internet force corporate executives to rely on IT services. For your critical day-to-day online business operations, you want the most secure, reliable, trusted, and manageable network available—a network that ensures data will be accessible at anytime and from anywhere. You want a solid infrastructure that delivers valuable services. For example, your system should automatically sync files from a business workstation to a laptop or wireless device, and you should be able to print to any printer on the network.

No matter how large or small your network, it can no longer be called "just a LAN." Thanks to Internet connections that are driven by e-commerce and supply-chain communications, no network is an island. Your network must be flexible enough to provide secure and immediate access to the wealth of information that is now available online.

Securing and managing a "mixed bag" of network servers, clients, and resources can devour hours of network administration time. Supporting both centralized and decentralized management, NDS® eDirectory™ reaches across all major computer platforms to provide the world's leading distributed directory service. With NDS eDirectory, client management is simplified, users see a unified network, and security improves.

A strong network must have a solid foundation. From the beginning, the operating system must be designed to control and store a large volume of digital assets, which include files, databases, images, streaming audio, and video. General-purpose operating systems that run everything from handhelds to desktops to servers cannot provide the accessibility, reliability, or security necessary for today's network load. In other words, the network operating system that is a "jack of all trades, master of none" is not sufficient to meet the demands of today's corporate networking.

The Internet connects all networks, and customers and partners need to have access to your network through any device, at any time, and from any location. At Novell®, we call this concept "one Net" because everything must remain connected. NetWare® 6 gives you the secure and reliable foundation you need for today's eBusiness world.

Introduction

Many factors demand consideration during the process of selecting a server. Each company must make unique decisions when rating the attributes they require in a server. Accessibility, reliability, security, and performance are four functional areas that every company must consider carefully.

No one server ranks at the top in every possible functional area, and the importance of each functional area may differ from company to company. Vendors complicate the issue by emphasizing their own product's strengths, even if they have little to do with the needs of the client company.

Different server operating systems have strengths in different functional areas. Forcing a server to function outside its area of expertise is similar to entering the family minivan in a road race, using a sports car to move a mattress, or making a security fence out of tissue paper.

This white paper covers the applications and support that are provided by server operating environments. Topics include serving applications, managing storage resources, security, access control, mixed client environments, standards, and scalability. This white paper does not address hardware systems or consider the server operating systems only. When an operating system function requires specific hardware, those differences will be discussed.

Non-stop access to your files

People now travel to more places, towing technology in every briefcase and coat pocket. But no matter how much technology people carry with them, they always need something else. Sooner or later, they always need the files and information they left behind.

The Internet connects almost every network in the world to every other network. Yet reaching your files on your network from another network remains difficult, and is sometimes even impossible. Novell iFolder™ breaks the chains that, until now, have linked users to particular hardware. iFolder also eliminates location as the most important aspect of file access. New with NetWare 6, iFolder provides the technology tools to synchronize, backup, and access your files and applications anywhere and at anytime.

For years, people have searched for universal data access, and they still struggle mightily today to juggle files and keep multiple sets of data files synchronized. Desperate users e-mail files to themselves, shuffle decks of floppy disks, and manually copy files hither and yon to keep their files current. None of these options works reliably or transparently.

iFolder performs data-file synchronization automatically, transparently, and securely. iFolder intelligently sends only file changes back and forth across the network, speeding performance by eliminating complete file replacements. iFolder does all this synchronization while also reducing the security hassles that are created by linking a client computer through the Internet to a remote server via Virtual Private Networking. Notice the liberating result of iFolder: you have access to your updated files no matter where you are, and whether you are connected or offline. With basic Web access or on an iFolder client, your files and applications are available anywhere. You no longer have to go to the data, because the data will come to you.

Three components work together to power iFolder. First, the iFolder client allows access to current files on a personal computer, whether or not it is connected to the network during the work session. Running on Windows* 9x/ME/NT/2000, the iFolder client performs synchronization whenever connected to the network, keeping all files up to date and properly backed up. The iFolder client software also guarantees security by providing an encryption option for files stored at the central file server.

Second, an iFolder plug-in for Web browsers provides secure authentication links to the central iFolder server. The iFolder browser addition gives users the normal file-operation tools they expect (copy, delete, rename, and so on).

Finally, the iFolder server provides the necessary infrastructure for secure file synchronization and access. Using LDAP for authentication, the iFolder server runs on NetWare and includes modules for the Apache Web server on NetWare. Encryption between the client and the iFolder server, LDAP authentication, and stored file encryption provide peace of mind for iFolder users and network managers.

iFolder surpasses competitors by using standard Internet protocols and tools. Unlike Microsoft's Intellimirror*, which uses the CIFS (Common Internet File Services) for transport between client and server, iFolder uses HTTP, the gold standard for Web connections. CIFS works well as a storage format, but struggles with Internet transfers. iFolder eliminates this problem by using the HTTP Internet standard for transport.

Another improvement over current technology includes iFolder's use of incremental file changes. Unlike Intellimirror, which uses brute-force synchronization by slowly copying entire files, iFolder sends efficient 1K packets to determine which files need updating. Then, only those changes inside the files are sent. Smaller packets mean better performance and simplified background operation, leaving the users free to focus on the actual files rather than on the process of file synchronization.

Travelers, rejoice. Your files remain current, synchronized, and secure. Access your files through a standard, always-available Web browser no matter where you are in the world.

Owners of new machines, rejoice. Updating your new system with iFolder is a snap. Add the iFolder client, make a connection through the company LAN or through the Internet, and your new machine automatically receives a copy of all your current files.

Network managers, rejoice. Secure file synchronization for far-flung clients is now automatic. iFolder also performs backup, one of the most critical network-management challenges for traveling clients. Changes made to files on a laptop system by travelers will be synchronized automatically with the central iFolder server each time the traveler makes a connection. Backups for the central data storage devices will include the latest file modifications made by travelers.

Novell iFolder breaks the chains that, until now, have tied users to hardware that resides in a single location. NetWare 6 with iFolder provides the technology to make universal file access easier, safer, and more secure than ever before. Simplify your life and your file upkeep with Novell iFolder.

Printing meets the internet

Anyone who has spent a few years in the computer business probably remembers the hype about "paperless offices," the prospect that paper forms would be replaced with better, faster, more flexible electronic versions. Predictions remain a tough business; so far, paper still rules.

Whether the IT department likes it or not, users love paper. Many users, wary of computer systems in general, don't even believe data exists until they see it on paper.

Novell provided shared printing during the initial wave of laser jet printers, enabling companies to amortize several thousand dollars worth of laser printer among multiple employees. As printing demands grew, so did Novell's support for printing options. NetWare led the way among all network operating systems in supporting network-attached print servers, server-controlled printing through workstation-attached printers, and remote printer control options.

Printing demands now range from quick memos to full-color bound presentations, all performed by standard office printers. Spoiled by great resolution from laser printers and, more recently, high-resolution color pages, users expect quality printing. Yet even the most paper-friendly company can't afford to give every user a color laser printer that collates and binds. There will always be a need to reach special, shared printers through the network.

Novell provided the latest major improvement in network printer control by making printers, print queues, and print servers objects inside eDirectory. NetWare 4.x eDirectory made printer administration less time consuming and more reliable by using the same management tools that are used for every other network resource. Users were able to find and use printers more easily than ever before. NDPS® (Novell Distributed Print ServicesTM) added even more management and user support.

NetWare 6 takes network printer functionality to a higher level by using the best network print option as the foundation for Novell Internet Printing. Built upon the IETF-ratified Internet Printing Protocol (RFC-2910-1), Novell Internet Printing also introduces printer job control through Web browsers and Web server technology.

Network users struggle with several nagging details when trying to find the best printer for the job. The first problem is location. A great printer that is located two buildings away on a corporate campus might as well be in another state when quick printouts are needed. Sometimes poorly-configured networks will list printers without mentioning their locations. In this situation, users are very likely to send their critical jobs to a printer in the wrong location, sometimes even in a different state, by accident. Better printer management helps prevent these mistakes. Second, print drivers remain a constant problem. Nothing ruins a print user's day like finding a critical document full of hieroglyphics rather than text, tables, and numbers. Print drivers and applications baffle many users, so the more help the network can give them, the happier they are.

Finally, remote printing capabilities, including security, remain a mystery to many users. Why print out a job, stuff it into an expensive overnight delivery envelope, and send it away? Because the user has no idea how to transfer the file and have control over the resulting printout. To ensure a quality printout, file transfer, e-mail attachments, and even transmitted floppy disks require more coordination than most companies can guarantee.

Your users want a way to find the right printer, automatically receive the right printer driver if they don't have it already, and send the print job to a remote printer without fighting through security and a firewall. They have only one option: Novell Internet Printing.

Novell built a three-part answer to end the user's printing nightmare. First, Novell Internet Printing server components transform any printer into an IPP printer, putting it on the Internet and making it easily available to all authorized users. Second, the Web server portion allows users to click on their printer of choice, learn details such as physical location and printer features, and download drivers as necessary. Finally, using HTTP basic authentication and SSL encryption, the user can send the print job to the desired printer without worrying about security.

Users feel comfortable with Web pages. Even if the information on the Web page merely duplicates what the user sees inside a printer control dialog, users prefer the Web page option in most cases. Using Web pages works well for network administrators because it puts much of the printer control at the server side. Asking the user to make judgement calls about printer support, drivers, and features almost always leads to a user request for technical support. From the Novell Internet Printing Web page (either the default page from the IPP software or a customized version) the user can start the printer-driver download process by clicking on a printer. Another option begins the printer-driver download process automatically. Either way, the user immediately eliminates the frustrations that come from mismatched printer drivers. The Windows client software adds the new printer to the list of available printers, making it immediately available to the user.

Users generally don't care that Internet- standard protocols with full security are being used to transfer their print-job connections. The users just want their paper copies. Administrators, however, dearly love to avoid going to each user's workstation to help set up network printer support for new printing requirements. Novell IPP allows users to help themselves (securely) to the correct printer.

Novell Internet Printing provides features that were not possible with earlier print systems and that are still beyond the reach of any NetWare competitor. How much time and trouble does it take to manually load printer drivers for a new workstation? With Novell Internet Printing, it takes no time and involves no trouble at all. Would you like to save the overnight service fee on a presentation for another branch? Use Novell Internet Printing to print confidently to any printer anywhere on the corporate network.

You can't stop users from printing. With Novell Internet Printing, you can stop users from requesting assistance every time printing needs grow and change. You'll save support time, reduce user frustration, and possibly even save a little paper by reducing the number of printing problems.

Exploding storage needs

The old joke was that no one could be too rich or too thin. Today the joke is that no one can have too much storage. If you have enough for today, you had better order more for tomorrow.

Web pages, e-commerce transactions, streaming audio and video files, customer databases, and even e-mail messages filled with graphical logos eat space megabyte by megagulp. Some analysts believe storage requirements will double each year for the next few years. Then storage needs will probably increase again.

Network clients see their storage needs quite simply: they want more data, and they expect to have that data available at all times through both wired and wireless transmission from a workstation, laptop, PDA, or cell phone. They don't care how many contortions the network manager must perform. They just want non-stop access to their stuff.

Network managers see their storage duties quite differently: they must manage space across multiple servers, disks, and volumes. Security and reliability top their list of demands for all storage, with management ease crowding toward the top of the list as well.

Consolidation, clustering and san technology

In an effort to hold back the tide of information, reduce cost of ownership, reduce IT staff, and increase network efficiency, many businesses are pulling the storage off their distributed servers and bringing it into a central location. The obvious challenge with consolidation of stored resources is the risk of failure. If a single server fails, several hundred users could be without service. If a shared disk array fails, potentially thousands of users are without service — resulting in lost production, lost revenue, and in the case of e-commerce, lost business as millions of customers head to your competition. However, the benefits of consolidation are many. First, management is simplified, IT staff can be reduced or re-allocated, and, most importantly, users can be sure that their information will be available.

Storage Area Network (SAN) technology provides excellent, high-performance storage options. A centralized SAN arrangement uses a single storage system, usually a RAID device with plenty of capacity and redundancy, to serve multiple hosts. The storage system uses a separate, backend network for communication between storage devices and the server that connects the SAN system to the corporate network.

SAN technology dramatically expands the storage capability of a network, which results in significant advantages. The entire management overhead for individual storage units in the SAN falls to the SAN server, not to the distributed hosts accessing the storage system. Relieved of the storage management overhead, hosts can perform other tasks more quickly.

Many companies focus their attention on the storage hardware, and rightly so. RAID systems are expensive items that require much consideration. But customers who forget the critical role played by the SAN server get less value for their money.

Some SAN companies build software for Windows NT/2000, based on the fact that Windows remains the most popular application platform. After all, SAN management is an application, right?

Not exactly. Windows NT*/2000 marketing aside, Windows remains a general-purpose, desktop operating system with some server functions added. Advertising doesn't make an operating system reliable; it is years of experience bolstered by thousands of customer testimonials about undying servers that give an operating system a reputation for reliability. That operating system is NetWare, which has served the stringent demands of networks, not single desktop users, for more than two decades.

Reliability becomes more critical than ever when host storage becomes separated from the server in a SAN configuration. A dead SAN server blocks storage files, making every host on the network useless.

Dead servers and dead Web sites make headlines and strangle revenues. eBay has returned millions of dollars in auction fees because of system crashes. Amazon.com went through several painfully expensive and well-publicized system mishaps. Big names with dead sites make big headlines.

Don't forget that smaller companies suffer outages more painfully than larger companies. A Fortune 500 company site down for an afternoon makes news, but doesn't break the company. Smaller companies don't have the cash cushion or multiple revenue streams that huge companies take for granted. Blue screens of death mean red ink for small companies.

You'll see why NetWare's reputation for reliability is well deserved when you use a cluster of NetWare servers to control your SAN. NetWare 6 includes free cluster software for up to two systems. Up to 32 NetWare servers may be formed into a cluster, each of which is automatically ready to pick up the work of any other server in the cluster. The health of the cluster is constantly monitored and, in the event of a failure, the sick node's processes are automatically forwarded to the remaining healthy nodes. This failover process eliminates any single point of failure and is transparent to your users.

Management tools offer tremendous advantages to network administrators of critical systems. NetWare provides excellent file-system control and security through NDS eDirectory, the world's leading directory service. It makes sense to build SAN security on a directory foundation that has a decade of experience and seven major upgrades behind it. Building SAN security on a desktop operating system with a brand new, feature-poor directory system might make a statement for advertising, but not for technical experience.

The choice is simple: put desktop operating systems into a mission-critical server role and cross your fingers, or put NetWare in charge of your SAN and relax.

Reliability and high availability: almost (but not quite) the same

Uptime, reliability, and high availability: these buzz words all mean essentially the same thing, right? They are used interchangeably to mean that your systems will stay up and running, correct?

Not exactly. It's really more than just semantic games. Each term, while emphasized a little differently by each vendor, does mean something different. Uptime, reliability, and high availability describe slightly different goals that are achieved through different methods.

Put simply, however, the ultimate goal of uptime, reliability, and high availability is that your systems stay up and running as much as possible. Uptime describes a measurement, often expressed as a percentage, where 100% uptime is perfect. If 100% is perfect, is 90% pretty good? Not unless you are satisfied with a system that is available only nine out of every ten days. That's why NetWare strives, and reaches, 99.999% uptime (buzzword: 5 nines) with the proper configurations.

At Novell, reliability means a service that continues to function until it is stopped on purpose. A server configuration change shouldn't require shutting down the server for a reboot. A server shouldn't develop a problem and crash. Here is an analogy. Reliability, in this context, means that your car starts each morning and doesn't fail you on your journey. The minivan that runs reliably every day provides more value than the flashy sports car that breaks down regularly.

High availability describes a service supported by many hardware servers. Clustering, popular today for Web site servers, represents high availability to most people. To return to our car analogy, imagine that you have several cars in your garage. If one doesn't start one morning, you have others to provide transportation. That's high availability.

Convenient network management

No one should tell you network management is easy, because it isn't. Networks today require trained management because security and server capabilities are complex and are constantly expanding. However, Novell provides several tools that make network management more convenient and less time consuming.

Why not leave NetWare Administrator the sole application for all administrative functions? Because the memory limitations of Microsoft Windows restrict the number of eDirectory objects that NetWare Administrator can handle. ConsoleOne™ and the supporting Java tools have no such limitation. Plus, limiting management tools to a proprietary operating system does no favors for the modern multi-vendor company. Adding NetWare Remote Manager and ConsoleOne gives administrators unmatched flexibility, which allows them to perform their jobs more conveniently, especially for remote management needs.

NetWare Remote Manager
(formerly NetWare Management Portal)

Browser-based management, which first appeared with NetWare 5.1, allows network administrators to work from any client that is equipped with a Web browser. Encrypted password exchange via SSL keeps the management connection secure. Complete server-specific information displays clearly and securely within the client browser. A monitoring page with a traffic signal icon (green, yellow, and red lights) immediately indicates the health of dozens of servers. With one click, a system administrator can select any specific server to see more detailed information or to make configuration changes.

NetWare Remote Manager provides far more than just minor configuration changes. Server console screens that allow a network administrator to control all server-based applications may be viewed through the browser. The directory tree and established partitions are displayed, and servers may be downed, restarted, or reset through the browser.

ConsoleOne

ConsoleOne, Novell's Java*-based management utility, expands the reach of administration ever further. Any client with current Java Virtual Machine software can execute ConsoleOne.

ConsoleOne drills down for some specific server tasks. NetWare Remote Manager provides much more detail on larger network issues. All eDirectory administrative functions can be performed through ConsoleOne, which uses a secure, encrypted connection.

Besides handling all directory functions, ConsoleOne controls many NetWare File System components as well. Disks, volumes, folders, and files may be browsed through ConsoleOne. In addition, specific rights and attributes (even setting an individual user's allowed disk space quota) can be changed through ConsoleOne.

Novell provides more than just vaporware for administrative efficiency. Management tools for almost every administrative function can be run from a wide variety of clients. We're working on reducing network management complexity all the time, but we've achieved network management convenience today.

Novell Storage Services (NSS)

Early on, server operating systems devoted most of their attention to better disk performance in the hope of minimizing the time it took to serve up requested files. Today's operating systems must perform many tasks while maintaining excellent file service. That's why Novell developed Novell Storage Services, or NSS.

As storage demands increased and NetWare servers began hosting multiple high-capacity disk drives, NetWare customers demanded more from their file systems. Customers wanted to control higher total disk capacities and larger single files while mounting the file system and making disks available more quickly than ever before. Novell responded with NSS.

Novell engineers faced three critical hurdles when developing NSS: the need to make file systems compatible with all existing NetWare installations, the need to eliminate limitations in the earlier generation storage services, and the need to provide a strong foundation for new storage advancements. With the first version of NSS, Novell engineers were successful in all areas.

Improving upon the market-leading performance of the Novell File System, NSS first appeared with NetWare 5.0. NSS allows for unlimited disk volumes that can be up to 8TBs (Terabytes) in size. For example, a single file of 8TBs can fill one volume. This might be necessary to accommodate a huge database table. Alternately, a single disk can be logically separated into an unlimited number of smaller volumes to meet security or application requirements.

What is the key to this storage advancement? NSS uses a 64-bit interface, offering significantly more addressing capacity for more objects than ever before. This "journaling" file system keeps track of volumes, partitions, and files differently and uses less server memory than earlier NetWare File Services versions. Because of the journaling file system, NSS is more resistant to errors caused by server crashes and offers higher reliability and fewer fault conditions.

NetWare 5.0 included NSS with all the previously mentioned advantages. NetWare 6 continues the improvement of file services through better NSS performance and flexibility.

The NSS version included with NetWare 6 now supports file compression. Since NetWare 4.x, Novell File Services offered a way to compress files stored on the server after a set period of time. The compression utility's efficiency generally ranged around 50 percent, meaning a 10GB disk suddenly held almost 20GB worth of files.

Compression grabs plenty of attention, because everyone loves getting twice as much of something (especially storage) than was actually purchased. But other features of NSS in NetWare 6 provide real benefits as well, matching and surpassing the NSS abilities in NetWare 5.1.

Would you like to be able to delete a file with full confidence that it will never return, no matter which utilities promise file reincarnation? NSS with NetWare 6 employs the U.S. Green Book File Security standard for "data shredding." Shredded files never return to haunt anyone.

The list of NSS features is quite lengthy, but the short story simply promises better file-system performance, reliability, and management using the newest generation of file-service technology possible. Partition-level mirroring, RAID 0 striping support via software, pooling space from a disk available for any volume to use, and faster streaming speeds for backup are some, but not all, of the new features of Novell Storage Services.

NetWare 5.0 included NSS with all the previously mentioned advantages. NetWare 6 continues the improvement of file services through better NSS performance and flexibility.

Link to complete NSS details on the Web at http://www.novell.com/products/nss.

Directory services provide system security and management

NDS eDirectory supports all Internet clients, and eDirectory server software runs on all common Internet servers. Besides NetWare, which is the first and highest-performing eDirectory platform, NDS eDirectory runs on Linux*, Solaris*, Compaq* Tru64* UNIX*, and Windows NT/2000. No matter what mix of clients and servers you have to control and manage, eDirectory and/or Novell Account Management 2.1 will help.

Managing clients on your internal network requires time and effort. Managing your clients among all those on the Internet requires time, effort, and a strong directory.

Among other things, a good directory provides simple security. Does your directory let good people in and keep bad people out? Drilling down, does your directory allow partners to see more of your network than it allows visitors to see, but also require authorization before granting access to private areas? Does your directory provide efficient management tools? If not, you need a new directory.

NDS eDirectory meets the above security needs for any network, whether it is a small local network or a huge enterprise network that spans the globe. One of the directory group's favorite demonstrations shows eDirectory safely and securely managing over one billion (with a b) objects. Will you ever need to manage one billion objects? No. Do we recommend loading a production directory with one billion objects? Again, no. But when viewing a directory holding one billion objects, any questions about scalability and eDirectory's ability to manage a large corporate network disappear.

NDS eDirectory provides management and security for network resources, as well as a foundation for a wide variety of e-commerce business applications. Although many directory service competitors have yet to match eDirectory, we consider eDirectory a basic network service, including directory database partitioning and replication capabilities for enhanced security and performance. Partitions allow eDirectory to split a large directory database into smaller portions for better client support and performance. Replication allows distributed databases to update each other quickly in the background for increased security, ensuring that changes in one portion of eDirectory will become available to the entire network as quickly as possible.

eDirectory prepares a foundation for capturing, storing, and organizing a wide range of user and customer information. Internally, users and network resources fit neatly into a structured management and reporting framework, reducing time spent on management chores. Leveraging customer demographics, product interest, and transactions through eDirectory allows you to tailor your customers' business experiences and maximize customer satisfaction for continued involvement.

Thanks to eDirectory, the need to have multiple directory management tools for multiple operating systems has disappeared. Secure directory storage and communication features include Novell International Cryptographic Infrastructure, encrypted passwords, private key/public key encryption, and Secure Authentication Services. Granting access and control rights to users and customers of network resources is secure and definite; access to one resource remains restricted to that resource.

Large networks need multiple network administrators to manage the systems. Some less- capable directory systems lack the strong security controls necessary to support multiple managers within one directory structure, making it difficult for administrators to share management responsibilities. eDirectory, designed from the ground up and upgraded nine different times before shipping with NetWare 6, allows multiple managers full control over parts of the network without allowing them any access to restricted network resources. NDS eDirectory makes team network management possible yet secure.

Security issues

Would you use a bank that doesn't take steps to maintain your accounts in the most secure and reliable way possible? Of course not. You want a bank that offers the best possible protection for your money. That's the foundation for your financial relationship. You also want a server that offers the best possible protection for your computer-based information and communications. That's the foundation for your enterprise network.

Network security goes far beyond simply having a directory that allows only authorized users to access network resources. Inside the network, you need security controls that dictate which users can see which files. Just as entering the bank vault requires special authentication, using certain files on a NetWare server can also require extra security clearance.

Providing secure communications over Internet connections places extra demands on a network operating system. E-commerce needs for protected financial transactions led to digital certificates that encrypt messages and guarantee the identity of their source.

Inside your network, authorized users must be identified. Outside your network, authorized transactions must be identified, protected, and guaranteed. NetWare 6 provides the tools necessary for safe and secure communications and transactions.

Your company welcomes anyone into the lobby and into some portions of the building, yet requires authorization for an individual to enter confidential areas like executive offices, accounting, and product storage. NetWare 6 manages access to your network resources in much the same way.

Security needs range across your entire network. Network security often uses password authentication to verify users of network resources; i.e., give John access to that particular network directory. NDS eDirectory provides the foundation for all NetWare security, supporting this critical function with the best fault-tolerant distributed directory available today.

Today, NetWare 6 offers rock-solid access authentication for every user, but goes far beyond the example where John accesses a particular directory. Single Sign-on gives John access to all networked company servers, regardless of type or operating system (with Novell Account Management). Policies controlling groups of users or network resources reduce administration time while allowing great flexibility for users and partners.

Novell BorderManager® Enterprise Edition, available separately, is a powerful Internet security management suite that includes firewalls, authentication, virtual private networking tools, and caching services for networks of all sizes. BorderManager integrates tightly with eDirectory, providing the first security management solution to support single sign-on controlled access to company information over any internal or external network.

Critical communications within the corporate network or between your company and partners can be guaranteed with the Novell Certificate Server(TM) (included in NetWare 6). Novell Certificate Server 2.0 is a scalable, secure public-key cryptography product that creates, issues, and manages certificates. Certificates are digital attachments that verify the identity of the sender of a message. In addition, certificates give receivers a simple way to encode their replies.

The importance of file security, control and reliability

Some companies claim "file" servers are passe, unnecessary, and a relic of the past. Let's look at that assumption in more detail.

When a computer does something, how are the results saved? In a file. When a computer receives something, what does it receive? A file. When you ask a computer for information, what gets searched? Files.

Do you know how your paycheck gets printed? Payroll files, whether on a bookkeeper's laptop or on the largest corporate mainframe, describe and print your paycheck. See why we believe files are the lifeblood of your company?

Software vendors who claim file servers no longer matter don't have quality file servers with strong security, access controls, and reliability. When you have a secure, reliable, and high- performance file system, as with NetWare 6, you have the foundation of a complete enterprise e-commerce application system. A rock-solid file system holds applications together.

Many desktop operating systems can now share files, but that doesn't make them file servers in the NetWare sense. Local desktop file sharing lacks strong security, provides only rudimentary management control, and relies on a desktop OS for reliability. If that were all NetWare had to offer in the way of file service, we would have died with disco. Besides all the other weaknesses, peer-to-peer file sharing lacks any convenient method of file backup. Many NetWare servers were purchased in the 1980s to provide centralized backup for critical files, and that need remains strong today.

Some analysts claim that storage needs now double every year. With the amount of new content that is developed and reshaped for Web use every year, that figure may be optimistic. Whether your storage needs increase by 50% or 200% each year, storing files you can't retrieve only adds frustration to your workday.

Novell led the way in the 1980s to higher-performance and higher-capacity storage solutions, and we continue that leadership today. Need to place 500,000,000 files in a single volume? We do that. Need to mount that volume in seconds rather than hours? We do that, too.

Standards or stranded

Standards drive communications today. Two decades ago, computer and networking vendors developed their own machines, protocols, file formats, and operating systems. As standards developed, communication capabilities exploded. One need look no further than the Internet and World Wide Web to see culture-changing communications developed by cooperation rather than competition.

Novell engineers developed our own communications protocol, IPX (Internetwork Packet eXchange) two decades ago, just like our competitors. As TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) grew in popularity with the Internet, we added TCP/IP to the communication tools within NetWare clients and server operating systems. Today, a pure NetWare environment functions perfectly well using only TCP/IP for communications, exactly like the Internet.

The World Wide Web uses HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) as the communications protocol between Web clients and Web servers. HTTP relies on the foundation of TCP/IP for operation.

NetWare 6 adds more file access protocol standards into the server than ever before. NFS (Network File System), AFP (AppleTalk File Protocol), CIFS (Common Internet File System), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and WebDAV, now ship with the basic NetWare 6 package. These protocols are critical to communications generally and to e-commerce transactions specifically. There are many benefits to the end user. For example, an iMac can now connect to a NetWare file server right out of the box without a NetWare client. The same is true for UNIX or Windows users.

The "standard" standards joke is that if you don't like the standards out there, make your own. As the networking world started the movement from proprietary systems (for example, IPX from Novell and DECnet* from DEC), each company pushed to get as many of their proprietary functions into the developing standard as possible. Computing means competition, so companies who made minimal changes to their existing protocols in order to adhere to the new standard could get their products to market sooner than their competitors could.

The most critical standards supported by Novell for customers interested in using the Internet, the World Wide Web, and any type of e-commerce applications, are:

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

SQL (Standard Query Language)

ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity)

JDBC (Java DataBase Connectivity)

JavaBeans*

JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface)

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

DNS (Domain Name System)

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition)

Some companies pervert the standards process by "adding functionality" to the accepted and globally adopted standards. Microsoft, for example, misuses a field in DNS (Dynamic Name Service) in their Active Directory*. They claim they added a feature, but the result breaks connections between Active Directory servers and standard DNS servers. DNS provides the means for translating human-readable names (Novell.com) into TCP/IP addresses (192.233.80.9) so that network nodes can communicate. Tampering with DNS standards skews the global Internet toward one company's proprietary viewpoint.

Today's computer room no longer contains a single vendor's products. Twenty or 30 years ago, a company could rely on a single supplier for a complete computing infrastructure. Companies such as Wang, Burroughs, Univac, Control Data, RCA, Honeywell, and GE provided completely proprietary systems, but they provided everything a customer needed. At least that's what their advertising claimed at the time. We can't check their current advertising, because none of these companies remains in the computer business.

Supporting standards today could be the most critical commitment a vendor can make, both for the sake of their customers and for the company's continued existence. The market speaks loudly and clearly on this subject today: follow standards or get stranded. Follow proprietary solutions, even when they're called "extended standards" and get pummeled by your competitors and your single-source vendor.

Standards make it possible to add the network pieces you need as your network computing needs change. Buy into a product that distorts standards, and you lose your leverage, flexibility, and ability to change as the marketplace changes. Buy into a product that supports standards, such as NetWare 6, and you'll always be ready to move and serve customers.

All standard file protocols lead to netware

Earlier we mentioned proprietary protocols, such as IPX or DECnet, and how they've given way to standardized protocols. While it may sound like the world spins around a single protocol today, that's not the case. Novell products and NetWare 6 support a variety of different file protocols, all of which are standards in their own markets. File protocols allow different client machines to communicate with the NetWare file system. With NetWare 6, you can now take an iMac out of the box, plug it into your network and immediately begin accessing files off of a NetWare 6 server without installing any additional client software. It's that easy. The same holds true for a Windows client, a UNIX workstation, an FTP client, or a Web browser. The emphasis is to work within an existing infrastructure, capitalizing on the strengths of each platform and clients, not to rip out the existing infrastructure and replace it with a one-size-fits all solution.

Summary

Four things are certain about computing for the future: users will no longer be tied to a workstation, security will become more critical, systems must become easier to manage, and users will expect systems to run non-stop.

NetWare 6 delivers the tools you need to access, secure, and control your information in today's one Net world.