Novell NetWare 6.5 Delivers Advanced Network Services for Business

NetWare 6.5 business continuity, open source, Web application services and virtual office capabilities lower costs and increase productivity NetWare 6.5 to be available Aug. 15 NetWare 6.5 is a key steppingstone as customers prepare for future NetWare versions when all NetWare features will also run on Linux

PROVO, Utah - July 23, 2003 - Novell today announced the August availability of Novell® NetWare® 6.5, advanced network services for business on the industry's most secure and reliable platform. A Novell Nterprise™ product, NetWare 6.5 includes business continuity, open source, Web application services and "virtual office" capabilities to reduce network costs and complexity while giving users around-the-clock access to the tools they need to be productive.

"The concerns of today's CIOs mirror those of yesterday's, but they are magnified by the increased complexity of datacenters and growing security concerns brought on by access granted to the network from inside and outside the organization," said Jack Messman, Novell chairman and CEO. "Always hovering atop these concerns is the demand for cost reductions. Enhancements in NetWare 6.5 were designed to meet these concerns head on, letting customers change for the better today while spending less and risking less, making them better able to attack and succeed in their own markets."

NetWare 6.5 provides business services that work with all types of networks, storage systems and client desktops. Novell recently announced the availability later this year of Novell Nterprise Linux Services, which extends many of the network services in NetWare 6.5 to Linux servers. NetWare 6.5 is a key steppingstone as customers prepare for future NetWare versions when all NetWare features will also run on Linux.

Al Gillen, research director, System Software at IDC, said, "This release of NetWare is an integrated product that incorporates Web and application server technologies that are increasingly becoming a required element aboard modern operating systems, along with the traditional file and print NetWare services that customers have long relied upon. We see NetWare 6.5 as aligning the NetWare family with Novell's Nterprise Linux Services initiative, which together provide Novell customers with choice and flexibility."

NetWare 6.5 Capabilities and Benefits

• Business continuity: NetWare 6.5's ability to consolidate servers and systems into centralized, highly available storage-area networks (SANs) reduces hardware and management costs, while geographically separate business-continuance clusters provide failover capability to minimize business risks. Novell Nterprise Branch Office™ is included to simplify the management and protect the network resources of satellite offices. Novell DirXML® Starter Pack is also included to synchronize user information and reconcile directories in mixed environments, thus streamlining administration and boosting network security.
• Open source: Apache, MySQL*, Perl, PHP and Tomcat in NetWare 6.5 provide the best of the open source world integrated with Novell's industry-leading directory, security and management products. Customers can confidently run thousands of open source solutions, fully supported and running on the industry's most scalable, reliable and secure platform.
• Web application services: All compatible J2EE* applications will now run on NetWare with the inclusion of the J2EE 1.3-certified Novell exteNd™ Application Server and development environment in NetWare 6.5. It also gives customers the ability to add secure Web services-based application development and secure identity management solutions with Novell exteNd and Novell Nsure™.
• Virtual Office: NetWare 6.5's Virtual Office makes a user's key business resources - including files, e mail, calendars and printers - available wherever that user is through a Web browser. Virtual teams can be easily created by users without IT staff help to organize projects and share information through real-time, browser-based collaboration with colleagues in any location.

Pricing and Availability
NetWare 6.5 will be available Aug. 15 through Novell Authorized ResellersSM and solution providers. Upgrade pricing for NetWare 6.5 is available to current NetWare customers and those migrating from competitive products. Details can be found at http://www.novell.com/products/netware/pricing.html.

Part of Novell Nterprise - a set of services that improve communication, simplify and automate network management, and allow workers to be productive regardless of location, device or platform - NetWare integrates with existing networks of all types as one Net, empowering new services and maximizing current technology investments. For more information and to register for the Aug. 19-20 "Introduction to NetWare 6.5" Web seminar series, visit http://www.novell.com/netware.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise™. With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.

Novell, NetWare and DirXML are registered trademarks; exteNd, Nsure, Nterprise and Nterprise Branch Office are trademarks; and Ngage and Novell Authorized Reseller are service marks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.