I've been working on hybrid Novell/MS/*nix network for about 5 years and I will claim that there is no substitute for Novell.
1)LDAP and Active Directory are about 5-10 years behind NDS. I haven't found anything half as usefull for network administration as NWadmin.
2)Novell 4.11&up servers are not only way more robust that M$ reboot-"servers" but just about as stable as *nix. I've seen high traffic Novell servers go over a year w/o reboot.
3)Client32 is easier to connect and keep connected than Samba in my experience
4)ZenWorks is a great way to keep users off your back. I've tried VNC, which is cool, and PictureTaker Enterprise, which is also cool, but ZenWorks seems to have the technological lead.
5)I've had an easier time ncpmount(ing) Novell file systems on Linux than doing file-sharing other ways.
6)Contextless "blue-sky" logins are are a great solution when you have a wan.
6)Novell has moved to pure IP and is making NDS run on Linux and Solaris.
7)Groupwise is under-rated. I believe it beats Outlook/Exchange hands down and virus/Trojan-wise its like being a pine tree in a forest full of Dutch elm disease.
Well, that is my big promo for Novell, thanks for reading.
When the technology is a kludged together imitation of NDS that can *%** up your network it is a threat. I beta test stuff all the time, but I won't let AD on my production network until I've done extensive testing and MS has released at least two patches for it (eg admitted what is wrong with it).
And 2k is still inferior to netware 4.11, let alone netware 5. (2k workstation is OK)
I agree with many of your points. However there is one point I think you are mistaken on. NT is NOT more stable than win9x. I work MIS supporting a variety of MS OS's and NT 4.0, even with service pack 6a, is dramatically less stable than win95 OSR2. It is also harder to fix. I am getting really cranky about everone buying MS's b.s. line that NT is more stable - I do this 50 hrs per week (four the last four years) and it is just not true.
The truth is out there friends.
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I've been working on hybrid Novell/MS/*nix network for about 5 years and I will claim that there is no substitute for Novell. 1)LDAP and Active Directory are about 5-10 years behind NDS. I haven't found anything half as usefull for network administration as NWadmin. 2)Novell 4.11&up servers are not only way more robust that M$ reboot-"servers" but just about as stable as *nix. I've seen high traffic Novell servers go over a year w/o reboot. 3)Client32 is easier to connect and keep connected than Samba in my experience 4)ZenWorks is a great way to keep users off your back. I've tried VNC, which is cool, and PictureTaker Enterprise, which is also cool, but ZenWorks seems to have the technological lead. 5)I've had an easier time ncpmount(ing) Novell file systems on Linux than doing file-sharing other ways. 6)Contextless "blue-sky" logins are are a great solution when you have a wan. 6)Novell has moved to pure IP and is making NDS run on Linux and Solaris. 7)Groupwise is under-rated. I believe it beats Outlook/Exchange hands down and virus/Trojan-wise its like being a pine tree in a forest full of Dutch elm disease. Well, that is my big promo for Novell, thanks for reading.
When the technology is a kludged together imitation of NDS that can *%** up your network it is a threat. I beta test stuff all the time, but I won't let AD on my production network until I've done extensive testing and MS has released at least two patches for it (eg admitted what is wrong with it). And 2k is still inferior to netware 4.11, let alone netware 5. (2k workstation is OK)
I agree with many of your points. However there is one point I think you are mistaken on. NT is NOT more stable than win9x. I work MIS supporting a variety of MS OS's and NT 4.0, even with service pack 6a, is dramatically less stable than win95 OSR2. It is also harder to fix. I am getting really cranky about everone buying MS's b.s. line that NT is more stable - I do this 50 hrs per week (four the last four years) and it is just not true. The truth is out there friends.