This month Novell will offer users of its Netware operating
system a migration path to Linux through the introduction of its
Open Enterprise Server suite.
The software suite will allow users to run either Novell Netware
6.5 or SuSE Linux 9. Novell said Open Enterprise Server provides a
networking foundation where Novell Netware and SuSE Linux coexist
and interoperate within an IT infrastructure.
One of the main uses Novell sees is in providing a means by which
Netware users can test the open source Linux operating system.
Novell first released SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 in November,
but this is the first time the company has offered it as an
integrated software package with its suite of Novell management
tools and server applications.
Both operating systems will be integrated with this range of tools.
The suite includes Novell's iFolder remote file access software and
printer services which is based on its iPrint technology. Support
for enterprise users includes clustering, Zenworks and Novell
iManager for patch and system management and eDirectory
services.
Neil Macehiter, research director at analyst firm Ovum, said the
move was good news for Netware users, who would now have a clear
migration path to Linux.
"Open Enterprise Server offers a comparatively low-risk migration
path to evaluate Linux, as operations such as the file and print
services will still work. Netware customers are very loyal and this
allows them a transition path to see whether their existing
application portfolio runs under Linux," said Macehiter.
But he added that it marked the end of the road for Netware. "This
is going to be the last major release of Netware. Netware is not as
important a platform as it used to be, although installations of
Netware tend to be used exclusively by local government in terms of
core infrastructure.
"I do not think Novell is trying to say Netware will exist forever.
It is clear the company's strategic direction is towards
Linux."
Macehiter advised Netware users to move to SuSE Linux 9, because it
will be a strategic platform for the future.
Linux kernel 2.6 features enterprise computing enhancements, the
main one being SMP scalability - the ability to scale to be used by
many processors. This can be useful for running large databases on
several processors, which has been a struggle for older versions of
the Linux kernel.