NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DAVE KEARNS ON NOVELL NETWARE TIPS 11/30/04 Today's focus: Why NetWare client for Linux isn't shipping with Novell Linux Desktop
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * Novell still developing NetWare client for Linux * Links related to Novell NetWare Tips * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored By BMC Software Linking IT Priorities to Business Objectives, an IDC whitepaper. Get insights from IDC on aligning business goals and IT priorities. IDC offers practical, actionable information on how Business Service Management can help you reduce operating costs, improve service levels, respond faster to business needs and protect delivery of business-critical. Click here to download this whitepaper now. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=88766 _______________________________________________________________ COMPREHENSIVE ENTERPRISE STORAGE INFORMATION Go to NW Fusion's Research Center for detailed information on enterprise storage. Find the latest breaking news, case studies, white papers, commentary, reviews and more. Topics on how ILM impacts your storage strategy, how to migrate to a new tape drive, how to link SAN islands and more are all found in the Research Center. Click here: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=89278 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Why NetWare client for Linux isn't shipping with Novell Linux Desktop By Dave Kearns A couple of newsletters ago (see link below) I mentioned that I would re-examine the NetWare client for Linux. I then went on to talk about the full-service NetWare client for Linux that would be available when Open Enterprise Server ships early next year. But some of you are a bit impatient and wondered why it wasn't already shipping, along with the recently released Novell Linux Desktop. One longtime reader, who lives close enough to Waltham that he can drop in from time to time, did some digging and turned up the clues to the rest of the story. Thanks Tim. In that same newsletter, I talked about the open source utility ncpfs, which ships with many distributions of Linux. This is a command line file system access tool for Novell Core Protocol (NCP) based file systems (i.e., NetWare). A similar tool has been available from N-iX Software Development Team, a German company that's part of Newcomp Computersystem. N-iX' tool is also an NCP redirector, rather than an actual client. Turns out both ncpfs and N-iX have a role to play in the new NetWare client for Linux providing both the source of the solution as well as the major part of the problem. Novell's engineers, working with N-iX are leveraging the open source re-director, ncpfs, to create the client, which will come in two parts: a server-side and a client-side. The server-side is being done in Provo, and is - in most respects - complete. The client-side is being jointly worked on with N-iX, incorporating N-iX' work as well as ncpfs. It's the login/credentialing part that's the sticking point. RSA Security, which licenses its BSAFE encryption library to Novell, won't allow Novell to use it in an open source product. According to an RSA spokesman: "RSA Security helps companies secure their applications with RSA BSAFE encryption software and has secured more than a billion applications worldwide. The company does not sell RSA BSAFE products with an open source license in order to keep the integrity of the application that is being secured." This left Novell in a bit of a quandary - use the RSA library and make the client "closed source", or be true to its new-found "open source" religion and find another way to do the encryption. This isn't a trivial choice because Novell's authorization and authentication security is among the best in the industry. Any changes could present problems. Newcomp and the N-iX team came to the rescue. They're developing a Linux PAM (Pluggable Authentication Module) for the client-side part of the NetWare client for Linux. Development time, testing time and evaluation - i.e., the need to get it right - meant that this client couldn't be ready to go with the Novell Linux Desktop. Somehow, it does give me a "warm and fuzzy" feeling that Novell is taking the time to get it right. Good show. Speaking of NLD, There'll be a free Webinar ("Introducing Novell Linux Desktop") for the new product on Dec. 16. Register now at <http://register.novell.com/listings/?id=17> for either the morning or afternoon session. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS More about Novell Client for Linux Network World Novell NetWare Tips Newsletter, 11/09/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/netware/2004/1108nw1.html Novell Linux Desktop http://www.novell.com/products/desktop N-iX http://n-ix.com/ _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Dave Kearns Dave Kearns is a writer and consultant in Silicon Valley. He's written a number of books including the (sadly) now out of print "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networks." His musings can be found at Virtual Quill <http://www.vquill.com/>. Kearns is the author of three Network World Newsletters: Windows Networking Tips, Novell NetWare Tips, and Identity Management. Comments about these newsletters should be sent to him at these respective addresses: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Kearns provides content services to network vendors: books, manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing, technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill provides "words to sell by..." Find out more by e-mail at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored By BMC Software Linking IT Priorities to Business Objectives, an IDC whitepaper. Get insights from IDC on aligning business goals and IT priorities. IDC offers practical, actionable information on how Business Service Management can help you reduce operating costs, improve service levels, respond faster to business needs and protect delivery of business-critical. Click here to download this whitepaper now. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=88765 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archive of the Novell NetWare Tips newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/netware/index.html Novell news page The Novell news and analysis from Network World Fusion. http://www.nwfusion.com/news/financial/novell.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY WHITE PAPERS NOW NW Fusion's White Paper Library is your source for the latest industry white papers. Recent additions to the library include white papers on securing remote access, VOIP and productivity, domain name system best practices, WLAN security, IT documentation and much more. Click here to download: <http://www.nwfusion.com/vendorview/whitepapers.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? 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