To clarify, I am looking at using samba not the netware emulator. The other reason for upgrading is that they have reached the user limits of their netware licence and will need to upgrade regardless (25 user, NW 4.10) so removing load from the existing server will not be a solution.
The big problem is that magical word "support", If MYOB don't support Linux and the customer has problems with MYOB on linux, then MYOB can (and do) say "sorry it's your network, not our software". Also, if you do a search for "linux" on MYOB's website you get a total of 2 articles, this one and another on myob premier which basically says don't use it with a linux server. Mind you the same article also advocates disabling virus software on the fileserver to increase performance and reliability so I'm not too confident with the level of technical expertise... -Vince Russell Ashdown wrote: > Netware incorporates proprietary system calls that can be utilised > by developers for file locking. date retrieval and many other > functions. If you are using mars-nwe the Netware server emulator, > it may be that not all these system calls are supported. The calls > themselves have changed since Netware 3.11 (which mars-nwe > emulates). This may be the source of your problem. > > Further, if this is the source of your problem, and you are able to > get a test system running MYOB, it is likely that if MYOB works > fine with a single workstation it will not ALWAYS work well in multi- > user mode, it is important that you emulate the customers > environment. You will need to test using simultaneous input from > multiple workstations, and attempt to cause "file read/write > collisions". While I have no knowledge of MYOB, my experience > with other databases running on Netware servers indicates that file > locking failure (and file unlocking failure) is a major cause of > database corruption and "deadly embrace" causing user abort and > further file and database corruption. > > Sad as it may seem, if MYOB will NOT support their product on a > Linux server running a Netware emulator, you would be very foolish > to proceed. File corruption in an accounting database can be > extremely costly for the client (and, ultimately for you if you > recommend they ignore MYOB and proceed). > > Why not downsize (remove all applications) the existing Netware > server and leave ONLY MYOB on it? Then install a second, more > powerful Linux machine configured as a mars-nwe server, to which > the users could authenticate and use as the general purpose > fileserver/applications server. To my mind that would be the safest > alternative and should earn you kudos from your customer. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
