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Novell vs. Windows

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by jamwe

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Yes I know this topic is like beating a dead horse.

My company is currently running Windows NT 4.0 Domain with about 20 clients.
This year we are going to either migrate to Novell or upgrade to Windows Server 2003. I have been given the task ofdeciding what is best for the company. Coming from a Windows background I would like to stay in that environment, but want to be fair and try to make an unbiased decision.

What I am looking for any current articles that describe the advantages and disadvantages of both Windows and Novell, or any personal experiences.

Thanks in advance

4 replies

by areets

All OSes have infrastructure benefits and drawbacks, user likes and dislikes, but more over the knowledge gap is there.

You as users may demand, and the suppliers will balance by a pull/push model, but do not let history impact your decision since these products have moved on. Evaluate on pure merits that best benefit your company to have a high sustained business stability (SBS).

Check TR for more notes.

TSP

by oz_media

As areets said, it all depends on what your company will gain from each OS.
As a MCNE I am Netware biased but can happily say, M$ being the most popular platform (in the US anyway)is the biggest target for Viruses, worms etc. Because of mass training and jumpng on the IT bandwagon, there are a large number of unemployed, disgruntled and disillusioned MCSE's, there are a lot of people with the time and knowledge to exploit a product made by a company that they feel let them down. They learned how the code operates and have hours of time to attempt to exploit it.
Many (not all) viruses and worms cannot penetrate a Netware server or aren't written to do so, as with GroupWise (the big Netware email software).

Before anyone gets too pissed, I agree that Netware has recently become targeted by a few nasty worms as has Linux.

If you're going to write a virus, why not attack the biggest market and get seen by everyone?

But as I said before, it depends on what suits YOUR company needs best. Go to novell.com and to microsoft.com I believe that they both compare each others product strenghts and weaknesses, just take each opinion with a grain of salt.

P.S. 8 months 11 days since my last Netware reboot and that was because I changed fax boards.
Too stable a system could simply put you out of work.

by jereg

It's a lot to consider. I spent years working with Novell, and I liked it. Very stable. The company I work for is upgrading our main s/w package. It had run on Novell for years, but new app is based on MSSQL. We needed an NT server. It didn't make sense to run Novell for file and print, and NT for 1 app, so I made the decision to cut over to NT. I was able to use a competive upgrade from the Netware licenses, so we saved money there. You make the decision based on what you do.

You may also want to consider Linix as a server. You'd have a learning curve going with NW, so why not Linix? Are you just doing file and print, or running apps?

by dave70

With experience in both, it really depends on your situation...sometimes even "all or nothing" environment is not good, as each platform has pros/cons to it. There are other considerations as well...typically, a migration to Novell means you do notneed as much hardware. In other situations, you need have dependent applications that require a Windows server.

It's hard to say without more information. Netware is not just file/print, but now includes MySQL, apache, php support, iPrint, iFolder (secure data replication) and of course, resource access is based on Directory Services.

Another point...are you a dedicated IT resource or is it a part of your job? If you are dedicated, then a stable environment would easily allow you to then address issues like desktop mgmt (via Zenworks for Novell) and other areas of interest. Or, it would allow you to do other things for the company.

I've seen several Novell servers run for more than a year without a reboot in small offices. In a Windows environment, if it made it that long, it would still signify that the server was severely under-patched and probably vulernable. But again, questions about connectivity, exposure, etc., come into play.

The guy who replied that a too-stable environment could adversely affect job stability is off the mark. The past few years, folks paid by the hour had a vested interest in providing unstable solutions, but as the market has turned, you are beginning to see that change.

Dave

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