Novell NetWare users keep the faith
Connecting state and local government leaders
User views Old loyalties die hard. Despite owning a sagging share of the government market we surveyed, Novell Inc.'s NetWare network operating systems still captured the hearts of feds GCN surveyed. "I've worked with NetWare since early 1992, and I'm just really familiar with it," said Charles Pickles, an Army information management officer and a LAN administrator at Fort Carson, Colo. "It's a good, stable, reliable platform,
User views Old loyalties die hard. Despite owning a sagging share of the government market we Ive worked with NetWare since early 1992, and Im just really familiar Although Microsoft Windows NT Server copped 52 percent of the federal market GCN As a result, Novells latest version, NetWare 5, took the top spot in the GCN Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition 4.0 grabbed third place, while NT Server 4.0 and Pickles, whose 20-user LAN runs NetWare 4.11, will be joining the Windows NT club At a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention office in Fort Collins, Colo., where a [NetWare] 4.11 doesnt really do a whole lot of desktop management Chesmore also is a NetWare diehard. He worked with an NT network on a previous job but Novell is just a lot better, especially with Novell Directory Services, he said. NT Server Enterprise Edition 4.0 also has fans who like its management features. Its just basically quite simple, said Brian Mincy, chief of Jack Kaufman, an automated data processing facility manager for the Coast Guard in Its much easier to do the maintenance on it, he said. There Users of NT Server 4.0 were lukewarm about its management capabilities. At Fort Polk, La., Gayle Liliedahl, who oversees maintenance of a 30-user intranet, There are things networking in NT that you have to have a pretty good road map to He also was somewhat doubtful about the systems stability. When we upgraded from [NT Server] 3.51, we didnt notice any real SunSoft Solaris users gave the system solid ratings, though one called for improved
surveyed, Novell Inc.s NetWare network operating systems still captured the hearts
of feds GCN surveyed.
with it, said Charles Pickles, an Army information management officer and a LAN
administrator at Fort Carson, Colo. Its a good, stable, reliable platform, and
once you become familiar with it, you know just about instinctively where the problems
are.
canvassed, a smaller group of NetWare users16 percent of those respondingfelt
more strongly about the attributes of NetWare operating systems.
survey, followed closely by NetWare 4.x versions.
SunSoft Solaris, which each have a 4 percent share of the market surveyed, tied for the
fourth slot.
before the end of the year.
120-user network runs NetWare 4.11, LAN administrator Brad Chesmore is looking forward to
upgrading to NetWare 5 by early 2000.
stuff, he said. There is a lot of stuff that comes with NetWare 5, like the
ZENworks package, a directory-services tool that provides enhanced management
capabilities.
now swears by Novell systems.
Thats the big kicker right there. NDS makes management easier.
information resources management at the Veterans Affairs Department in New York, whose
office supports a 300-user LAN. Theres nothing very complex about it.
Seattle whose unit provides network services to about 2,500 users, found Enterprise
Edition 4.0 an improvement over earlier NT Server versions.
also are more third-party products available for it.
wished for easier network and user management.
know how to get at, he said.
differences as far as speed or processing ability, Liliedahl said. I have
noticed weve had some propensity for unexpected shutdowns, but I cannot necessarily
attribute that to 4.0.
security features.