[ale] Novell NetWare GroupWare

[Michael B. Trausch]

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Greg wrote:
> As I am never surprised at the experience and problem solving abilities of
> this group I have a question to pose for those interested in responding.  I
> suppose I should put some disclaimer here that I am techno-athiestic and
> rather non - apologetic about it so if use of the M **S** word offends then
> I promise I won't be insulted if you kill-file me.
> 
> Does anyone have any experience with / opinions on Novell's NetWare and
> GroupWare with regard to a small home network that uses Windows, BSD,
> Solaris, and Linux clients ?  I am looking for a solution to support the
> following :
> 
>  - network file sharing
>  - a shared printer
>  - NT domain administration
>  - Escalade RAID controller card as well as PCI disk controller cards
>  - to tie in 2 Windows 2K Pro clients using Outlook 98.
>  - the occasional MS laptop that needs to connect to the network
> temporarily.
> 
> 
> My questions specifically :
> 	1.  Is it overkill for a small 12 box or so network ?

Yes.  Also, it's a PITA.  And I don't trust it for the larger sized
networks it was designed to work with, anyway.

> 	2.  How does GroupWare 6.5 work with regards to Outlook 98 ?  I have read
> the plugin stuff but have not actually tested it.  I am not interested in
> using Kontact, Thunderbird/Sunbird, Evolution, or anything else.  Upgrading
> to Outlook 2003 is a possibility if needed ... dim but I might consider it.

Not a clue there, but I can tell you that I hated it's mail
functionality back in the days that I used it.  (Slightly before version
6).  YMMV.

> 	3.  Can it run on old gear ?  (old gear == 700 MHz, 512 MB RAM box with a
> lot of hard drives in it)

Yes, but can Linux+Samba+gnupop3d+postfix do what you need?

> 	4.  Any software raid solutions ?

Not that I know of for Novell... but I'm sure you can find addons somewhere.

> 	5.  Cost - I have seen the demo downloads on the Novell site, but it
> doesn't say if it blows up after 30 days or not.  I can get a copy of
> GroupWare 5.5 cheaply but it's moot if I need to pay big bucks for NetWare.
> Novell seems to want to be Open Source or rather identified with them, enjoy
> others writing code for them to use, but still wants to sell proprietary
> software for big bucks (kinda like Sun and Java) that they control.  I am
> not interested in spending money here.  I can live with what I've got if I
> need to as opposed to spending $$.

I'd not go for it, at all.  I just plain don't like their software...
it's propretary and not as flexible as many other configurations.  And
I've never met a Novell Admin that didn't wish they used something else.

> 	6.  NetWare seems to be an OS according to some literature and other stuff
> seems to treat it as an application - which is it ?

It's an OS in that it takes over the system, but you can exit it's
server back to DOS (or at least, you used to be able to).  Weird setup.

> 	7.  Does it support printing and have a pretty good set of device drivers
> if it is an OS ???

Couldn't tell you, but I wouldn't use it for that... "Applications" for
it are compiled NLM files.

> 	8.  How are updates ? easy, hard, impossible ?

Couldn't tell you... I never got that far.

> 	10. Is easily administered ?

Sometimes... when it's configuration interfaces *work*.

> 
> 
> The current solution is a Debian system running software RAID 5, SAMBA 3,
> cups, and a hey GroupWare solution (that's when one user says "Hey don't
> forget about our appointment at foo's with bar next Tuesday at 8:00 am !!!
> ") along with PC-based Outlook 98 / PDA.  I plan on replacing the software
> RAID with an Escalade card.
> 
> I guess I could find an old copy of MS Exchange Server but I would like to
> explore other options if possible ...
> 
> All opinions welcome, and if some of you start twitching and arm waving at
> the multiple references to Microsoft .... well .... you were warned at the
> beginning ...
> 

While many solutions have their places in the market, I believe that
Novell's place was secured back in the 3.x days and that's about it.
They made *great* software way back before SMB became a serious player
in the market.  If what you're looking for is something that can manage
mail and appointments (and I know you already said you don't want to do
this, but I'll throw it up in the air anyway):  Mozilla Suite with the
Calendar extension, or Firefox or Thunderbird with the calendar
extension, or even your favorite mail program + Sunbird.  Why?  Sunbird
uses standard .ics files (iCal standard), and you can send the file to
someone that uses the software, in an e-mail, and they can double-click
and import the calendar and it's alerts and such.  I rather like it.

Eventually, Sunbird should be a much more featureful setup then it
currently is.  It's still in the early(ish) stages of development.

	- Mike

- --
Michael B. Trausch                               <fd0man at gmail.com>
Website: http://fd0man.chadeux.net/     Jabber: mtrausch at jabber.com
Phone: +1-(678)-522-7934              FAX (US Only): 1-866-806-4647
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