Novell introduces NetWare version 3.11 with integrated support for IBM’s NetView
Novell Inc has announced NetWare v3.11, a new release of its network operating system. Based on the company’s Integrated Computing Architecture, it enables MS-DOS, Windows, Macintosh, OS/2 and Unix-based com-puters to share information, print services and access to IBM mainframes. It also supports the integration of NetWare into networking environments using TCP/IP and Open Systems Interconnection. Integrated support for IBM’s NetView enables managers to monitor a NetWare server from a NetView console, and enhanced restore options include support for desktops and more than 50 third-party hardware back-up devices. New configuration options include 20- and 100-user versions in addition to the 250-user configuration, and support for Macintosh and Unix workstations is available via NetWare Loadable Modules.
NetWare for Mac v3.0, NetWare NFS v1.0
The Universal File System provides support for file systems based on MS-DOS/Windows, OS/2 High-Performance File System, Macintosh, Network File System and Network access and management. The NetWare Requester for OS/2 v1.3 adds support for diskless OS/2 workstations, OS/2 High Performance File System long-name and attribute-aware utilities, 255 Named Pipes connections, faster SPX performance and a new Presentation Manager-based installation utility. Windows 3.0 support has been enhanced to include Named Pipes support and ability to switch between MS-DOS network applications within Windows.
TCP/IP, Open Systems Interconnection
TCP/IP transport support in NetWare v3.11 provides IP tunnelling of IPX packets, allowing NetWare subnetworks to be joined across a TCP/IP internetwork. Routing of IP packets across Ethernet, Token Ring and ARCnet local area networks configured in the server to support TCP/IP enables local area network WorkPlace and NFS workstations to access TCP/IP systems. Support for application program interfaces includes Berkeley 4.3 Socket Library, Unix System V Streams/TLI interface and Sun’s NetWise Remote Procedure Call interface. Through the optional NetWare FTAM v1.0, NetWare v3.11 can interoperate with OSI-based computing environments. This allows NetWare v3.11 to support GOSIP 1.0 requirements, and NetWare FTAM also allows Map v3.0 and GOSIP clients to share NetWare printing services. SNA and NetView enable NetWare v3.11’s services to send Token-Ring and Token-Ring-Logical Link Control alerts to the NetView management console. These can be sent to and from single or multiple-ring networks via an SNA session, and v3.11 includes a back-up utility, SBackup, which supports multiple-server backup of the NetWare Universal File System, including new name spaces.
NetWare 3.11 Costs and Availability
NetWare v3.11 will be available in March and costs $3,500 for the 20-user version, $7,000 for the 100-user version and $12,500 for the 250-user version. Until September 30, NetWare v3.0 customers and NetWare v3.1 UpDate customers will be updated at no charge. Also, until September 30, other NetWare v3.1 customers who purchase NetWare for Macintosh v3.0, NetWare NFS v1.0, NetWare FTAM v1.0 or NetWare for SAA v1.0 will be provided with one NetWare v3.11 configuration at no additional charge.
NetWare Network File System
Netware NFS, a new service for NetWare v3.11 that is claimed to provide Unix users with transparent integration with NetWare file systems and resources, is Novell’s implementation of Sun Microsystems’ Network File System. It is a set of NetWare Loadable Modules that enables NetWare v3.11 to provide native file and print services for Unix clients and also enables clients to share NetWare files and resources with MS-DOS, Macintosh, OS/2 and Windows clients. It requires no additional client software and runs as a service on the TCP/IP protocol stack in the NetWare v3.11 server. NetWare NFS provides transparent integration of Unix workstations into NetWare enabling Unix users to access NetWare services via their familiar command set, while other NetWare clients view Unix files fr
om their native file systems. Unix clients view the NetWare file system as an extension of the distributed Unix file systems and transfer files to and from the server via File Transfer Protocol. NetWare NFS is $5,000 up and will arrive in April.
TCP/IP Loadable Modules, FTAM
Novell’s TCP/IP, implemented as a set of NetWare Loadable Modules, supports interoperable services among TCP/IP-compliant systems and applications. It also takes advantage of the NetWare v3.11 modular architecture to integrate Novell IPX protocols and TCP/IP traffic on the same network. Novell also announced NetWare FTAM, a file transfer facility for exchanging data in a multi-vendor OSI environment. FTAM – File Transfer, Access and Management – is a server-based application for the NetWare v3.11 environment and runs at the application layer of a full seven-layer OSI protocol implementation. NetWare FTAM gives NetWare servers full participation on OSI internetworks, it is fully compliant with the OSI Profile GOSIP specifications. The TCP/IP implementation is included in NetWare v3.11 at no extra charge, and NetWare FTAM, which will be available from April, costs $5,000.
NetWare for Macintosh version 3.0
NetWare for Macintosh v3.0 is implemented as a set of NetWare Loadable Modules that deliver AppleTalk Filing Protocol and Printer Access Protocol services for Macintosh clients in the NetWare v3.11 environment. Macintosh users can share files and print resources with MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2 and Unix-based systems, and the NetWare for Macintosh AppleTalk stack provides the basis for integrating the Mac with services such as NetWare Communication Services, NetWare Network File System and NetWare File Transfer Access and Management. NetWare for Macintosh v3.0 includes native mode NetWare access, full AFP 2.0 compliance, as well as AppleTalk Phase 1 and Phase 2 compliance. Novell also announced a new NetWare AppleTalk Support Package that adds AppleTalk protocols and AppleTalk routing capabilities to NetWare v3.11. Netware for Macintosh v3.0 will be available as an optional product in April as a 20-user version costing $900 per server, and the 100-user version is $2,000 per server. The NetWare AppleTalk Support Package costs $500 per site licence sometime in the second quarter 1991.
