Details of the next update to NovellÆs NetWare 5.0 operating system, code-named Cobra, reveal that NetWare will support HTTP – allowing IT mangers access to NetWare via the web, eliminating the need for a separate web server.
A closely guarded secret for months, Novell planned to unveil the update at Networld + Interop in Las Vegas, next week. ItÆs annoying to be caught on the back foot, said NetWare product marketing manager, Derek Venter, as we still have some details to iron out. The company has not set a shipping date, or decided if Cobra will be offered as a free service pack or as an upgrade.
The company said Cobra will be released in advance of shipping its multiprocessor-based version of NetWare, code-named 6-Pack. The latter will be offered as a separate NetWare upgrade release, according to Brian Faustyn, NetWare product marketing manager. The 6-Pack release will go to beta imminently and be released around the time Microsoft’s Windows 2000 ships, Faustyn said, which is still scheduled for the end of this year.
Analysts agree that the release of Cobra is arguably the most significant enhancement to NetWare since Novell released NetWare 5.0 last year. Plugging HTTP into the NetWare engine and giving it direct access to the file system is a very important thing for NetWare, said Neil Rickard, analyst at the Gartner Group, support for clustering and multiprocessing is needed but the shift towards internet protocols is of more value in the long term.
Clustering Services are in beta now and due to ship in the second half of this year. Just as IP replaced IPX as the networking protocol in NetWare 5.0, Cobra lets users circumvent the proprietary NetWare Core Protocol, Faustyn said. This makes it easier for us and ISVs to access NetWare services via HTTP in a secure way, he said. Novell refused to give details on security protocols until the announcement next week. Whether IT managers embrace NetWare as a platform for web-enabled applications is uncertain. NetWare is not the leading development platform out there today, Rickard said.
Also next week, Novell will announce the Small Business Suite, a package for enterprises of up to 50 users. The suite is the first small business package to include NetWare 5.0. Bundled with it will be GroupWise 5.5, BorderManager FastCache 3.0, ZENworks Starter Pack 1.1, Netscape Enterprise Server for NetWare, Network Associates’ VirusScan and NetShield, NetObjects Fusion, and other applications and tools. Pricing and availability was not disclosed.
