In what seems a direct challenge to Hermes, Microsoft Corp’s delayed suite of network management tools for Windows NT, Novell Inc has announced NetWare Distributed Management Services. The product pulls together various existing strands of Novell’s management efforts, and is said to handle managment of network devices, software distribution, licensing and metering, network analysis, asset management, storage and user and server administration. It is also said to provide seamless management of NetWare and UnixWare from within the former. The system includes the new version – 2.0 – of the NetWare Management System (CI No 2,269), claimed to add distributed network analysis for the discovery, mapping and monitoring of devices, IPX address management, and critical resource monitoring. The LANalyzer Agent 1.0, first introduced in May last year, is also incorporated, as is a new version of the NetWare Navigator developed by its Boulder, Colorado-based division, which was formerly Annatek Inc. This is said to allow for the central distribution and installation of software to servers and desktops on the network including NetWare 3.X and 4.X for servers and clients. The final aspect is the NetWare Licensing Service Software Developer’s Kit for creating applicaitons with network-based electronic licensing and application usage tracking. Network and device level management of Unix servers is provided through SNMP, while the Navigator and Licensing Services handle software distribution and licensing: at the moment these capabilities are available only for UnixWare, but Novell says it expects developers to incorporate them into other versions of Unix in the near future. Novell garnered support for the system from a range of companies including 3Com Corp, Cabletron Systems Inc, Compaq Corp, Digital Equipment Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co, IBM Corp, Madge NV, SynOptics Communications Inc, and Wellfleet Communications Corp, which are expected to develop modules to extend compatability to their products. Despite emphasising the products as a suite, Novell has chosen to price them separately. Examples include $1,500 on a single segment LANalyzer, $1,000 for 25 users on the Network Navigator module, $2,500 for the network management system.
