Iowa/Nebraska Novell Technical Blast
John Bezy, Novell Iowa/Nebraska Systems Engineer
Vol 3, No 1 - 1/10/01
** High Priority **
Technical Tips
Looking for NFS Sites
The engineering manager for our NFS and related products (Annapurna Lolla
- Anu) will be in the US toward the end of January. One of the main purposes
of her visit is to visit customers and gain a better understanding of
their use of the product and desired enhancements and future direction.
If you are using NFS in a big way and it is important to your business,
you would be a good site for Anu and possibly the US Product Manager to
visit. Please let me know ASAP. It looks like the dates for potential
customer visits are from Jan 25th to Jan 31st.
Tech Support
At the end of this e-mail I always have an area that discusses how to
get Novell Tech Support. Did you know there is a very inexpensive way
of having Tech Support readily available? Novell has program called Premium
Services. The options range from Premium 100 to Premium 700, 700 being
the most support and of course the most expensive. But at the level of
Premium 100 or Premium 200, the support times are limited to normal business
hours, but you can solve one of the biggest tech support complaints-
either sitting on hold for HOURS or tech support not calling back for
days. Some of the benefits of the Premium Support 100 level are: target
response time of 4 hours (support available for 12 hours a day, 5 days
a week (normal business days)), 10 Tech Support incidents, and a copy
of LogicSource... Premium 100 is available at a list price of $5500/year;
Premium 200 provides 24x7 support and is available for $15000/year..
More information can be found at: http://www.novell.com/services/premium/americas_feature.html
or contact Steve or me to get more information....
BrainShare- NUI Discount?
NUI Local Group Members Discount to BrainShare Salt Lake - Limited offer
Plans are underway for the biggest, best BrainShare yet in Salt Lake
City, Utah March 18-23 2001.
Novell has offered NUI a special discount of 20% for the first 100 NUI
Local Group Members to sign up for BrainShare Salt Lake (20% off of the
Early Bird Registration price of $1395 by February 15)
If you are a member of a local NUI group and would like to take advantage
of this special offer, use the RSVP code NUIMEMBER. Registration began
December 1, 2000 http://www.novellbrainshare.com/portal/controller/home
You must be a member of a local NUI group and you must use this code
in order to receive the 20% discount. The discount cannot be made retroactive
if you have already registered for BrainShare.
REMEMBER, ONLY THE FIRST 100 NUI MEMBERS REGISTERING UNDER THIS CODE
ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE 20% DISCOUNT.
Introductory Directory Technology Deployment and Development Seminar: A Four Part Series
Wondering about how to implement directory technology? Wondering about
how to get up to speed quickly?
If you have been looking for a quick way to get up to speed on the various
directories, and interfacing to directories, look no further. This 4
day seminar series is super efficient and very affordable. We take you
from the basics all the way to building a web app and using a directory
for authentication and content customization. The principles and information
learned in this series apply to all directories, regardless of vendor.
Registration is required for all classes. Attendance is limited to 50.
Metro location to be determined. To register, please call 800-892-2922
or visit http://www.novellseminars.com
Part I: Introduction to Directory Technology Covering Iplanet,
Active Directory SecureWay and NDS.
January 18th. 4 Hours. 8 am to Noon. Free, $50 charge for No Shows.
Registration is required. Seminar ID 261097
Introduction to Directory Services: Iplanet, Active Directory, SecureWay
and NDS.
What is a directory? What can I do with a directory? How is a directory
different than a relational database? Which one do I use where? Performance.
Security and Certificates. DNS. Federation. Static and Dynamic Inheritance.
Scalability. Ease of Use. What is LDAP? LDIF? DirXML? Replication and
Partial Replication. Distribution and Fault Tolerance.
Part II: Developing to the Directory: An Introduction.
January 25th. 8 hours. 8 am to 5pm. Cost is $99. A 500 page textbook
is included.
Seminar ID 261098
Developing to web apps using a directory and Java/SSP, PERL, LDAP, ActiveX.
Developing to Win32 using a directory and C, Visual Basic and LDAP. Building
a Common Authentication Model to improve security and reduce support,
programming time and cost. Directory and Portal interaction. The principles
and information learned in this series apply to all directories, regardless
of vendor.
Part III: Integrating Directories, Databases and Applications.
February 7th. 4 Hours. 8 am to Noon. Free, $50 Charge for No Shows.
Seminar ID 261099
Directories. Importing, Exporting and Translating Data between directories,
databases and applications. Synchronization. The old Meta Directory concept
and the new state of the art. Authoritative Data References.
Part IV: Hands On Directory Lab. (TWO sessions)
February 20th. 8 hours. 8 am to Noon. Part IV cost is $199.
Seminar ID 401121
February 21st. 8 hours. 8 am to Noon.
Seminar ID 401061
Putting it all together. Building a web app using a directory for authentication
and content customization.
About the Instructor: The instructor has 10+ years of experience as a
developer and network engineer for Fortune 500 organizations including
5 years of experience with directory technology.
ZENworks for Servers 2 Gets High Grades
Master of multiple NOS management By Cameron Sturdevant, eWEEK
Dec. 17, 2000 9:00 PM PT
http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2664150,00.html
ZENworks for Servers from Novell Inc. has gained support for Windows NT
and Windows 2000 servers and is now a tool that IT managers familiar with
the time-consuming intricacies of Novell software installation should
consider for cross-platform management of critical servers.
When complemented by ZENworks for Desktops 3.0, Version 2.0 of ZENworks
for Servers makes a formidable enterprise management alternative to Microsoft
Corp.'s Systems Management Server for shops running more than one NOS
(network operating system). However, neither product will suffice for
organizations that use Unix- or Linux-based systems. Managers of these
shops should consider products such as BMC Software Inc.'s Patrol.
ZENworks for Servers, which started shipping in late October, is $59
per user account or $3,000 per server.
It's not easy being ZEN
During eWEEK labs' tests, ZENworks for Servers proved to be a finicky
but solid management tool that allowed us to keep track of and distribute
software packages to servers. We had to install NDS for Windows NT to
incorporate machines that run Microsoft operating systems; as an NDS-based
product, ZENworks doesn't work well with Microsoft's Active Directory.
Seasoned NetWare administrators won't be surprised by the incredible
number of software tweaks and convoluted steps that are necessary to
install ZENworks for Servers. These include making sure that current
support packs for a number of Novell products are installed.
But Providence preserve those who are upgrading from ZENworks for Servers
1.0 or who have ZENworks for Desktops 3.0 installed. Fortunately, Novell
has published a set of booklets that takes the knots out of ensuring
the compatibility of these products during the upgrade process. The payoff
is worth it, and managers who make it through the process should have
confidence that the products will work together in the end.
The product manuals are not on the CD with ZENworks for Servers, however,
and a Novell release note gives an incorrect online link to the documentation
for the software. After we found the documentation (the correct URL for
its location is www.novell.com/documentation/lg/zfs2/docui/index.html),
we easily got the rest of the product up and running.
In addition to the new support for NT and Windows 2000 systems, Novell
has beefed up the centralized monitoring and management capabilities
of ZENworks for Servers. We could easily watch over several NetWare and
NT or Windows 2000 servers from a single console. This is a significant
enhancement over the previous version. The updated ZENworks for Servers
also let us set up policies to control when servers are downed for maintenance.
We also used this newly minted capability to quickly set up software
distribution jobs for several servers. This should make it easier for
managers to roll out NOS patches and applications to fleets of servers,
including NT and Windows 2000 systems.
ZENworks for Servers uses Novell's TED (Tiered Electronic Distribution)
to roll out software to servers and desktop systems. Although TED is not
a new addition to the ZENworks family, this is the first time that the
server and desktop versions have been integrated. We were able to set
up distribution jobs that effectively managed software distribution to
the entire test network.
Senior Analyst Cameron Sturdevant can be contacted at cameron_sturdevant@ziffdavis.com.
eWEEK labs // executive summary: ZENworks for Servers 2.0
With this latest version of ZENworks for Servers, Novell has expanded
the server management software to encompass Windows NT/2000 systems in
its directory-enabled management reach. The vendor also more fully integrated
the software with its desktop PC management counterpart, ZENworks for
Desktops, so that the pair can take on enterprise-wide management tasks
such as software distribution.
Short-term Business Impact: Although it will take some doing to ensure
that a company's NetWare and Windows NT/2000 systems are properly configured
to work with ZENworks for Servers, the product should give managers a
lift when it comes to managing large numbers of systems.
Long-term Business Impact: ZENworks for Servers should lower the long-term
cost of managing mixed NetWare and Windows NT/2000 shops.
Pros: Supports NetWare and Windows NT/2000; integrates with ZENworks
for Desktops; manages all systems from one console.
Cons: Complicated preparation procedure for initial installation; doesn't
manage Unix or Linux systems.
USABILITY: B
CAPABILITY: B
PERFORMANCE: B
INTEROPERABILITY: B
MANAGEABILITY: B
ZENworks Success Stories
http://www.novell.com/success/by_product.html#zenworks
ConsoleOne v1.2d
ConsoleOne 1.2d is now available on www.novell.com/download. It is now in the Management section. Free download.
Net Directory Newsletter Number 8 is attached.
HIPAA News
In case you weren't looking, the Federal Register published the final
Privacy Rule for HIPAA recently. It is available electronically at http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/ppo
as well as at the web site of the Government Printing Office at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html.
Problems Installing/Upgrading NW 5.1 from SEL??
Especially for you resellers: If you have tried using the NW 5.1 code
from Software Evaluation Library (SEL) 15, which was effectively this
partially patched code base, when you are doing upgrades or in some instances
doing new installs, there was a problem because parts or SP1 had been
applied to the NW 5.1 code in the SEL. If you use the official release
of the software (untouched by SP) or when you used a fully patched server
everything should go fine. In the end, the partially patched version
on the SEL is best avoided!!
A Recent David Kearns Article
Today's focus: Rate of change is critical
-----------------------------------------------
By Dave Kearns
In a recent newsletter, I mentioned that the directory is not the best
repository for dynamic data, and that a well-designed directory data
store is optimized for reading, rather than writing.
Naturally, a number of readers either questioned my statements or asked
for clarification. As one pointed out, all "dynamic" means is that the
data changes, and much directory data does change. The real issue is
the RATE of change.
Ideally, you want to know how much time it takes to write and propagate
an item of information, as well as how long it takes to find and read
that information. Then you need to factor in the rate of change of the
item.
If we take it as given that reads will be faster than writes - because
of the supposed optimization - we should quantify in some way either
the actual times, or the relative times (i.e., writes take three times
longer than reads). For arguments sake, let's say that writes take "x"
times longer than reads ( algebraically, 1 write = x reads). We could
then define "dynamic" to mean any item that is written and changed before
it is read "x" times.
That's rather arbitrary, but the general principle is valid: directories
are meant to be read, and activity, which significantly impacts read
times (and extensive writes would do that), should be minimized.
A Recent James Gaskin Article
Why File Servers Are More Important Than Ever
By James Gaskin
Some Novell competitors denigrate NetWare for being "just a file server."
They try to convince IT managers that file servers are passé and "application
servers" now rule the world. Since Novell's insistence on running NLMs
(NetWare Loadable Modules) only at the server (NLMs are a "challenge"
to program) slowed server application development, NetWare lost all status
as a server of applications. That's not completely accurate, but remains
the market's impression. Let's look at the lowly file server and see
if there's any value left.
First of all, what do application servers create? Files. Where are the
valuable parts of databases? Files. What are Web pages? Files. Let's
look at something more critical: your paycheck. Is your paycheck anything
more than a file in the accounting program? Nope. I call that a critical
file function, because I want my paychecks to be safe, secure, and ready
to print regularly. Don't you?
Anything created inside a computer application becomes a file: Draw a
picture -- get a file; write a memo -- get a file; create e-mail -- get
a file. One can make the argument that files are *the* critical element
of any computer operation. NetWare pioneered disk mirroring and disk
duplexing for file access speed and safety. NetWare pioneered System
Fault Tolerance III, using duplicate hardware to keep files safe and
available. NetWare pioneered Novell Storage Solutions (NSS), the fastest
and safest NOS file system available today.
Don't let your boss fall under the "Novell just makes file servers" spell,
and therefore lower them on the totem pole beneath the application servers.
Yes, Windows, Linux, Solaris, et al, store and share files but do they
have a complete, secure, and reliable file access control mechanism like
Novell Directory Services? Not until you add NDS to those platforms.
Until then, the file access controls are less secure, less manageable,
and less safe.
Keeping files safe became the credo of NetWare from their first operating
system, when file sharing rather than disk sharing shipped in the red
box. Keeping files safe may be your most important job function, and
NetWare does it better than anyone or anything.
About the author(s)
----------------
James E. Gaskin writes books, articles, columns, and jokes about technology
and real life. A Dallas-area author and consultant, he has written seven
networking books and co-authored three others. Of these, all but one
have "NetWare" in the title. Check out http://www.gaskin.com
for a complete list of books, including a humor book, or contact him
at james.gaskin@unixinsider.com.
ZENworks for Desktops (v3) and Return on Investment (ROI)
According to an article in Infosystems Executive, IDC did a study that
found companies are wasting $6 Billion a year buying unnecessary computer
equipment. The reason for this is the computers are perceived as being
slow. The cause of the problem is not underpowered computers but fragmented
disk drives. IDC's recommendation is a regularly scheduled defragmentation.
It's estimated this can have a TCO reduction of $350 per desktop.
ZENworks for Desktops 3.0 can help in the following ways:
Confused by NDS Version Numbers?
DS.NLM Version Numbers Explained
Okay, so Novell recently shipped NDS eDirectory 8.5, right? So you figure
if you check the version number of the DS.NLM on the NetWare 5 server
by typing m ds (short for show me the module loaded on this server with
the name ds) you'd get 8.5, right? Wrong! You'd get 85.01!
Rather than going through a lengthy discussion of why the numbering scheme
has changed, let it be known that the following version numbers will
be used for the release of NDS eDirectory 8.5 (previously known as code
name Tao) and future Support Packs:
Tao INTL 85.10 (DS, DSRepair, and LDAP modules only)
Tao SP2 85.20
Tao SP3 85.30
RedPlanIT Schedule
What is RedPlanIT? RedPlanIT is the opportunity for you to get some
eLearning through interactive webcasts. These free online seminars are
brought to you by a partnership between Novell and the Caliber Learning
Network. All you need to participate is a web browser! You have the choice
to attend the sessions live as they are presented or once the event have
been posted to the web site, anytime just by visiting the RedPlanIT web
site at http://www.redplanit.com
- note the spelling, it's not redplanet, but redplanit!
What are the topics and who presents them? The topic matter will vary
from session to session but for the most part will focus on Internet
technologies and Novell solutions. In some cases, they will be merely
tutorials and others will be solution/product info sessions. Presenters
will include Novell Systems Engineers, Consultants, Strategists, and
Account Managers. If slides are used for the presentation, they will be
downloadable for viewing. Sessions will typically last about an hour
and will be available in the archives for about 3 months.
To attend the sessions live, logon 15 minutes prior to online registration
for complete instructions on how to register and to view the event.
Jan 11 - Web-Based Management Tools
Jan 25 - Zero Day Start
Feb 8 - Managing Windows NT/W2K in an NDS Environment
Feb 22 - NDS eDirectory for Linux/Solaris
Mar 8 - eGovernment Business Solutions
Viewable Archived Sessions:
Novell Education Updates
Newly Released Courses
NetWare 5.0/ 5.1 CNE Training Self-Study Kit - Self-Study Training
Courses in Development*
781 Desktop Management with ZENworks for Desktops 3 (version 1.0)
*Disclaimer: The "Courses in Development" are being announced with tentative
availability dates. No classes should be scheduled until final dates
are announced under "Newly Released Courses." Novell will not consent
to any special arrangements made to accommodate a course which has been
scheduled prior to the announcement of a definite courseware ship date.
Cool URLs
Having to Justify GroupWise over the Competition?
Take a look at a study recently done at Johns Hopkins -
http://jhmcis.jhmi.edu/lansvcs/gwstudy/gwstudy.htm
Novell or NT??
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1115390
Microsoft pushes Win2K volume licenses
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2665632,00.html
Microsoft Dead?
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?72591:2493871 -
Microsoft is dead. The company that owned the computing world of the
1990s is as gone as the IBM that controlled computing during the '60s
and '70s. The fire has gone out of the belly of the corporate giant that
once dealt with potential rivals the same way that the conquistadors
treated the Aztecs. Click here for more information.
Looking for Win2000 Resource Kit?
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/ResKit/win2000/
NDS eDirectory: The Directory of Directories?
http://www.earthweb.com/redirects/netcomm_3.cgi -
A discussion of the Novell Directory Services database system, and the
part it plays in Novell's "It's one Net" vision.
Another Good Security URL
http://thechannel.vnunet.com/News/1116081
STILL Seeking Information
We are looking for customers who are using Novell Products to do the
following functions. If you are, would you send me an e-mail describing
what you are doing? Also, unless you explicitly state in the e-mail
that you wouldn't mind if other customers contact you, your information
WILL NOT be shared with anyone... Thanks...
Sales Stuff----
Novell Selected as Technology Solution Provider for Corporate Yahoo!
Companies will integrate support for NDS eDirectory into Yahoo! PortalBuilder
2.0 to give customers a secure infrastructure offering Web personalization
and cross-platform support
PROVO, Utah Jan. 9, 2001 Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net
services software, today announced an agreement with Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:
YHOO) to integrate support for Novell's eBusiness infrastructure technology
with Corporate Yahoo! (http://corporate.yahoo.com),
a customized enterprise information portal based on the successful My
Yahoo! interface. The companies will integrate support for Novell's industry-leading
NDS® eDirectory* into the Yahoo! PortalBuilder 2.0 server, giving customers
a powerful platform that supports strong security, Web personalization
and the ability to deploy an enterprise portal across all leading operating
systems. The agreement confirms Novell's Net services software strategy
to provide the infrastructure that secures and powers all types of networks
as one Net.
Novell's Net services software will provide security, user identity management
and integration with other resources for enterprise and government network
deployments of Corporate Yahoo!. Corporate portals are an increasingly
important element in business-to-business eCommerce, providing organizations
the ability to customize their interaction with partners, suppliers and
even their own employees. The META Group*, Inc. estimates that by 2003,
85 percent of the Global 2000 will have enterprise portals deployed or
under development. As the boundaries between the internal network and
the Internet fall, creating a single, unified network one Net the challenge
of managing identities and relationships increases exponentially.
"The Corporate Yahoo! enterprise information portal leverages Yahoo!'s
leading reach in the workplace, as well as our expertise in delivering
a personalized and compelling portal experience to consumers worldwide,"
said John Willcutts, vice president and general manager, Yahoo! Enterprise
Services. "With the addition of eDirectory software support, we'll not
only tap into Novell's large network market base, but we'll also gain
the security and identity management needed to enhance personalization
in the enterprise."
"Our Net services software strategy is taking root. Yahoo! will offer
its Corporate Yahoo! customers the content and applications they need
every day through an infrastructure based on Novell's Net services software
that is secure, scalable and a foundation for trusted business relationships,
both inside and outside the firewall," said David Fleck, Novell vice president
of worldwide partnering. "This agreement between Novell and Yahoo! helps
bring together two large and growing universes the more than 68 million
users of Novell's eDirectory software and the rapidly growing Corporate
Yahoo! user base."
Novell's Net services software solves key eBusiness problems facing customers
today by providing the power and flexibility they need to compete in a
market that moves at Net speed. Novell's eDirectory remains the only
directory on the market to work on all leading operating systems, which
significantly simplifies the complexities of managing users, identities
and resources in a mixed NetWare®, Linux*, NT, Solaris*, Tru64* UNIX*
and Win2000 environment. It is the only full-service directory on the
market today that can deliver the integration, scale and performance
of both an enterprise and Internet directory.
Corporate Yahoo! (http://corporate.yahoo.com)
is a customized enterprise information portal solution based on the widely
used My Yahoo! (http://my.yahoo.com)
interface. Enterprise customers licensing Corporate Yahoo! can integrate
proprietary corporate content and applications with access to Yahoo!'s
personalized Internet content and services behind existing firewalls.
Corporate Yahoo! is a global solution that leverages Yahoo!'s position
as the No. 1 most visited property at work, according to Nielsen/NetRatings'
latest rankings, as well as an existing platform across 24 world properties
and 13 languages.
New BorderManager Enterprise Edition v3.6 Available December 19, 2000
Novell is pleased to announce BorderManager Enterprise Edition 3.6 in
English, Portugese, French, German, and Spanish to all customers worldwide.
Novell BorderManager Enterprise Edition is a high performance Internet
security management suite for businesses that leverage the power of Novell
Directory Services. It is the easiest way to seamlessly deploy firewall,
virtual private networking, caching and strong authentication services
within your network. And since BorderManager Enterprise Edition is integrated
with Novell Directory Services you can manage the entire suite of services
from a single, centralized administration console.
New WebSphere
We would like you to know the new release of IBM WebSphere version 3.5
began shipping this week. This new release is based on JVM 1.2.2 which
also begins shipping this week. Both WebSphere Standard and Advanced
editions can be downloaded from the Novell WebSphere site. This latest
version provides a more robust and feature rich set of APIs for building
Java Servlets, Java Server Pages and Enterprise Java Beans. IBM WebSphere
3.5 from Novell requires NetWare 5.1, Support Pack-2 and JVM 1.2.2.
Administration Information:
Subscribe to news listservs at:
For GroupWise list: http://www.ngwlist.com
For Syracuse U NetWare list: listserv@listserv.syr.edu with 'subscribe novell' in message body
Trouble Incident Escalation
If you have an open support incident and it has been open for an unusually
long period of time, one of my functions is to help escalate the issue
inside Novell Tech Support. I will decide what the 'unusually long period
of time' is... If you have a support contract, your issue should be resolved
within days (resolved; depending on the level of the support contract,
someone should contact you within minutes/hours to start working on it.)
Without a support contract, you might face hours/days of waiting before
tech support can address your call. So, if you feel you need assistance,
send me an e-mail describing the incident, the incident number, and who
to contact. If you don't have an open incident, don't get me involved
until you do.
How to Get Tech Support
Want to see how some of our solutions work?
Check them out at the on-line demo city... http://democity.novell.com/staticindex.html
Due a Software Upgrade?
Here is how the process works.... You should receive an e-mail from Novell
Sales Operations stating you are entitled, as an upgrade protection customer,
the next upgrade for product XYZ... You should then go to the upgrade request
site at www.novell.com/licensing/upgfulfill
and fill in the appropriate lines and information. Your upgrade should then
be shipped second day.... BUT turnaround time is dependent on when the product
is actually available for FCS (First Customer Ship), which could be days or
weeks after the actual product announcement. If you are then having problems,
please let your IA/NE Novell team know so we can get involved.
Previous Editions of this E-Blast
Have you missed previous editions of this newsletter? Want to read them?
Thanks to the CINUG (Central Iowa Network Users Group), they have posted
them all at http://www.cinug.net/nov_blast.html...
Unsubscribing
If you do NOT want to continue to receive this e-mail blast, please send
an e-mail to
jbezy@novell.com,
with 'unsubscribe e-mail blast' (without the quotes) in the subject line,
and you will be removed from the list.
Subscribing
If other people in your organization not directly receiving this e-mail
blast wish to do so, have them send an e-mail to
jbezy@novell.com,
with 'subscribe e-mail blast' (without the quotes) in the subject line,
and they will be added to the list.
Changing Addresses
If you need to change your e-mail address, send an e-mail to
jbezy@novell.com
with 'change e-mail blast' (without the quotes) in the subject line,
and your address will be changed. We like to keep track of Novell users.
We recognize there is frequent turnover in the networking business, so
if you are changing jobs, please drop me a line....
Disclaimer:
Information contained herein is provided as-is. Opinions are those of
the author and may or may not be the same as those of Novell, and are definitely
NOT attributable to Novell unless otherwise noted.
John Bezy
Novell Systems Engineer
Iowa/Nebraska
ph: (402) 291-1808
eFax: (561) 760-6149
fax: (402) 291-4529
Novell-the leading provider of
Net Services Software
www.novell.com
jbezy@novell.com
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