Creative Ways of Bridging the Gap Between Novell and Windows


Besides using a tool like SFNW, organizations have found other methods of bridging the gap between a Novell and Microsoft environment. The best solutions for choosing to integrate or cross support Novell and Windows environments is to determine what applications are desired to be shared.

If there is an equal split between applications that have to run on Windows and applications that have to run on Novell, then an organization has to create a tightly integrated multi-platform environment. However many organizations remain in a tightly integrated dual operating system environment when there are other options to address specific application access across platforms.

Using a Dual-Client Approach to Access a Multi-Platform Environment

The most common method of multi-platform access and integration is to have both the Novell client and the Windows client installed on each client system. This dual client approach provides users the capability to access Novell servers and resources as well as Windows servers and resources. The simplicity for many organizations is that their client systems already support the dual client configuration, so there is no additional work to set up or configure the mixed environment.

To set up a dual client approach, an organization would typically download and install the Novell client from the Novell Web site. There are different versions of the Novell client, and while it typically makes no difference from a Microsoft network perspective which version of the Novell client is used, various Novell applications will not work without the correct version of the client software. Therefore it is best practice to use the latest version of the client to ensure compatibility with the latest Novell administration, management, and operational tools.

Full Compatibility with Novell Directory Services

Microsoft provides a client for NetWare, however the Microsoft client is limited in its ability to access multiple Novell directory trees as well as limits the user the ability to run many of the Novell administrative tools. Therefore, most organizations use the Novell client to get full compatibility with Novell directory services, application services, and application compatibility.


Taking Advantage of Windows Terminal Services in a Novell Environment

For many organizations that have effectively eliminated most of their Novell network infrastructure but are limited to a handful of legacy applications that are still running on Novell servers, there's a need for cross compatibility, but possibly not as important to continue to support a dual-client configuration. In these cases, one option an organization can consider is implementing Windows Terminal Services with the Novell client installed on the Terminal Server system. With a Terminal Server system, a single system running the Novell client can host dozens if not a couple hundred client application sessions without having any Novell client software on the client desktop and laptop systems.

A Remote Client Does Not Need to Have the Novell Client Installed

By leveraging the application launch capabilities of Terminal Server, an organization can place an icon on a user's desktop that effectively launches a Terminal Server session to run a remote client session. A remote client does not need to have the Novell client installed; it just needs to have a Terminal Server client icon linked with the execution of the Novell-based application.


When configuring a client for access to NetWare as well as to Microsoft Windows, the Novell client software provides the ability to log on to a Novell Bindery network, a NetWare eDirectory or NDS tree, a Windows NT domain, and a Windows Active Directory forest simultaneously . The default server, directories, and trees can be configured in the Properties window on the Network Properties page as shown in Figure 17.1.

Figure 17.1. Configuring the default properties for the Novell client.

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By preconfiguring the property page options on the client configuration, default settings can be made relative to the network configuration desired. Many times the name services are different between the Novell and Microsoft environment, so a priority order needs to be created to access either the Novell or the Windows look-up tables. Additionally, logon scripts or drive mappings need to be resolved if multiple networks are accessed with similar default drive mappings or printer mappings across the different networks. In areas where configurations and access across multiple networks conflict, the properties option can be set to choose the settings desired.

Using Web Services for Access to Microsoft Technologies

Another option to provide access to multiple platforms is to identify whether applications that are being used are Web services “enabled applications. Rather than trying to provide a 32-bit client access to applications, many times an application has a universal Web front-end that can be accessed with just a browser.

As an example, an organization that is heavily committed to Novell but needs to access possibly a corporate-hosted Exchange messaging environment might choose to use the Outlook Web Access for e-mail access rather than supporting and accessing Windows logon and network authentication. In a reverse scenario, if an organization has predominantly Microsoft-based applications yet needs to have support for a legacy Btrieve application, or a legacy NLM-based application, rather than supporting the dual-client approach, the organization could potentially use a browser version of the software that runs on Novell.

Web services and Web-enabled applications have become relatively common and greatly simplify the ability for an organization to implement multi-platform integrated configurations. Instead, of supporting a dual-client configuration, an application that might be on a cross-platform environment could be accessed using a more strategic view of application operation and configuration.



Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Insider Solutions
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Insider Solutions
ISBN: 0672326094
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 325

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