An Introduction to Virtual Office

Test Objective Covered:

1. Describe Virtual Office.

As you've progressed through this book and learned about the various components supplied with NNLS, you probably thought to yourself, "Wow! Cooool! No way!" A network administrator understands the value and benefit associated with NNLS.

The problem comes in when you deploy these services. Most end users don't have the same level of technical expertise you have. They tend to be very resistant to change in an organization's network.

Face it: They really aren't concerned with the network itself. Their focus is on their jobs. The network should make their jobs easier. Network changes require them to learn new skills and procedures, which, during the initial rollout, make their work harder. Hence, they don't share your enthusiasm for your new network services.

This could be especially true with NNLS, particularly if you're moving from a network based on Windows servers to one based on Linux. Many of the network tasks they have become familiar with in a Windows network won't apply any more. Even though the services included in NNLS can dramatically increase end- user productivity, initially they will probably just see these services as new "things" they have to learn, taking time away from the work they are under pressure to get done.

Authenticating to a Linux server using eDirectory is relatively easy, but it's different from logging in to a Windows server. Looking up user information in eGuide is easy, but it's different from what your users are used to. Using iFolder to manage files is quite easy and very powerful, but it's different from what they are used to.

Setting up a printer using iPrint is very easy, but, again, it's very different from what the end users are used to. Using NetMail for communicating over email is also very easy, but, once again, it can be very different for the users if you have them use the web interface instead of their traditional email clients .

Just think of the dramatic reduction in virus threats you could experience by having end users employ the Modular Web Agent web interface instead of the various virus-prone email clients commonly deployed today.

With this end-user fear factor in mind, Novell included the Virtual Office product in NNLS. Virtual Office unifies all the various NNLS components into a single web-based interface. To the network administrator, Virtual Office probably is nice, but not all that exciting. That's because you already know how to use NNLS components.

To the end user, however, Virtual Office is a lifesaver. Instead of having to learn how to use eGuide, iFolder, NetStorage, iPrint, and NetMail separately, Virtual Office presents all these services in an easy-to use interface. From the end user's perspective, he or she only has to learn one new tool, not four or five.

In addition to NNLS component integration, Virtual Office also provides several additional features and benefits that further increase end-user productivity. These include the following:

• Virtual teams ” Using Virtual Office, end users can create virtual collaboration teams composed of eDirectory users. These teams have access to a team file share (provided by NetStorage), chat capabilities, and a team web page for sharing information.

• Easier remote access ” Using Virtual Office, end users can access team collaboration information as well as have access to NNLS services through a single web page. End users only have to remember a single URL to access this information instead of six or seven. For end users on the road or working in remote locations, this greatly enhances their productivity (and greatly reduces the support calls you have to service).

• Personal user management ” Using Virtual Office, users can manage many aspects of their own user account in the NNLS system without having to call the help desk. For example, they can change their password or edit their personal contact information. These changes are saved in their eDirectory user objects without them having to know anything about iManager. Pushing these relatively menial tasks onto the users can really free up a lot of your time as the network administrator.

With this introduction in mind, the next skill you need to understand for your CLE exam is how to install Virtual Office.