Novell vs Windows

Climber

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jul 27, 2007
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Hey guys, I've kinda got a quandry here, well maybe not for you guys, but for me this kinda is. Work found out I'm somewhat tech savvy and dropped off a bunch of stuff in my lap for me to work. One of the issues I have is the WAN is running off of Novell and the regional managment want to switch over to a Windows based environment and the dept head wants to keep running Novell (they've been using it for over a decade now) and I'm stuck in the middle and as much as I tell them I'm in over my head in this regards they still want my input and I have till Monday to prepare some pros and cons to each and to be honest I'm lost.

I have 40 local computers networked with 2 outside locations with 10 extra computers per site, plus around 75 remote log in locations that are all connected to our network. Security and reliability are of course what we're looking for here.

If I'm missing any info you guys might need just let me know.
 
Ugh, what a topic. What version of Novell are we talking about here?
 
Standardize. If everything else is Windows then ditch Novell.

Actually, just ditch Novell. Use whatever reason you need to.
 
Pros for ditching novell;

1) Standard network operating system. With a single core OS, smaller administrative skillset needed, resulting in an easier time finding admins
2) Integration issues with both Novell AND MS sharing network OS responsibilities
3) Novell isn't innovating as fast as MS. MS has a larger feature set than Novell and it's only going to increase.
4) Novell's market share is dwindling. This can make it difficult to find administrators to support it.

That said, novell does have some neat features. But if you already have an Active directory infrastructure it's time to move on. Make sure you pick up something like zenworks for windows though.
 
Why would you replace something that isn't broke with something that is high maintenance and always leads to problems?

Sorry, but no Windows servers or systems here.
 
What is a comprable option to Zenworks in a Windows environment?

Altiris is. Though its expensive as hell. It would really depend on whether or not they actually leverage what Zenworks can do as to whether or not they really need to replace it. Depending on the size of the enviroment, most of the built in Microsoft tools, or free tools can do most of what is necessary to maintain an IT enviroment.
 
Why would you replace something that isn't broke with something that is high maintenance and always leads to problems?

Sorry, but no Windows servers or systems here.

Not to start a flame-war, but my windows boxes require only slightly more maintenance than my linux boxes (monthly automatic updates). I don't think I've logged onto my windows file servers since going to W2K3. My AD has required even less maintenance. A properly set up (and protected) windows network requires very little day-to-day effort. Windows desktops/Office/End users on the other hand...
 
*IF* you know what you are doing, most Windows server/client enviroments can be maintained with minimal effort. The bulk of the maintenence is easy to automate.
 
Altiris is. Though its expensive as hell. It would really depend on whether or not they actually leverage what Zenworks can do as to whether or not they really need to replace it. Depending on the size of the enviroment, most of the built in Microsoft tools, or free tools can do most of what is necessary to maintain an IT enviroment.

Thanks Dan. I'll check in tomorrow and see what the future plans are and what they are planning on doing.
 
Standardize. If everything else is Windows then ditch Novell.

Actually, just ditch Novell. Use whatever reason you need to.

This gets my vote too. There is a handy utility that you have to buy (unfortunately) but that will migrate your novell users & settings to AD with basically a few button clicks, then you just need to go in to AD and perform a little cleanup. I'm sure someone here knows what I'm talking about since the last time I used it was 4 years ago when I assisted with a Novell to AD migration
 
I work for a school district and we are in the middle of a Novell to windows Migration. We are migrating 50 Novell netware 6.5 servers all with Zenworks 7 on them. We have 12,000 Workstations spread across 50 sites.They will all be windows 2008 in two years. Look at upgrading to Zenworks Configuration Managment (aka Zen 10, ZCM). It works very well with AD. There is no need for Edirectory.

The biggest reason for us to migrate was the lack of support for Edirectory. You could also remind them that Netware is dead. General Support for Netware ends March 7, 2010. Novell is pushing really hard for people running Netware to upgrade to OES Linux.
 
I work for a school district and we are in the middle of a Novell to windows Migration. We are migrating 50 Novell netware 6.5 servers all with Zenworks 7 on them. We have 12,000 Workstations spread across 50 sites.They will all be windows 2008 in two years. Look at upgrading to Zenworks Configuration Managment (aka Zen 10, ZCM). It works very well with AD. There is no need for Edirectory.

The biggest reason for us to migrate was the lack of support for Edirectory. You could also remind them that Netware is dead. General Support for Netware ends March 7, 2010. Novell is pushing really hard for people running Netware to upgrade to OES Linux.

Whoa really? I'm going to look into this but, please excuse my ignorance here, but from everything I've been reading it was looking like Novell was making a recent push to regain market share with its partnerships with ACS and Intel.

Time to put google to work.

Looks like you're right...
 
Why would you replace something that isn't broke with something that is high maintenance and always leads to problems?

Sorry, but no Windows servers or systems here.
Old phobia. I manage a mixed environment; Windows, Linux and Netware. eDirectory and Active directory. In the 3 years I've been doing this, the netware boxes have given me more issues than the window boxes. To be fair, it has more to do with the backup software/AV software running on them, but that still counts against them; window apps are updated and maintained at a much higher level than their netware counter parts.

Active Directory is just as stable as eDirectory anymore. While there are some features not present in AD that are in eDirectory, those edge cases are way out in the weeds; you aren't going to run into them in normal day to day environments.
 
The number one Pro-Windows that was also a Con for Netware when I migrated:

It's a whole lot easier to find Microsoft techs than it is to find Netware techs.

As a manager over a small-ish IT department let me also share with you that it would be a good idea to let your boss(es) know what you're more comfortable working with. If you've got more background in MS than Netware, that's pertinent information for making the decision.
 
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