So you can imagine I am a bit peeved, you might say slightly upset, or you could say, I am just saddened.

Quite a while back I gave OES-1 a spin and it was a awful mess, the tree wouldn't sync correctly, it would forget things we entered the day before, you could just say it was a problem, and you would be correct.

Nothing really worked like it should, it kinda worked but not like it was supposed to, not like Netware does, not even close.

So I put it away for quite a while and just let go and kept installing NW 6.5 spn and life was pretty good, and it still is, well with one little proviso... Pretty soon it is going to be abandoned, heaped onto to the trash mound, a great server OS that will be thrown away like yesterdays dead fish.

There was a glimmer of hope though, it was called Open Enterprise Server ( OES ). It was supposed to combine the best bits of Linux, with the best bits of Netware and we would have a world class Network OS again. I rejoiced in this knowledge and waited patiently for OES/2 to hit the streets...

So just today in fact, I decided, lets take another look and see whats cooking, this is my experience thus far.

Installation..

Go looking for the OES 2 Installation kit. What fun that was! I go looking only to find that is SLES-10 SP1 and an ADD ON CD?!

Yes, folks, it is an add-on CD, something you glue to something else and what is the worst part about it is that if you miss the little box in the SLES install, you will never be asked for it, at all! Now, I am trying not to be particularly inflammatory here; however, if your AIM is to setup a server that sports the GREAT services that NetWare does, try and convince people to but that thing, dont you think it would be done just a bit differently?

Do you think they boys in engineering would have thought to themselves, "Self, if whomever is installing this wants to do NetWare with a Linux kernel, perhaps it would be good to emphasize the that? Like sticking the damn OES ADD ON cd in FIRST and have it guide the installer through setting up E-Directory, NCP, Printing, file storage, etc. etc. etc. AS it was installing SLES 10 for crying out loud!!!!!!

You might think that, *I* certainly think that, but the folks in engineering or my better bet, marketing apparently don;t think that. You know its one of those things that makes you go, Hmmmmmm...

So Novell, here are some simple steps to GET YOUR *^$% TOGETHER AND STOP LOSING CUSTOMERS, YEAH YOU KNOW THEM, THOSE PEOPLE WHO PAY YOU MONEY!

Ok, I am calmer now, and I will lay out a very simple strategy to help you make this work.

1. Start by getting the install together, and it might go something like this.

- Welcome to OES 2! - Would you like to install the Linux ( default) or the Netware Kernel?

- We ran a quick hardware scan of your machine and we noticed you have 4 drives giving you n disk space. We know the linux kernel and assorted support files will need about x space. How would you like to divide things up? What you don't assign to the linux kernel will be assigned to NSS, ok ready go!

So, ok... So far so good, I swap cd's for a bit, have a late' or something and what things go flying by. Then all of the sudden, up it comes!

-Create a new tree or join an existing one?

And from there you so all the normal other things that one does either joining an existing tree or creating your own.

But of course it does not work like that in the least, its convoluted, its messy, it is not stream line, it is not quality, it is a headache.

And even after all of that, the final insult comes around. I get into iManager and I go straigt to storage, and what do you suppose I am greeted with?

USER ADMIN DOES NOT HAVE THE CORRECT CREDENTIALS TO AUTHENTICATE TO CIMOM!

What the **&%^%^@& *&@&*^8(*9898 *(@^%^&@&!!!!! is going on! One Server, One tree, One User, Fresh Install and it is broken out of the box?!

I was commenting in response to Dean Lythgo that all these blasted stacks, Tomcat, Apache, Java are fragile, if any tiny part of it breaks then things just get hosed. So I give it the obligatory look through the knowledge base and it starts talking about LDAP this, Tomcat that, certificates the other and god alone knows what else because I don't. I just shook my head and walked away

I have installed more NetWare servers then I care to remember, and yes I have had a few installs go south, but nothing like this. This my friends is called carelessness and thoughtlessness. You have the Linux heads saying, "What do you need NDS for? What do you need file servers for? peh! The rest of us that serve actual businesses with rank and file employee's, secretaries, accountants, clerks, receptionists know all to well what we need things like login scripts, mapped drives, network printers that you can control access to, resources that can be booked all know what you need those things for.

It is time for you Linux Lovers to get your focus where it belongs. You are th exception not the rule, you are the person who has spent their entire career doing things like "make config", "rpm -i blah" these people do not want to, I don't want to, I want to install a purpose designed server being it a LAMP stack or an NCP file and print server and have the install WORK and the server WORK after that.

And oh yeah, do you have the fix out yet that allows SLED or SLES to run Firefox 3.0 yet? Or does you average user have to go and fetch GK , compile and link it, AND get the other 4 or so bits of cruft that IT needs and build those too?

It is too bad that you guys have missed the boat on this, or have you just CEDED the file and print server business to Microsoft?