Pull the Trigger

Enhancements in Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 SP2 Make Now the Time to Move to Linux

By Ken Baker, Novell Connection Magazine - February 2010

Here's an excerpt:

The March 7, 2010 general end-of-support date for NetWare is fast approaching, but if you haven’t made the move from NetWare to Linux, the latest support pack for Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 will likely convince you that now is the time to pull the upgrade trigger. Novell designed Support Pack 2 to deliver the updates and enhancements you’ve been waiting on to make the move to Linux. This article focuses on the Support Pack 2 features that make the move to Linux better than ever.

Cross-Protocol File Locking

With the perpetual focus on interoperability, Novell provided Linux support for the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) and the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol in its first support pack for Novell Open Enterprise Server 2. While this protocol support enabled native network file services for Mac OS and Windows clients accessing a Linux server, this initial release had limitations in terms of cross-protocol file locking. Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 SP2 eliminates these limitations by providing secure file locking regardless of whether a user is using an NCP, AFP or CIFS client.

With the number of Mac users increasing in the enterprise and education sectors, cross-protocol file locking makes it easier for Mac and Windows users to share files. It also gives you greater flexibility in supporting your Windows users. Instead of requiring a whole group of users to either use the Novell NCP Client or go native with CIFS, you can now let individual users choose.

Perhaps the greatest benefit cross-protocol file locking provides is the maintenance and hardware savings you'll gain through server consolidation. If you had been using these native file services protocols on your Linux servers previously, to prevent inadvertent file corruption, you had to segment your servers. For example, you might have one server running AFP to support your Mac users, another server running CIFS to support your native Windows users, and yet another server for Windows users using the NCP client. With the cross-protocol file locking in Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 SP2, you can consolidate these functions onto a single server to support all of your client scenarios.

Read the article here