Details are emerging of what users can expect to see in Novell Inc’s NetWare 3.2, due out late this year. Among the new features will be X500-based distributed directory services; improved wide area network support with the long awaited burst-mode transmission method; and a smart file system that handles removable media. Under the weight of its cosy relationship with IBM Corp, the company has committed itself to something that can be described as non-dedicated NetWare for OS/2 – a version of NetWare that will run alongside OS/2 on a server so that both NetWare Loadable Modules and OS/2 server applications can run side by side. This product, which has yet to be named, will be targetted at branch offices with mixed OS/2-NetWare environments, according to John Edwards, vice-president of marketing at the company’s Provo, Utah headquarters. It will support a relatively small number of users and not compete with the mainstream native product. Niche it may be, but the announcement will bring a smile to the lips of those that remember Novell decrying the idea of NetWare and OS/2 running together. Of course, that was at the height of the war with Microsoft Corp and LAN Manager. Edwards says that the new X500-based directory will simplify the management of large networks. For example, NetWare users can have a single user-name registered automatically across any number of servers on the internet, which will eliminate the tedious work of setting up multiple linked accounts. As for the elusive burst mode, the technology is in the marketplace already, included in versions of NetWare 3.11 for Unix and the recently announced router products. However, Edwards confirms that it will appear in NetWare 3.2 and in the meantime, there will be a NetWare Loadable Module for 3.11 users. Edwards touched briefly on the work that Novell and Eastman Kodak Co have been doing on the imaging front, and says that NetWare Loadable Module additions to 3.2 will include powerful tools for moving image manipulation from workstation to server.
