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Newsletter of the Melbourne Novell Users Group

December 1997

Novell Previews Moab Server Operating System, & Clustering

From: Marc Heymann

Novell Previews Moab Server Operating System, Clustering and Small Business Solutions

New Products Bridge Gap Between Private Networks and the Internet

NETWORLD+INTEROP, Atlanta, GA - October 8, 1997 - Novell, Inc. today announced new network platform products that bring the two worlds of corporate and public networking together for customers in one secure and manageable information delivery system based on open Internet standards. Together, these products provide today's 67 million NetWare and IntranetWare users with a smooth upgrade path to the world of open Internet standards and the Internet. They include:

• Moab: The next major release of Novell's server operating system, code named Moab, begins beta testing in November. Featuring TCP/IP as a core protocol, Moab marks the evolution of Novell's industry-leading networking product into a pure intranet and Internet platform solution that provides customers with application support and network management and control.
  
• Orion: An optional clustering service that runs on Moab, codenamed Orion, allows multiple Intel processor-based servers to work together as a single system for increased availability, superior scalability and easier network management.
  
• IntranetWare for Small Business: Novell's server solution designed especially to help small businesses grow, will be enhanced in November with new solutions including POP3 Internet mail, backup, fax and antivirus capabilities.
  

Moab and Orion signal the next generation of Novell's server operating system optimized for faster, more efficient execution of a new class of business-critical network applications. The new networking products enhance today's NetWare and IntranetWare as the server platform of choice for development and deployment of new multi-tiered applications based on emerging Internet technologies such as Java, CORBA/IIOP and ActiveX. In addition, Moab and Orion will provide enhanced services including directory, authentication, collaboration, network management and an object-based storage system.

"Novell is delivering the products that customers need to make their networks work," said Stephen Brow, LAN manager for Reuters America Inc. "The huge shift toward network computing keeps gaining strength. I need platforms and services to bridge the gap between internal networks and the Internet, and that's what Novell is delivering."

"We are bringing the same leadership in network management, security and performance that has made Novell the world standard in business networks to the even broader world of open standards and the Internet." said Denice Gibson, Novell senior vice president and general manager, Internet Products. "Novell customers gain a clear competitive and technological advantage for doing business in a networked world."

Moab Enters Beta

The first beta release provides customers an early opportunity to review many of the technologies and benefits in Moab. Subsequent beta releases with additional features, network services and solutions will follow. Novell plans product availability in mid 1998, with features including:

• Support for IP as a core protocol, with easy transition from IPX to IP on the customer's schedule, a key to boosting the efficiency and interoperability of customer networks and hosting new classes of applications and services over intranets and the Internet
  
• Expanded application server capabilities, including memory protection, virtual memory and support for applications based on Java, CORBA/IIOP and Active X that leverage Novell Directory Services (NDS) and other Novell services
  
• Integrating Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name Service (DNS) with industry-leading Novell Directory Services (NDS), enabling secure central management of addresses and new directory-enabled applications for intranets and the Internet
  
• Novell's next generation object-oriented storage engine, Novell Storage Services, providing significant time and cost savings for managing large file systems
  
• Simplified migration for data, directory and protocols from previous versions of NetWare and IntranetWare
  
• A GUI environment on the server, making Novell products easier to install, use and administer
  

New Clustering Solution

Novell today also announced plans to enhance its next server operating system, Moab, in the second half of 1998 with Orion, an advanced clustering solution (see Novell Introduces Clustering Service, press release). The software will allow up to 16 network servers to work together with scalable storage systems, protecting customers from hardware or software failure and ensuring high availability and uninterrupted access to information. In addition to its clustering initiative, which will bring high-availability capabilities once limited to large-scale systems to cost-effective Intel platforms, Novell plans to support Intel's 64-bit Merced architecture with future server operating systems.