REVIEWS

Slugfest! Microsoft And Novell's Windows95 Clients For NDS Duke It Out

by Ron Anderson

The battle is joined. Two contenders are ready to slug it out to win our allegiance. In this corner is Microsoft's lean and mean Service for NetWare Directory Services, a svelte 729-KB, no-nonsense add-on to Windows95's Client for NetWare Networks. And in this corner is the challenger, Client32 for Windows95, Novell's eight-disk, 7,620-KB heavyweight. The Microsoft NDS add-on has been available since October 1995. As of this writing, Novell's client was still in open beta with no firm release date. We tested both clients in a medium-sized NDS environment and could connect to NDS objects and bi ndery-based servers withou t any problems.

Network managers now face a choice, and they must pick the winner--the best solution for their network. Usually, price is a consideration when making this kind of choice but, in this case, both contenders are free and readily available via FTP or the Web. Performance can also help swing the pendulum from one side to the other, but with one of the contenders still in training, it's still too early to make this call. For now, the choice boils down to vendor support and features.

You Can't Have Everything In an ideal world, Microsoft and Novell would have cooperated on this development effort and produced a single product that combines the best of both worlds, including equal support from both vendors. Maybe it's not too late to hope for this type of cooperation in the future. In the meantime, if you're looking for basic NDS functionalit y, single vendor support for Windows95, and you want to use File and Print Sharing for NetWare Ne tworks, then go with the Microsof t Service for NetWare Directory Services. Microsoft's entry is small, fast and it works well.

Like any other third-party product, implementing Novell's Client32 will introduce some risk to your networking lives. Microsoft and Novell will point fingers at each other when something doesn't work. Future updates to Windows95 may not work with Novell's client or may work sporadically. Given Novell's track record with providing timely support for NDS and Windows95, you might need to wait a while before you could implement OS upgrades. At the very least, you would need additional compatibility testing between the OS and the network client software prior to rolling out OS upgrades.

For some, like those looking for the enhanced functionality and configuration options provided by the Novell client, the rewards will outweigh the risk. With the inclusion of NetWare Application Launcher and auto client update, Client32 for Windows95 leverages the functionality o f the NDS better than Microsoft's clie nt.

Neither product clearly wins. The choice comes down to deciding first which feature set best meets your needs, and second, if you choose Novell's Client32, deciding if the increased functionality is worth the additional support headaches.

Got the Basics Covered Using either of these products, we could log into an NDS tree, run NDS-aware applications, including NWAdmin, DS Standard and NetAdmin in a DOS box, process profiles (login scripts) that include drive and search mapping and captures, and access NetWare 2.x through 4.x servers. Both enabled us to browse NDS objects using the Explorer or Network Neighborhood and connect to available file and print resources. Both solutions worked well with Windows95's built-in TCP/IP stack and both used existing Windows95 network card drivers written to the Network Device Interface Specification (NDIS) version 3.1. Bot h products also provide sample MSBATCH.INF entries for automatically insta lling and configuring the client software whe n users install Windows95 from a central location.

Microsoft Service for NetWare Directory Services

Microsoft's entry is designed as an add-on product that complements Windows95's existing Client for NetWare Networks. This add-on is installed as a service via the Windows95 Network Properties dialog box. The bottom line is that Windows95 behaves almost the same way it did before installing the Service for NetWare Directory Services, except that you now have access to the NDS. This sameness will please both your users and support personnel.

Because Microsoft decided to add functionality to its Client for NetWare Networks rather than replace it, Windows95's built-in peer-to-peer File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks, which relies on the Client for NetWare Networks, will work the same as it always has. Your user s can share local resources with user level access c ontrol and authentication via your Novell servers. If this feature is important for your networking plans, then you need go no farther. Novell's Client 32 works as a replacement for Microsoft's Client for NetWare Networks and does not support File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks. Novell has no plans to support this feature in the future.

Novell Client 32 for Windows95

Novell's Client 32 for Windows95 is big. The size of the distribution alone is 10 times bigger than Microsoft's entry. The good news is that the functionality and configuration options available with Novell's entry are commensurate with its size, but the array of configuration options presented by Novell's Client 32 can be intimidating. Like the Microsoft client, settings for default tree and context are available, but the Novell client goes on to present you with four tabbed pages of optional configurat ion settings--42 modifiable parameters on one page alone. We found the default settings worked well, but if you are so inclined, you could tune this client to your heart's content.

Novell's Client 32 offers a number of features that aren't available with the Microsoft entry. For instance, Client 32 enables you to log into more than one NDS tree at a time--a plus for administrators who want access to production trees while dabbling in a second test tree. Novell also gives you a choice between using Microsoft's NDIS network adapter drivers or Novell's own Open Datalink Interface (ODI) drivers. In fact, through the ODI, Client 32 can use any of the server LAN drivers developed and tested for NetWare 3.x and 4.x. If you choose to use ODI-based drivers, Novell also provides an ODI-to-NDIS shim so you can use Microsoft's TCP/IP protocol. If you're contemplating or already using NetWare/IP, Novell has you covered as well. This shim permits you to use Client 32 in a NetWare/IP 2.1 shop by encapsulating IPX and using Microsoft's IP stack.

Client 32 includes a Windows95 GUI login application that is really slick. If you already have a login to the tree and you'd like to log in as a different user, select NetWare Login from the Novell program group, supply a user name, and optionally context and tree information, and hit the OK button. Your new profile is set automatically, including all relevant drive mappings and captures. This is a cleaner, more intuitive process than going through Microsoft's shut down procedure to "Close all programs and login as a different user," although you can still do this with the Novell client if you must.

From a network administrator's view, the two best features of Novell's Client 32 for Windows95 are the auto client update and the NetWare Application Launcher (NAL). When updated client software is released, Client 32 is designed to enable administrators to update workstations automatic ally to the new release through the login script. In the past, c lient updates have only been possible by visiting each workstation, through custom programming or by using complicated batch files--now this capability is built right into the client itself.

To use the NAL, your NDS schema extends to include four new object types--application objects--to contain information about four different types of applications: DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows95 and Windows NT. Using NWAdmin, you create application objects that NAL uses to present available applications to your users. NAL determines which applications are available by querying the NDS. It stores each application's location, working directory and startup status in the NDS object. Trustee assignments control a user's access to any particular application and are customizable by a NetWare user or group.

Ron Anderson is the manager of Microcomputer Network Services at Syracuse University. He can be reached via e-mail at rbanders@syr.edu.

Novell Steps Up IPX/SPX For Macintosh And Adds NDS Support

Using a Macintosh on a NetWare network no longer requires supporting another protocol. With Novell's Client for Macintosh 5.1, the Macintosh can walk and talk just like a PC, but don't expect an exact duplicate since it doesn't support NetWare login scripting. It also doesn't support automatic volume mounting or print queue selection.

Adding the control panels and extensions for full NetWare access will cost you about 400 KB of RAM. In addition, you'll need a Macintosh equipped with a 68030 or better (PowerPC included) Macintosh to play. Features, such as single, one-time authentication and server management using RCONSOLE, will be quite appealing to Macintosh-clad NetWare administrators. In addition, NetWare servers can shed some weight as well as gain memory and speed by losing the NetWare for Macintosh NLMs and possibly the AppleTalk protocol.

The "NetWare Directory Browser" volumes may be mounted as though th ey were AppleShare volumes, since NDS login s happen over the IPX/SPX protocol. Consequently, this adds packet signatures, password encryption and thus, larger packet sizes. Additionally, you will still require Mac name space on NetWare volumes to store Macintosh files.

With Novell's Client for Macintosh, NetWare print queues are directly available as well. Again, by using the browser, you can select queues and match the appropriate print driver. There's another cost here: QuickDraw GX drivers are not supported.

If you are planning to make the protocol switch, make it complete. Some utilities can be a bit tricky if you are using the AppleShare and Novell software. For example, using both "choosers" at the same time caused us to experience crashes and other strange behavior. --by Robert J. Kohlhepp

February 13, 1996