 To view the Report card.
There are some networks that will never be completely taken over by the Wintel standard. But even in Unix-heavy environments, Windows PCs and other non-Unix platforms will exist and require
connectivity to a central file server. In small networked environments, solutions that bridge the gap between Unix and Novell NetWare also can ease management and support burdens by consolidating file services to a single server platform.
In our October 15 issue we tested Server Message Block-based services for Unix ("Bridging Network Worlds With Server Message Block-Based File Services," page 160). For this issue, we tested a few NetWare Core Protocol (NCP)-based solutions in our University of Wisconsin lab in Madison, that offer NetWare-like services on Unix. Software solutions from NetCon Corp., Puzzle Systems Corp. and Syntax were put to the test.
We found that while these products provide PC-to-Unix connectivity with NetWare-like services, each is aimed at different markets. Therefore, we recommend each for different environme
nts. However, because they lack NetWare management capabilities, it is highly unlikely that you would replace any existing NetWare infrastructure with one of these solutions.
Total Saturation
If you have performance anxiety, sit back and relax. In tests on our SPARCstation 10, we found that all three of these solutions can easily saturate a 10-Mbps Ethernet. If you're looking for a 10-Mbps solution, none of these products will steer you wrong. When run atop Solaris, the products from NetCon and Syntax communicate to the standard Data-Link Provider Interface (DLPI).
Additionally, you should not experience any problems adding faster network cards into the mix. Although this could change as more Ethernet segments are added or faster network technologies are introduced, they all provide good workgroup solutions.
With our testing complete, we award top honors to Puzzle Systems' SoftNet Utilities. Puzzle Systems offers an inexpensive solution that can work itself into existing NetWare shops and make the best use of native NetWare utilities. Filling the any-file-service-on-one-platform shoes is Syntax's TotalNET Advanced Server (TAS). TAS offers everything you could i
magine in one bundle, including NetWare, SMB and AppleShare services. Pulling up the rear is NetCon, which offers an expensive solution that is quite difficult to manage and lacks support for any NetWare utilities.
Puzzle Systems Corp. SoftNet Utilities 4.0
 Puzzle Systems SoftNet Utilities 4.0 is the only package we tested that can participate in Novell Directory Services (NDS) and offer great integration into your existing Novell NetWare infrastructure.
In our scenario, it was limited to a workgroup solution because it can support only one Ethernet interface. SoftNet Utilities is positioned as a versatile platform to serve users' home directories in a network laced with NetWare and Unix.
We installed SoftNet Utilities with only one minor problem: Its configuration utili
ty prompted us for the proper network number, but entered the wrong value in its configuration file. After a simple text edit, we were up a
nd running. Using Novell's SYSCON.EXE, we added a couple of users and started logging in from a variety of workstations.
Although easy to set up, Puzzle Systems' solution does not provide tight integration with the Unix /etc/passwd file. Instead, it uses its own bindery. You must have an existing NetWare infrastructure in place in order to use SoftNet Utilities. The vendor does not ship any NetWare utilities--such as LOGIN.EXE, ATTACH.EXE or SYSCON.EXE--with the system.
But unlike the products from Syntax and NetCon, Puzzle Systems' SoftNet Utilities makes use of NetWare utilities to manage users and groups. Although accounts are not synchronized with Unix, SYSCON. EXE can create accounts from scratch. In addition, to create accounts, a supervisor can run SETPASS.EXE, using a Unix login name, which then creates a NetWare account. Most important, SoftNet Utilities is a server that can be added to an existing NDS structure. The SoftNet server cannot hold its own NDS tree, but it can be added as a resourc
e to other NDS trees.
Puzzle Systems has missed a few important details, however. Most glaringly, logins from Windows NT 4.0 do not function. The company says this will be fixed soon.
Puzzle Systems' earlier version of the software (version 2.2) did not support long file names, but we found that the latest version (version 4.0) does; SoftNet Utilities is the only one in this group to support long file names.
We worked on a SPARCstation 10, which could be considered a workgroup solution, and found that the Puzzle Systems product does not scale easily above that. Currently, it supports Ethernet interfaces, but only one at a time. With the next revision, Puzzle Systems says it will hook into the DLPI and be able to communicate with any standard SPARCstation network interface card.
Syntax TotalNET Advanced Server 4.1.1
 Syntax offers every imaginable type of file service for Unix. If you want NetWare, SMB and App
leShare services, Syntax's product is your solution. In addition, Syntax's TotalNET Advanced Server (TAS) is the only product tested that will authenticate through to the Unix password file or pass through to another NetWare server or NT Domain.
TAS installed and configured significantly easier than both Puzzle Systems' SoftNet Utilities and NetCon via its easy-to-use Web browser interface. With a simple pkgadd, the standard software installation mechanism for Solaris, we had the necessary executables installed and the configuration Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) server running. Then, with an authenticated Web connection, we began enabling services, configuring network interfaces and monitoring connections.
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