With the release of NetWare 5, Novell has fired the first shot in the latest round of the NOS wars. But it will take much more than beating Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 Server (the OS formerly known as NT 5.0) to the shelf to keep Novell in the battle. We have been evaluating NetWare 5 since its early Moab days and, with the final release out the door, we're ready to present the results of tests performed in Network Computing's Real-World Labs® at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

To view the Report card.
Overall, we're pleased with NetWare 5. Its compelling new features--including the NetWare Storage System (NSS), which mounts volumes in a fraction of the time it previously took to complete the task, and support for an all IP-based environment--have helped it hit the ground running. Also included in the NetWare 5 bundle is Netscape Communications Corp.'s FastTrack Server for NetWare, as well as a five-user version of Oracle for NetWare. Both are useful additions. However, we are disappointed to see that Novell has dropped AFP (AppleTalk File Protocol) support for Apple Computer Macintosh clients.

Getting Started New to NetWare 5 is an updated install process that uses a bootable CD-ROM--no more searching for DOS CD-ROM drivers or placing a server on the network to access install files--as well as an enhanced look and feel.

While it still boots up the core NetWare OS and displays a few character-based screens with prompts for basic information, the server quickly moves to a Java-based GUI. The majority of the configuration--including creation of disk partitions, volumes, protocols and components to install--is accomplished in this environment. No doubt this simplified process will send shivers down the spines of some die-hard administrators.

New Plumbing GUI enhancements aside, much of what makes NetWare 5 different is a reworking of some of its internals. The NetWare OS's new kernel supports both single-processor and multiprocessor machines. Other new features include support for virtual memory, improved memory protection, pre-emptive multitasking support and native communication ability over IPX or IP, without encapsulation.

In our tests, we ran NetWare 5 on single-, dual- and quad-processor systems, and did not have any problems getting NetWare to recognize and use the additional processors. We also successfully loaded most of our NLMs into a protected memory space. However, some NLMs, such as Novell's PING.NLM, can not load into this space. In addition, a number of APIs still must run in Ring 0 on the server, and NLMs that use these APIs cannot be loaded into a protected memory space.

NLMs that run under NetWare 4 can take full advantage of some of these new features without modification. Specifically, they can use virtual memory support and run in the protected space. However, to leverage pre-emptive multitasking or SMP (symmetric multiprocessing), some NLMs must be updated.