Novell Releases OES Public Beta

Novell’s promise of a blended Linux and Netware networking environment became reality with the recent launch of the public beta of Open Enterprise Server (OES). The public beta was release about a month later than originally scheduled.

The software, which features the NetWare 6.5 and SuSE Linux 2.6 kernels and associated services, is a suite of advanced networking services that allows administrators to migrate or incorporate both operating systems into a network under one common management interface, called Novell iManager.

Tools specific to the new OES and its SuSE/Netware integration include, common information management (CIM), migration utilities and mapped drive support. OES also ships with migration toolkits for upgrades from earlier
versions of NetWare, Windows NT or other versions of Linux, to either the NetWare or SuSE operating systems.

Officials are also promoting the following improvements to this latest version of OES:

• Clustering capabilities for either Netware or Linux
• Shared Novell iFolder between Windows and Linux client machines
• Improved virtual office management
• An iPrint client on the Linux desktop
• Standards-based package management for NetWare

Earlier this year the Waltham, Mass.-based software company announced it was moving up the timetable for its latest OES update by 10 months.

Developers have been working to integrate the best of the two software offerings since Novell acquired the Germany-based company last year for $210 million. Novell executives, once staunch proponents for proprietary software, last year started making noise about incorporating Linux features into their product line.

In August, 2003, the company bought up another enterprise Linux developer, Ximian.