                                Chip's World
                        Chip Cox (chip@classic.com)

        I am upgrading my servers at work from Netware 3.x to Netware 4.1.
For those of you who don't follow Netware, Netware 4.1 is the latest version
of Novell's network operating system.  This is the operating system which
provides true Enterprise wide support for your network.  Users, printers and
directories have become objects which can be changed, captured and mapped
without having to substantially alter login scripts.  Objects are just one
of the strong features of Netware 4.x.  Netware Directory Services (NDS)
allows us to connect to the enterprise network or TREE as Novell refers to
it and then all objects I have rights to under the tree are available to me.
I don't have to put in my password 5 times anymore.  You would think with
all of the thought put into the global feel of this product that Novell
would have taken a better look at their licensing policies.
        Novell currently licenses 4.x on a per connection basis.  This says
that if I buy a 100 user version of Netware, only 100 people can be logged
into that server at a time. Even if I have multiple servers and need to be
logged into several of them at a time I am still limited to the license
count on each server.  Novell's licensing structure still does not allow me
to move unused licenses between servers.  Under 3.x this made sense or at
least it wasn't as much of an issue due to the server specific nature of the
operating system.  Under 4.x the directory tree is what is attached to and
the resources of each server are combined as resources of the tree.
Licensing should be cumulative.  Two 250 user licenses on separate servers
should result in a 500 user license for the tree and all resources of the
tree.
        In defense of Novell, they did take a step to try to address this
issue in November.  Unfortunately it either isn't enough of is not quite in
the right direction. Novell through their Additive License program allows me
to purchase a 100 user version and a 50 user version to increase the user
count for the same server and save some money. While this does allow me to
right-size my netware purchases for each server it doesn't address their
failure to consider the unused licenses in the enterprise environment
provided us by Netware 4.x.
        In closing let me say that Novell is one of the most stable products
on the market.  While I don't always agree with their policies I do not
envision or support a move away from their environment.  I am merely stating
issues which I believe need to be addressed by the industry leader in
networking.
