Migration Documentation

[Nicholas Brealey]

Schlomo Schapiro wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> you could mount the netware server under linux and read out the trustees
> (with nwtrustee2 from ncpfs) and set them on the linux box.
> 
> But why would you want to make such a switch ? Netware is much better as
> fileserver and has a much better Windows integration and also a Linux
> client now.
> 
> Schlomo
> 

Hello

This is probably off-topic but I am intrested in discussing Samba vs
Netware.

I don't really know what Netware is capable of. I have a Netware server
which
was setup (not by me) for Windows 95/98 clients and we have added
Windows 
NT/2000 clients. We also have a Sun server running Samba 2.2 as a PDC
and 
an number of workstations running Solaris, IRIX and Linux.

This is the list of things I don't like about Netware in my set up. They
really
all relate to Windows NT/2000 and are perhaps to do with out setup. I
would
love to be corrected if I am wrong (which I probably am).

1) Logging in is complicated and anoying. I have the Netware client
installed. 
The user is presented with a window where they type their user name and
password.
This window has a check box for 'workstation only' which is misnamed -
it actually
means 'don't login to Netware'. There is also an Advanced button and a
Windows NT/2000
tab where the user can set their Microsoft user name and choose to login
in to the
Microsoft domain or the local workstation. A very annoying feature of
this dialogue
is that the Microsoft user name does not default to the Netware user
name. If more than
one user uses a machine at least one of them has to type in their
username twice
even if their Netware and Microsoft user names are the same. If the
Microsoft and Netware
usernames and password are the same and the Micrsoft user name has been
left at the
correct name after the last use, then things go smoothly, if this is not
the case a
second login dialogue is displayed for Microsoft Networking.

2) Installing the Netware client correctly is extra work. If you use
Microsoft
Networking you need to install the Netware client with IP only and make
sure
that Microsoft Networking is higher priority than Netware. If you don't
do a custom
install of the client then you get slow performance, see 
http://www.ithowto.com/novell/clientspeed.htm for details.

3) Users can only share directories on their drives using CIFS so
they have to have Microsoft Networking installed - having Netware as
well just
makes life more complicated.

4) Users can change ACLs on files on Samba shares in (almost) the same
way as 
they change ACLs on files on local disks. I don't know how to restrict
permissions 
on single file on a Netware share. The only time I tried it I restricted
access
to all files. The help button on my NT workstation gave no helpful
information.

5) Windows NT/2000 roaming profiles don't work with Netware (or perhaps
we don't
have them enabled).

6) It seems that you need a Windows NT/2000 server to act as a gateway
to integrate
Netware well with Windows NT/2000 clients. If you have a Windows NT/2000
server
why bother with Netware server?

7) I have to have Windows NT/2000 and Unix either for the applications
our users run
on them or to develop software for customers to run. Why do I a want
another OS,
Netware, when the ones I have to have can do everything I need.


Regards

Nick