Novell Introduces Cross-Platform Support for Branch Offices

Novell today announced the open beta availability of Novell® Nterprise Branch Office™ 2, a soft appliance that lets organizations provide complete network services to their branch offices securely and inexpensively, without IT staff on site. Nterprise Branch Office 2 will ship later this year and features cross-platform support in the central-office data center, so organizations running Linux, Windows or Novell NetWare® in the data center can deliver quality network services to their branch offices at a lower cost.

"Whatever direction a customer may be headed in the data center in terms of server platform, Nterprise Branch Office will easily integrate and begin providing network services immediately. It's another step toward achieving Novell's cross-platform vision of one Net," said Alan Nugent, Novell chief technology officer. "Branch offices are expensive to support, and that can lead to decisions that reduce services for branch office network users and maybe even put data in jeopardy. Nterprise Branch Office lets enterprises consolidate servers, storage and applications, while still providing branch office users with the same experience as central office users, along with backup, security and the other network services users need and have come to expect."

The Novell Nterprise Branch Office soft appliance - designed to give customers flexibility to use their choice of new or existing compatible hardware - plugs directly into the existing network and gives branch office users instant access to file storage and printing resources, even automatically replicating data to data center servers for centralized backup. Nterprise Branch Office operates securely across the high-speed Internet, eliminating the need for costly and slow wide area network (WAN) links and virtual private network (VPN) connections. It is unlike other multifunction server appliances because it maintains a separate, cached directory of local users so the entire corporate directory doesn't need to span the network, saving additional bandwidth and management costs.

John Curtis, director of Information Technology for Mariner Health Care, one of the largest providers of long-term health care services in the United States, said, "Nterprise Branch Office does everything we need it to do. The key thing is that it ties into our corporate directory, which helps us maintain centralized administration and security access. We needed to provide the same quality network services to approximately 300 facilities without the overhead of maintaining a server at each location, in addition to needing cost-effective disaster recovery. With Nterprise Branch Office, we back up centrally and can restore a system within 24 hours from our corporate office."

Nterprise Branch Office is part of Novell Nterprise™, a set of offerings that improve communication, simplify and automate network management, and allow workers to be productive regardless of location, device or platform. Novell Nterprise Branch Office 2 begins open beta testing in early October. Pricing and general availability will be announced at a later date. For more information about Nterprise Branch Office or to obtain the beta software, visit http://www.novell.com/products/branchoffice.