Novell Adds Clustering Support to NetWare 5.1, Maximizes Network Uptime

 

• NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 supports NetWare 5, NetWare 5.1
• New features improve cluster management, scalability up to 32 nodes
• Simplifies data management through support of storage area networks

 

Novell, Inc., a leading supplier of Net services software, today announced the availability of NetWare® Cluster Services (NWCS) 1.01, adding clustering support for NetWare 5.1. Designed to maximize network uptime and simplify the management of data, NWCS 1.01 offers organizations using NetWare 5 or 5.1 significant new advantages including increased scalability, improved cluster management and dynamic cluster growth allowing businesses to provide their customers with highly available access to services like file, print, e-mail/collaboration and Web applications. NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 expands Novell's leading portfolio of Net services software products by dramatically enhancing the reliability of the services and applications needed to successfully conduct business in the new Net economy.

"When we first implemented NetWare Cluster Services, we were simply looking for a way to keep our network constantly up and running," said Brandon Heess, corporate network manager for Intuit, Inc. in San Diego, Calif. "NWCS has accomplished that objective extremely well, as we continue to implement it across our infrastructure, but its benefits go beyond network uptime. Now, instead of spending much of our time dealing with minor network outages and helpdesk calls, our IT staff can focus on more strategic projects to adapt and accelerate our growth into the forefront of technology."

Specific enhancements to NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 include the following:

• Support for NetWare 5.1 NWCS now supports networks built on NetWare 5 or NetWare 5.1.
• Increased scalability NWCS 1.01 can now scale out of the box from two to 32 Intel* Architecture network servers, or nodes, to create a cluster. Previously, NWCS supported two- to eight-node clusters out of the box and nine to 32 nodes through Novell® Consulting only. Support of up to 32 nodes makes NWCS the most scalable clustering software on Intel Architecture.
• Dynamic cluster growth NWCS 1.01 allows administrators to add additional nodes to a cluster dynamically, without bringing the cluster down or even adjusting the current cluster resource configurations.
• Cluster management Improved ConsoleOne snap-ins for NWCS 1.01 simplify administration by providing better performance, support for multiple management sessions and by allowing the cluster status to be saved to an HTML file for viewing through a Web browser.

"For organizations that truly want to make the transformation to e-business, downtime is not an option; they must be able to provide extremely reliable access to the services and applications that make business in the new Net economy possible," said Dave Shirk, senior vice president of product management at Novell. "NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 provides that reliability, and simplifies the management and control of networks whether NetWare 5 or 5.1 through its tight integration with NDS® eDirectory."

Simplifying Data Management

In addition to maximizing network uptime, NetWare Cluster Services also simplifies the management of data through the support of storage area networks (SANs). SANs, which allow a group of servers to share storage, are being deployed by today's enterprises as a way to cope with the exponential growth in data that must be stored indefinitely and the need for server consolidation. Once NetWare Cluster Services is deployed in conjunction with a SAN, the data within that SAN becomes more manageable in two ways: First, using NDS eDirectory and ConsoleOne, NWCS allows administrators to move data and applications from one server to another without interruption to clients. This easy migration lets administrators maintain and upgrade clustered servers without disrupting worker productivity. Second, NWCS mitigates the risks associated with server consolidation. Though server consolidation reduces management costs, it also puts more users on each individual server in a network posing an increased risk to company productivity if a server goes down. NWCS eliminates that risk by automatically transferring applications and data from one clustered server to another during planned and unplanned downtime.

Pricing and Availability

NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 is available today for $4,999 per cluster node plus additional user license fees (see http://www.novell.com/products/clusters/ncs/pricing.html). Licenses for NWCS 1.01 can be purchased through authorized Novell resellers, by contacting Novell directly at (888) 321-4272 or by going tohttp://shop.novell.com.

 

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL), is a leading provider of Net services software that delivers services to secure and power all types of networks the Internet, intranets, and extranets; wired to wireless; corporate and public across leading operating systems. Novell's Net services software provides the foundation for one Net a single global network that supports new applications and forms of business. Net Services software gives IT organizations a way to adapt and accelerate their transformation to e-business, simplify the management and control of all networks, create a secure foundation for doing business on the Net, and help deliver a consistent and high-quality experience to end users in all locations. Worldwide channel, consulting, education and technical support programs, along with strategic alliances, combine Novell Net services software with third-party products and services to form complete Net solutions.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272), or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com. Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom. In addition, detailed comparisons between Novell products and competitive offerings from other vendors are available on the Web at http://www.novell.com/advantage.

Novell, NetWare and NDS are registered trademarks, and ConsoleOne, eDirectory and NetWare Cluster Services are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.