HELP?! Windows Networking vs. Novell Netware

[bengel]

I currently have Novell Networking (netware) at my company and I get a lot of little problems that pop up. I have been told time and time again that I should switch over to Windows 2000 networking. Does anyone have any good advice on a possibility of switching to windows networking? I only have 12 workstations on my network that share a DSL line for internet access.

 

[GlenJohnson]

We're in the process. We had 2 novell servers, an nt server and two w2k server. We've got all the files off of one novell server over to the brand new w2k server. We upgraded the nt box to w2k and used it and the new server to create our domain. There used for wins, dns, file and print sharing, etc. I don't know about novell, but I set all my printers up with tcp/ip and it was so easy it's not funny. There are security issues with w2k, but if you keep up with the patches, (And Microsoft has plenty. They've been catching hell for putting software out there with holes so now there claiming there going to test until there are no holes before released.) I'm convinced MS is the way to go. There are so many things that are compatible for things like mail, (Ipswitch, good program, inexpensive). W2K is the way to go. Only thing to look out for is if you have any old dos programs, make sure they run in w2k. By the way, implement AD if you do upgrade. We're running Trend office scan for anti-virus. When you go to Trend profile manager, it adds a batch file to a user. When they log on, the anti-virus automatically un-installs any older anti-virus, and loads itself. The version on the server checks Trends web site at midnight each night, and if there are any new updates itself. Then when the user logs on the next morning, they have the newest version. Good stuff. Glen A. Johnson
Microsoft Certified Professional
gjohn76351@msn.com

"The definition of the individual was: a multitude of one million divided by one million."
Arthur Koestler (1905-83); Hungarian-born British author.

 

[bengel]

Thanks! It sounds a lot easier to maintain and manage than Novell.

 

[GlenJohnson]

Good Luck. Just watch the security issues and check your log files. Make sure you have IE6.0, Windows SP2, download HFNETCHK, (Free and can be found on any browser). This check for security issues and you can download patches to fix them. Glen A. Johnson
Microsoft Certified Professional
gjohn76351@msn.com

"The definition of the individual was: a multitude of one million divided by one million."
Arthur Koestler (1905-83); Hungarian-born British author.

 

[bengel]

Thank you! I think that I am going to get all of the patches and files that I need and then look into implementing win2k server.

 

[GlenJohnson]

You have to get them AFTER you have W2K servers. Glen A. Johnson
Microsoft Certified Professional
gjohn76351@msn.com

"The definition of the individual was: a multitude of one million divided by one million."
Arthur Koestler (1905-83); Hungarian-born British author.

 

[supermama]

Good decision, bengel, and good luck for you and your team when performing the migration!!
I moved from Novell 3.12 to NT4 on 1998 and I'm very happy now! At this moment we have a native W2K netware, 80 workstations, remote installation configured, and I can tell you that if you do things well (installation and configuration) you will have much more "boring time"...

The secret is 'simple' --> "good configuration" of your server and workstations!!! That's it!
GOOD LUCK!!

 

[bengel]

Sound like I am making the right decision here. Thank you.