Networking / Beginners

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Novell client software

Novell produces a full range of client software for Windows platforms. The client software is supplied when you buy a copy of NetWare, or it can be downloaded free of charge from the Novell download Web site, at http://download.novell.com. There are different versions of the client for Windows 95/98/Me, NT/2000, and XP.

Installing the Novell client software is much like installing any other application. After the client software is installed, the system normally needs to be rebooted. When the system boots back up again, the Novell client appears automatically. On systems that require local login, such as Windows NT Workstation and Windows 2000 Professional, the Novell client replaces the Microsoft authentication dialog box but still offers the capability to log on to the local system.

To connect to a Novell network, certain criteria need to be supplied to the client software, including the following:

• Username-This is the name of the user ID that is being used to authenticate.
• Password-The password is not case-sensitive.
• Tree-This is the name of the Novell Directory Services (NDS) tree to which you want to connect.
• Context-This is the name of the NDS container in which the user object you are trying to log in as resides. This parameter is optional, but if it is not supplied, the username must be typed in, along with the full path to the user's container.
• Server-This field is optional. Specifying a server causes the client to connect to a specific server. If none is specified, the nearest server that is able to authenticate the user into NDS is used.

Note To log on to NDS, you must specify at least a username, a context, and a tree name. It is possible to combine the username and context into a single entry, although it is not common to do so.

For the Tree, Context, and Server fields, navigation boxes to the right of each field allow you to browse the network for suitable resources.

When the Novell Login dialog box first opens on a system, it is displayed in a simplified format, with just the Username and Password fields. You must click the Advanced button to display the screen.

If you prefer not to use the Novell software, you can use the client Microsoft supplies that can be used with NetWare networks. Like any other network service, this client is added through the Network applet in the Control Panel or through the properties of a network connection in Windows 2000. The basic functionality of the Novell-supplied client and the Microsoft-supplied client is the same, but in terms of advanced features, the Novell Client exceeds the Microsoft offering, by providing support for features such as ZENWorks, Novell's client system management software, and Novell Distributed Printing Services (NDPS).