From: jack@solucor.uucp (Jacques Gelinas)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: Need opinions: PC UNIX <-> Novell
Date: 29 Jul 92 05:12:05 GMT
Organization: solucorp

spnp@hippo.ru.ac.za (Mr NL Parker) writes:

>In <BrvF40.1pF@well.sf.ca.us> rdodson@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Dodson) writes:



>>Hi,

>>	We have a Novell network with ~20 PCs on it. We will
>>be getting several PCs running some kind of PC UNIX.
>>What are peoples opinions and experiences with connecting
>>the two?

>>	- Use the Novell server to export a drive via NFS to UNIX PCs?

>>	- Use a seperate UNIX network and use a gateway to connect?

>>	- Lose the Novel server and use a UNIX box to serve PCs and UNIX?


We are using such a setup. We have several SUN Sparc and 3 486/33 novell
server with few GIG of disk. Here are some pros and cons about it.

-NFS software for DOS PCs are still expensive, and take much room in memory.
 NFS is more complicate (protocol) to handle on the PC side. Program
 like biod are very difficult to implement on the DOS pc side.

-Novell is very (There is no word) expensive. Novell 3.x + NFS is
 very very very expensive.

-A 486/33 is quite fast as a server for IPX clients. Faster than a
 equivalent UNIX machine with NFS. This happens because of the very
 nature of NFS (stateless).

-Rebooting a UNIX NFS server during lunch hour may be done without
 telling everyone. It will generally goes unnotice (unless someone
 is using its machine). Doing so with a Novell server won't be free.
 Every users will have to login again. If they left open database, they
 will be sorry. If you intend to have several server, NFS may be a better
 choice.

-Novell NFS is a very slow NFS server. Unusable for transaction intensive
 activity from a UNIX client. We once install our news on it. When the
 Sun Sparc was unbatching, everything was going sloooooooooow. Several
 users were pretty sure the server was down.

 Assuming n:\bigdir and /novell/bigdir point to the same place,
 the following command will go very smooth:

	xcopy c:\bigdir\*.* n:\bigdir

 The following command will take forever

	cp /bigdir/* /novell/bigdir

-Few DOS PC programs are totally UNUSABLE on an NFS server, because they
 write several very small packet to the server. At least, every program
 written with BC++ 3.0 will kill your hard drive. I have a patch for this
 if interested. On some DOS (3.31), the following commands will take
 several (and more) seconds to complete if n:toto is on the NFS server.

	dir > n:toto

We just received NFS 3.2 from Novell. It solves some flaws about the ways
trusties are managed. I don't know yet if the performance is up.

Performance wise, it is best to have both. A novell server for DOS pc, and
a UNIX server for UNIX box. Having NFS on the Novell server is
a good idea to share file.

I prefer to avoid Novell, because unlike UNIX, nobody "lives" with novell.
It means that in your organisations, nobody will ever be fluent in Novell.
A unix server knows the same commands as a UNIX client. It means that
UNIX users have more chances to undertand the setup of a UNIX NFS server
than a DOS user have chance to understand NOVELL: DOS and NOVELL are two
separate world.

-- 

--------------------------------------------------------
Jacques Gelinas (jack@solucor.uucp)
Today it's my opinion
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386