Microsoft is making amends. The company is setting out to make Windows95 the universal client. A PC running Windows95 can be a client to an NT server, as you would certainly expect. No more Microsoft-Novell hissy fits about driver support or the lack thereof, as was true of Windows 3.x. Also out of the box, a Windo ws95 machine can be a client to another Windows95 PC on the network.
Heterogeneity is the game plan.
Network managers fear the loss of control and the breakdown of security that is associated with peer networking, and for good reason. Protecting data in the distributed enterprise is quite difficult. Assuring that data is current, backed up and secure when that data is in one location is one task. Introduce the element of distance and the magnitude of the task increases many times. Microsoft thinks it has the answer in Windows95's system policies, which dictate what resources can be shared in an all-Microsoft network.