By continuing to offer and improve upon an existing product line when a new product line is available, Novell enables its customers to choose the operating system that best suits their needs and to upgrade at a manageable pace. Like NetWare 3.2, NetWare 4.2 demonstrates Novell's commitment to customers who are not ready to upgrade to NetWare 5 immediately. However, we also realize that many Novell customers have valid business issues that prevent them from upgrading and implementing NetWare 5 in their environment today. Generally, companies upgrade their network infrastructure every two to five years and want to be able to manage the rate of change in their environment. For example, many customers want to preserve their existing network investments in hardware, software, and training and cannot afford to upgrade their networks every time a new solution is made available.
Some companies prefer to upgrade their network in phases.
To help companies evaluate NetWare 5, however, a three-user version of NetWare 5 is included in the NetWare 4.2 box. In other words, Novell is well aware that you all have different needs. The release of NetWare 4.2 illustrates Novell's commitment to meeting those needs. NetWare 4.2 also lowers the total cost of owning a network. Although these updates are free of charge and the service is valuable, it's probably safe to assume that few of you regularly check, install, and apply the updates posted on this web site.