The file systems in Netware 3.x and 4.x are essentially the same. OS has changed to some degree. X.500 is a developing standard and NDS will maintain consistency and then compatibility when X.500 is finished.
Time is synched through the Internet.
Reference time server is same as Primary with a weighted vote. Secondaries are told by the Primaries what the correct time is. Reference and Primaries are distributed around the Medical Center. All changes to the NDS are tied to time synchronization. Partitions are logical divisions of the Directory database that can be replicated.