PROVO, UTAH - With a 64-bit version of NetWare called Modesto, users can expect to get the performance they need to run networked applications that were previously reserved for high-end Unix boxes.
Sources say Modesto - which will be announced in the next couple of weeks - will run on yet-to-be-released 64-bit chips from Intel. Modesto will be built from the ground up as a modular operating system, which means applications will be able to tap directly into the operating system services they need instead of running on top of a general services layer. This direct access will reduce system overhead and increase performance. Modesto will also have a Java Virtual Machine, which is expected to boost the performance of server-side Java applications, sources say.
Novell will support backward-compatibility for all applications and network services, such as Novell Directory Services and Novell Storage Services, written for NetWare 5.
Users say Novell's effort to spread the word about Modesto early in the software's development is key.
The IT staff at the Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. is anxious to get the performance enhancements to run more labor-intensive interactive applications, such as online classroom instruction.
Senior Network Engineer Larry Bradley says the business school would also look to Modesto to improve the performance of Oracle applications. "We want to use Oracle because of the management ties it has to NDS," Bradley says. However, the staff needs to get better application performance than it gets now with NetWare 4.X and 5.0.
But Tom Ferris, a network consultant with a large international financial institution, also in Washington, can't pinpoint any applications he would want to run on Modesto.
"In any case, I'm still interested in Novell's plans to deliver a 64-bit version of NetWare because it will be an indication of how well they're keeping up with the rest of the industry," Ferris says.
Novell first broached the idea of a 64-bit version of NetWare last year at the company's annual Brainshare users group conference. Novell has been relatively silent about the effort since then, other than to say Modesto will ship when Intel makes its Merced chips available. The Merced target release date has been delayed several times and now stands at mid-2000.
Company officials declined to comment on whether Modesto will take center stage at this year's Brainshare in two weeks. They would only confirm there would be a related announcement early next month.o
RELATED LINKS
Modesto white paper
From Novell; explains its 64-bit strategy.
Intel's IA-64 page
Overview of the chip on which Modesto is based.
NOS Net Resources
Links to information on NetWare and other NOSes.
NT vs. NetWare
Discuss NetWare, Modesto and, yes, even NT in our online forum.
