A good read for NetWare 6.5 users

Books about NetWare have been hard to come by for a number of years now. While there’s always at least one “CNE Guide” for each version of the network operating system, getting a good reference – the kind you use to look up stuff, rather than one you read through before taking a test – has been difficult. But finally, there’s a guide for NetWare 6.5.

Novell’s Jeffrey Harris has penned the “NetWare 6.5 Administrator’s Handbook” for Novell Press and it’s one that should be on your desk.

Harris was the co-author of the “NetWare 6 Administrator’s Handbook” (with Kelly Lindberg), which has drawn lots of praise – e.g., one reader posted in a review on Amazon.com that includes this paragraph:

“I was a novice, never used NetWare before, but now I manage a network with four servers and over 500 computers, and use this book daily for a reference to comply with Novell’s recommendations. You can’t go wrong with this book! By far the best out there!”

Pretty good praise, I’d say.

The 6.5 book repeats some of the previous edition’s information (but much of NetWare 6.5 is identical to 6.0) while including excellent coverage of the new and changed parts of 6.5. The book runs to almost 800 pages, but the small format (6×8) makes it easy to hold and search through. The index is comprehensive making searches a snap, while the appendices include detailed information in very specific areas (logon scripts, console SET commands, sources of tech support, and a couple of others).

The book is almost unique in the way it deliberately leaves out some things. For example, in chapter 8 (“File Storage and Management”), Harris says, “You will note that this chapter doesn’t include a discussion of traditional NetWare volumes. This topic has been discussed for 20 years, and there isn’t a lot left to say.” He then points the reader to the appendix covering “Where to Go for More Information” if anyone needs to learn more about the traditional file system.

I encourage you to check the Table of Contents online (https://vig.pearsoned.com/store/product/1,3498,store-8601_isbn-0789729849_type-TOC_editmode-1,00.html) where you’ll see the extensive coverage given to the new features of NetWare 6.5.

The only sad note is that it took a Novell employee writing for Novell Press to produce this book. Even 10 years ago there was a lively competition among publishers to be the first one out with the complete reference for the latest version of NetWare. While changes in the publishing industry account for some of the drop in number of titles it’s more likely that the buying public is skipping past NetWare books and spending their cash on Linux, Unix or Windows tomes. Help stem that tide. Pick up a copy of this book the next time you are in the bookstore.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to an editing error the name of the Novell product that was discussed in Tuesday’s newsletter was incorrect. The correct name of that product is Novell Nterprise Branch Office. We apologize for any confusion.