Now running on NetWare 5, Novell’s Small Business Suite continues to supply all of the software needed to establish an entry level server, as Terence Green reports

The name has changed once again now that it's based on NetWare 5 but Novell's small business starter network package continues to make server-based networking look easy. Aimed at small businesses with up to 50 users, Novell Small Business Suite 5 includes just about everything the average small business needs for a server-based starter network except the hardware. Novell recommends a 200MHz Pentium with 64MB RAM and 2GB hard disk which means just about any £500 PC sold today will do. Best to get a decent name brand machine for a server though.

THE SOFTWARE
The suite includes a NetWare 5 server, Internet connectivity, e-mail and scheduling, remote access services, and several third-party server applications and tools. The Novell products packaged with Small Business Suite
5 - NetWare 5, GroupWise 5.5, BorderManager Enterprise Edition 3, NetWare Connect, and ZENworks Starter Pack 1.1, - are the latest versions of the software that has been packaged with NetWare for Small Business 4.11.

Novell also throws in a bunch of third-party software - Oracle 8, Tobit FaxWare 5.2, the Netscape Enterprise Server for NetWare, Netscape Communicator, NetObjects Fusion, NAI NetShield and VirusScan, Greenwich Mean Time Year 2000 Check, and Ragula FatPipe Internet. This last item is a curiosity designed to speed downloads by aggregating modem connections. A two-modem version is supplied with Small Business Suite 5. Some of the extra software is restricted, but only in licence terms. Oracle 8 comes with a five-user licence which can be uprated to cover additional users. NAI virus protection is only licenced for six months after which an additional subscription has to be paid for ongoing virus signature updates. The NetObjects Fusion web site designer is only provided with a single user licence, presumably for the lucky user given the job of web master.

INSTALLATION
Taken as a whole Small Business Suite 5 is well designed and very well integrated. The initial installation routine only installs the NetWare 5 server and, optionally, GroupWise and Internet Connectivity. But the other packages are easily installed from their CDs. This enables the administrator to get the network up and running with basic services - e-mail, Internet access, remote access, software management - before going on to add some or all of the additional services such as the Oracle database, Tobit fax server, and NAI network virus protection.

Small Business Suite 5 effectively takes the best of Small Business 4.11 and makes it better, not only due to the native IP in NetWare 5 and a software bundle that is bang up to date in terms of adherence to the Internet standards, but also because Novell can now offer a first-class entry level server and an almost seamless upgrade path to an enterprise-class network based on NetWare 5. This wasn't always the case with Small Business for 4.11 where the bundled Novell software lagged behind the latest released versions.

Upgrading from Small Business Suite 5 to the full NetWare server product involves little more than upgrading the licence and upgrading NetWare Directory Services because the NDS version shipped with Small Business Suite has NDS partitioning switched off. Although easy to upgrade to full-version NDS, the version shipped with Small Business Suite 5 places a practical restriction on the size of the network in terms of administration.

A NEAT IDEA
On the plus side it enables Novell to supply a simplified Novell Easy Administration Tool (NEAT) which makes network administration a doddle. NEAT is not markedly different from the tools used on NetWare 5 proper, it's just a subset of the full NetWare 5 administration interface, so
everything the small business administrator learns on Small Business Suite 5 can be carried over to NetWare 5 proper.
Small Business Suite licences are per-user. Additional licences are sold in one, five, and twenty-five user increments enabling a small business to pay only for the licences they need. The net effect is a relatively painless upgrade path when the time comes to move up to NetWare 5.

ADMINISTRATION
Small Business Suite 5 scores highly for ease of administration. It's also hard to beat for the ease with which it can be installed. An Express installation path designed for a brand new server with an empty hard disk can be completed in under an hour at which point the entire network including client software can be ready to do useful work, participating in group scheduling, sending e-mail via the Internet, and sharing files and printers.

Express installation creates and formats a DOS partition, creates a NetWare partition on the remainder of the disk, and installs NetWare 5. A separate Custom path is provided for users who need to select and define partitions or special hardware manually. On the Express path the user need only insert the server CD and boot diskette, reboot to the welcome screen, select language and 'Express', enter an organisation name and time zone, and then wait while the NetWare 5 server is installed.

With the server running, client software needs to be installed on the Windows PC which will be used by the administrator. When the administrator logs in a new Quick Setup Tasks wizard prompts for users, groups, and network printers to be defined. The last two tasks on the Quick Setup menu initiate GroupWise setup and the Novell Internet Connection Expert (NICE) which sets up Internet connections to a dial-up Internet Service. It really could not be easier. All that remains to be done is to install the client software on each user's PC. When they log in for the first time they need to run Setup GroupWise in order to connect to the post office to send mail and use group scheduling.

The administrator can also choose to install any of the third-party server or user applications provided by Novell at any time from the Partner CDs. Any other application can be also be supplied to client PCs via ZENworks with the Novell Software Distributor from the Tasks menu of NEAT. The Software Distributor prompts you to copy the application to the NetWare server and to provide a list of users or groups who may access the application and run it's setup program. The next time those users log in an icon on their desktop points to the application.

CONCLUSION
The nicest aspect of this, whether you're installing Small Business Suite 5 for customers or for your own use, is that it just works. It installs easily, is easy to administer, and when the time comes to move up to NetWare 5, is easy to upgrade. The administrative skills simply transfer straight over. There's a bit more to learn but it's the same user interface and the same administrator's workstation, so there’s no need for retraining. Novell Small Business Suite 5 builds on the tried and tested NetWare for Small Business platform, bringing it right up to date with NetWare 5 and doing an excellent job of providing an entry level server which is flexible enough to accommodate business growth without requiring any major upheavals.