Networking is still a hot topic and will remain so for at least as many years as DOS is still alive in whatever incarnation. Unfortunately, networking is a somewhat technical topic even for seasoned computer savvy readers. As with any technical topic presented to a general if professional readership, a discussion of Novell, perhaps the premier Local Area Network (LAN), requires a balance of extremely technical information and practical advice.
I consider myself a practical type so I enlisted the aid of Jean Barrett of Montclair State as my technical conscience. Jean knows the technical aspects of Novell inside out. In fact, the idea for this article began as a short discussion during a meeting about computer viruses, which had attacked my mini-lab, and evolved into an electronic mail dialogue about the virtues of Novell. Our discussions were more in the form of question and answer sessions. I took the role of the inquisitor and Jean answered patiently. I asked Jean's help because she runs the Novell LAN's at Montclair State. She is a super system administrator who is responsible for the hardware and software in many laboratories. Jean's formal title is Academic Computing Assistant, but her Novell duties are defined and redefined everyday. He primary duties are installing and configuring software on the file servers and workstations, upgrading software as necessary, installing cards and cables, installing and configuring network peripherals, performing backups, and generally troubleshooting as the need arises.
You may be wondering how Jean is related to the practice of law. She isn't. Her experience is valuable because she maintains a system which is at least six times bigger than most single LAN offices. But Novell is Novell is Novell and only the difference between a legal program and a general business program separtes form and function when comparing systems. What works for Montclair State will work, albeit in smaller scale, for a small to medium size law firm. But why do we need LAN's anyway. In the days of the $10,000.00 fileserver, the advantages of a LAN were a cheaper way to share an expensive piece of software as well as a faster way to transfer information. As computer prices plummeted the cost differential between giving every worker an individual computer and sharing applications programs narrowed. Today, the price of a respectable 80486 file server with eight megabytes of RAM, and a several hundred megabyte hard drive approaches approaching $4,000.00.
The advantage of sharing information quickly remains, and in a larger more complex office of ten or more legal professionals may be a necessity. First a few explanatory notes are in order. As most readers know, a LAN is an electronic system of interconnected computers or computers and workstations which share data and applications programs. LAN's have a variety of topologies, that is, they are arranged in a variety of different ways.
The core of most LAN's is the fileserver which contains important files but most importantly contains the main programs which are used in the work environment. Workstations are attached to the fileserver. Workstations, simply stated, are the network access points for users. Workstations are often personal computers which enable users to access applications and data on the file server. Workstations run applications and process data using their own operating systems. Workstations also run the NetWare shell, something like a high level interpreter between workstation and file server requests and the file server's operating system. NetWare shell determines if requests made at the workstation should be handled by the work stations's operating system or by NetWare, and routes them accordingly. In a law office environment, each computer user has a workstation. Invoking a program from a workstation using the drive designated as the network drive intitates action on the fileserver.
Modern network workstations have evolved beyond simple single floppy drive units to real computers with their own hard drives. Many have an A: and a C: drive. Generally, from a workstation, a user invokes the fileserver by changing to F: drive. Often for security reasons, data is stored on an A: drive or a C: drive on the workstation so that dangerour read/write functions cannot corrupt fileserver data.
Novell is a product name for a LAN system utilizing a set of electronic standards prescribed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Novell is something like a software shell which uses a hardware system known as the ethernet standard. The technology is somewhat complex but can be generally described simply. Novell using its network operating system called NetWare in conjunction with an ethernet hardware system sends data in a specific data stream over a cable between workstations and file servers. Often more than one workstation sends at a time producing collisions. After a respectful but random period of waiting another set of signals are sent which, hopefully, will not collide. Ethernet employs a Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) access method to arbitrate uses of the wire's bandwidth. Each station listens for transmissions for other stations and senses collisions that occur during simultaneous transmission. When a collision occurs, each workstation waits a randomly selected time period (usually several microseconds) and retransmits. The details are not as important as knowing that collisions are generally not a problem and are corrected without operator intervention if they occur.
In the labs at Montclair State, contention for bandwidth, communication access on the network, is not a significant problem, since there is minimal transmission between the workstations and the file server. The process of transmitting, colliding, and retransmitting takes place so quickly that the delay is seldom noticeable. Frequent transmission, common in input/output intensive applications, can slow down an ethernet, but repeaters and bridges serve to segment the network and minimize this problem. So, in a law office of over twenty attorneys with significant fileserver access, some degradation is speed may be noticeable.
The reason this article targets Montclair State's LAN's is because that system can serve as an example of a complex set of interlocked LAN's which work well. The system could as easily be a set of LAN's in a multi-division law firm, all of which communicate with each other. Six of the LAN's at Montclair State are connected to the campus Ethernet backbone, so any workstation on one of these LAN's can access the other file servers. Workstations that are not connected to the LAN could access file servers using remote access software.
This process requires a modem on the remote workstation, a modem on the network (either as a separate node or connected to a workstation, ) and software to effect the communication. The latter method is not being used at Montclair State. If a complex educational system with moderate to heavy use can be maintained with relative ease, a small law office system should present no problem.
Some excruciatingly detailed pieces of information about Novell are necessary. Bear with this section because the basic information will make the Novell system easier to understand. In my teaching lab at Montclair State, the file server stores network applications and data, and runs the network operating system (NetWare). NetWare enables the file server to regulate communication among workstations, and to manage any shared resources. NetWare does not communicate directly with the workstation's operating system.
Novell has several special files which load when the sytem is booted. Among these special files are those which are loaded by a workstation in order to get access to the network. On bootup, the packet driver loads. The packet driver software initiates the network interface card (NIC) and identifies it with an ethernet address for IPX. IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) is a Novell communication protocol which creates, maintains, and terminates connections between network devices. IPX addresses and routes outgoing data packets across a network. For returning data, IPX reads the assigned address and directs the data to the proper area within a workstation's or a file server's operating system. IPX works along with the SPX (IPX using the Xerox Sequenced Packet Protocol). SPX tracks the transmission of data packets and verifies successful delivery. The portion of the shell that lies between the application layer and DOS is called NetX. NetX intercepts all application request and determines if they are to be handled by he work station or file server.
For file server requests, NetX converts the data packets into NetWare Core Protocol and passes them to IPX. IPX then used the packet driver to control the station's network board for data delivery. The network shell determines if requests are for the fileserver or the workstation. File server requests are handled by the file server and routed back to the workstation. Requests are directed by ethernet address and controlled by the IPX/SPX protocol. The fileserver and each workstation contain a network interface (NIC). NICs handle message routing, operation system interface, address locating, and network level functions. The packet driver software links the NIC to the IPX program.
But what about maintenance? Jean thinks that maintenance is not overwhelming but is a function of the size of the network, the number of peripheral devices, the applications on the file server and the environment in which they are used. In a law firm environment, networks are frequently used to run database applications and data files are shared, so maintenance concerns include: data integrity, backups access rights etc.
Law firms often use networks to share peripheral devices such as faxes, modems, and CD-ROMs. Just as in a law office, security is important at Montclair State. Each user can be given a password which has specific limited access to subdirectories or disks on a fileserver. At Montclair, students use a generic account that does not require a password. However, the student account has restricted access to resources. Students are not allowed to write to directories which contain application software. Novell has security lockout. Security features, such as level of security, and optimal configuration of a network is dependent upon the application being used. NetWare provides extensive security for administrators by allowing them to control: who can use the network, what resources users can access, what users can do with those resources (e.g., read, write, delete), who can perform tasks on the file server console.
In a law firm setting, network security would likely entail establishing individual accounts and groups. Access rights would be assigned to groups according to need. Further security might include: requiring password change at specified intervals, requiring unique passwords (no duplication), and limiting access by station or time. I teach in a laboratory called the 309 lab. The lab has twenty IBM PS/2's in a bus topology connected to an IBM PS/2 model 70 fileserver with a 120 MB drive and 4 MB of RAM. The software is Novell SFT NetWare 286 TTS v2.15 Rev. C.
Bus topology means that the fileserver (the main computer which holds special network accessible programs) is in the a series on a single cable with the fileserver. The cable can carry only one message at a time. Each workstation on the network must be capable of knowing when it can and cannot use the shared media. Each workstations has a 3.5 inch 1.44 megabyte floppy and a twenty megabyte hard drive.
The lab has a special legal studies menu which I maintain which accesses about fifteen state of the art legal programs and a batch of general applications such as Wordperfect 5.1, Lotus 123, and Dbase III+. Most problems are caused by software that either creates or writes to a file during its execution. Since we prohibit students from writing to the file server, such files must be redirected to a local drive. Electronic mail is another worthy feature of Novell of interest to the law office user. With NetWare version up to and including 2.1, Novell included a singer server-based E-Mail facility. NetWare version 2.1 and above include the message agent for any E-Mail facility. NetWare version 2.1 and above include a Message Handling Service (MHS) facility. MHS is the message agent for any E-mail application that uses its functions.
There are third-party E-mail packages, including DaVinci Mail, The Coordinator, and cc:Mail that support MHS. We don't use any of these packages at Montclair State, so Jean could not comment on their reliability. The cost of a Novell network is high but not daunting. A ten station Novell network with a ten user license for the software for version 2.2 is $1,995; a ten user license for 3.11 is $2,495. Add hardware at about $1100.00 for each 80286 workstations and about $4000.00 for a 80486 fileserver. The cost tickles $10,000.00.
Remember that special network software is necessary and such packages cost a bit more than ordinary stand alone packages. I should mention that the office into which I recently moved my law practice has a Novell network running Wordperfect and Tabs, a timebilling program. Five attorneys are on the network and of course, any of us who desire access can connect. Since most of the attorneys in my firm have separate practices, the need to share information is not a high priority.
The ability to share expensive network software is important. Programs such as Shepard McGraw-Hill's Case Management System costs about $5,000.00 in its network version. Sharing the cost is cheaper than buying individual packages.
Many readers are probably breathing a sigh of relief because this column is almost finished and I have not mentioned UNIX. Well, there it is, UNIX. I have ignored UNIX not because UNIX is not worthy of attention as a law office alternative but because it is another issue entirely. I recommend that interested readers take a look at a past column, "Journey Back to the Future: The Future May be UNIX but the Present Belongs to DOS". For those on a budget, Novell also offers NetWare Lite, a peer-to-peer network operating system. NetWare Lite can accommodate up to twenty-five workstations, and pricing is per workstation. Many readers will remember a prior column called "Journey to the Promised LAN: Peer to Peer Networking with LANtastic". I have not tested NetWare lite and I admit a prejudice against anything named "Lite". I always feel as if I am paying more and getting less. With LANtastic still a market leader in peer-to-peer networking, if you have the need to go peer-to-peer go LANtastic.
The verdict on Novell is favorable from my perspective. As with any hardware or software decision, care must be taken to address the needs of a specific work environment. Novell is not the answer for the two to eight worker law office, but above ten users, the virtues of Novell's excellent support system, years of experience in networking, and good performance argue well in its favor.
Incidentally, Artisoft, the makers of LANtastic just announced the release of a new connectivity series which offers interoperability between Macintosh and LANtastic Networks. The LANtastic for Macintosh system establishes a PC to serve as a dediated gateway between the Macintosh and LANtastic networks. PC servers on the LANtastic network are set up as logical drives on the gateway PC and appear as slightly modified Macintosh computer icons to users on the Macintosh network. Macintosh users see PC files and directories as they would standard Macintosh files and directories and use the Chooser to select printers attached to the LANtastic network.
Do not be fooled into thinking that Macintosh and IBM are now compatible. The network arrangement merely allows the sharing of files created with programs, like Wordperfect 5.1, which use a consistent file storage system.
I have recommended LANtastic in several prior columns and continue to do so. Speaking of Lantastic, Artisoft also announced the release of LANtastic for Netware version 4.01 which provides Novell NetWare users with LANtastic v 4.1's peer to peer networking features, increased performance as well as additional feature enhancements to system management and printing capabilities. Time and space diminish proportionately. Keep those cards, letters, and Fax coming. I will answer as many questions or criticisms as time allows.