Novell releases NetWare 5.1 for e-business

BANGALORE: Novell, Inc. has released the public beta version of NetWare 5.1, the next version of the company's flagship, directory-based server operating system. This is the third beta release of NetWare 5.1, formerly known by the development code name of "Cobra".

According to a release, NetWare 5.1 will allow customers to take greater advantage of the growing trend toward using open, Web-based e-business applications, as well as Web-based network management and resources. "The next version of NetWare will be Novell's most ambitious version of the product to date," said Michael Bryant, director of NetWare product marketing. "The strong reliability, scalability, performance and security that NetWare customers have come to expect from Novell will now be coupled with Web-based applications, management and administration to help companies take greater advantage of the Internet than ever before."

The company has announced that to further enhance NetWare 5.1 as a platform for developing Web-based applications, Novell is partnering with IBM to include both IBM WebSphere Application Server 3.0 Standard Edition and IBM WebSphere Studio 3.0 Entry Edition. Through this partnership, IBM will provide NetWare 5.1 customers with one of the industry's leading Web application servers and a complete, easy-to-use Web development tool set for creating and deploying dynamic Web-based applications.

WebSphere Application Server 3.0 Standard Edition and Studio Entry Edition are part of the IBM WebSphere family of application servers and tools that provide NetWare 5.1 customers a growth path as their needs expand. In addition, Novell is partnering with Oracle to include a five-user version of Oracle8i along with the Web development tool Oracle WebDB to help customers develop and publish Web-based applications requiring integration with a full-featured database.