Long before Microsoft learned about networking, and even before the Internet was known outside academic circles, corporate environments shared files and printers using file and print servers based on the Novell NetWare operating system and associated protocols.[1] Many of these corporate users still have legacy networks using these protocols and want to integrate this support with their new TCP/IP support.
Linux supports not only the TCP/IP protocols, but also the suite of protocols used by the Novell Corporation's NetWare operating system. These protocols are distant cousins of TCP/IP, and while they perform similar sorts of functions, they differ in a number of ways and are unfortunately incompatible.
Linux has both free and commercial software offerings to provide support for integration with the Novell products.
We'll provide a brief description of the protocols themselves in this chapter, but we focus on how to configure and use free software to allow Linux to interoperate with Novell products.
| [1] | Novell and NetWare are trademarks of the Novell Corporation. |