The official guide to Novell's radical next-generation networking system that integrates NetWare, SUSE Linux and Novell network services.

Jason Williams is the product manager for Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES) and the creator of the requirements document for OES. He joined Novell in 1999 and had been product manager for GroupWise®, WebAccess, and Wireless. He created Novell's Instant Messaging system, GroupWise Messenger. Previously, he has held positions in London for numerous financial institutions including the Bank of England and the BBC World service.

Peter Clegg is a freelance author and former technology editor for McGraw-Hill. He has been published in major trade and business magazines and specializees in evolving IT services. He has been writing about networking technology for over 15 years. He was Director of Marketing over NetWare and Internet services at Novell.

Emmett Dulaney is the certification columnist for UnixReview and author of Novell Certified Linux Professional Study Guide from Novell Press. He has earned 18 vendor certifications, written several books on Linux, Unix, and certification study, spoken at a number of conferences, and is a former partner at Mercury Technical Solutions.

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Introduction Introduction"Open source" is a catch phrase that passes from lip to lip and from magazine article to magazine cover more times a day than can be counted. So many speak of it, yet you have to wonder if they really understand the depth of the topic they're discussing and the world of possibilities that it holds. Looking for a Common ThreadLet's start with a pop quiz. Read the following three short case studies and try to ascertain what each organization has in common. Golden Gate UniversityIn the heart of San Francisco's financial district is the central hub of California's fifth-largest private university. Golden Gate University offers a variety of exceptional undergraduate and graduate programs in business management, information technology, and law, utilizing the most advanced technologies and learning tools available. Golden Gate's CyberCampus permits students to work and study on their own schedules using the Internet.Golden Gate is 75% of the way through a major data center consolidation project, which replaces a cacophony of hardware platforms, operating systems, database applications, and web services with Linux, open source applications and networking services, Oracle databases, and Dell hardware. This five-year migration plan allows Golden Gate to simplify administration and consolidate hardware, software, and database content without sacrificing any functionality while providing students and faculty with easier access to more resources. In addition to quantified hardware, software, and management savings, Golden Gate has implemented data center technology that provides it scalability and choice, and positions it to take advantage of new and emerging open standards solutions. CCOCCCOC is a mutually-owned service bureau providing information technology services to community banks and credit unions in the northeastern United States. The company has more than 130 customers and nearly 300 employees. The company services 7,000 workstations and 500 ATMs, and processes more than seven million check images each month.CCOC's solutions included a mix of Unix and Microsoft Windows applications and services. CCOC's dedication to customer support, security, and value led it to evaluate and select Linux as the platform of choice for its major applications, including email, Oracle databases, bank teller applications, back office processing software, reporting tools, and financial applications. With Linux, CCOC gets the same performance as Unix on less expensive hardware without sacrificing performance or reliability.CCOC transitioned its business to Linux and established 99.999% uptime at a fraction of the cost of its previous Unix system. As a result, the company has reduced its overall hardware costs by 40%. Moving several of its Windows applications to Linux has also reduced administration time by 40%. Hewitt AssociatesHewitt Associates is a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm delivering a complete range of human capital management services, such as HR, payroll, benefits, and health care. Hewitt's client roster includes more than half of the Fortune 500, with more than 17 million participants. Hewitt deployed a grid of Intel-based Linux blade servers to off-load CalcEngine, an employee pension calculation program, from its mainframe. The result was that the number of pension calculations doubled (1.2 million to 2.4 million) with a 90% reduction in costs over the mainframe.So what does each organization have in common? If you stated "open source," you have the main point. If you also picked up on the fact that each company was a migration in process, you're observant. If you noted that open source coexists with proprietary software or legacy applications, you did v