On 11 Feb 98 at 7:19, Frank Peep wrote:

> I have a question for the group. Our local fire department is moving to
> integrate the 5 stations, each with up to 4 workstations into a LAN. We
> paid for a study and proposal and the respondent came back with an all
> Novell system and he proceeded to trash NT and Microsoft in general. I am
> personally very partial to Microsoft and NT.
>
> I would like a discussion about how you feel about this matter.
>
> The system will also include email and Internet access.

  As with any system purchase, the veto power rests with your choice
of applications.  If there is, for instance, a specific dispatching
package that you need to run, your platform will need to support it.

  My inclination is to lean towards NT and TCP/IP, especially if you
need net access.  I haven't kept close track of Novell's developments
in this area, but they definitely came very late to the party, and I
suspect these are an awkward fit with their legacy approaches.
  One area in which I think you can make a case for NT is in keeping
useful peer-to-peer functionality even if a/the server goes down;
Novell systems I have used in the past didn't handle that very well,
and that could be critical for your agency.

David G


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