🚀 go-pugleaf

Karl wrote:
> 
> The powers that be where I work are considering dumping NetWare in
> favor of Linux. Has anyone out there been through this type of
> conversion?
> 
> Good idea, bad idea? Hints, tips, stories and any other thoughts
> would be appreciated.

What are you going to do with it?  Mail, web, router, DNS, firewall,
directory server, even desktops it works wonderfully.

I got rid of a Cisco and dropped a 486 with Linux and four NICs as the
router for three subnets, it got those WIN machines off on their own
subnet and they can chat all they want and they don't interfere with the
rest of the machines.

It is a very very good possibil;ty specially since you do file and
printserving.
I suggest however to change your recommendation from RedHat to SuSE (but
thats a matter of taste, but SuSE handles the complete System V standard
and provides better support and better software with their distro).

But Let me give you some pointers:
First build your Linux server to act as a SambA server. I assume you
wish to use the standard client software from MicroSoft. SambA can
create a Logon server that looks and feels just like a NT server.
The Logon scripts are a bit tricky though, Novell Netware has great
logon scriping NT does'nt (standard) and Linux either. But I have made a
small perl script that enables you to map upon group memberships. So
that you can do the mapping of drives based upon group membership.

You can however only map root (Novell term) this SMB and Netbios
standard so you have to keep that in mind.

You also have to be awre that default you can't assign the way tyou can
with Netwares trustees. There is however a software package called Linux
Trustees  that does. However I never tried that I'm not felling like
trying it either I like to keep my system Unix System V compliant :)

Make all user on in the Linux mache. You can either make a nice scripts
that tries reading a file that uses a fromat like this:
username  password  mail_alias group1 group2 group3 group4 group5 group6
group7 etc etc.
Unfortunatly I don't have this script anymore it got lost in my last
conversion. But if you have a lot of users I think I can help you build
one.

When you start migrating your data, it is adviceable that you make
directories with the same name of your netware volume and copy the data
in there.
Than start setting up rights etc based upon Unix wich matches closely to
Novell trustees or use the trustees packege.

And build a nice logon script. (You can reachme for this small piece of
software or advice on mailto:rdoetjes@node102bd.a2000.nl )

I have done Netware migrations from 3.12 -> 4.11 from 3.12 -> NT and
from 3.12 to Unix/Linux several times and it's a bit of hardwork but
it's dowable.

Migrating from 3.12 to either 4.x or 5.x also causes some hassle when
you want to use the NDS properly.

P.S.
I don't know where you are in the world but if you need hands on
consultancy and help I'm also available.

Raymond

Karl wrote:

> The powers that be where I work are considering dumping NetWare in
> favor of Linux. Has anyone out there been through this type of
> conversion?
>
> Good idea, bad idea? Hints, tips, stories and any other thoughts
> would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks-
>
> kb.