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Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:55:33 -0400
From: "Lewis G Rosenthal" <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>
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Subject: Re: [OS2Wireless] To virtualize or not... (was: Re:
 [OS2Wireless] Thinkpad T60 doesn't fare too well with eCS demo CD)

On 07/11/07 02:52 am, Ed Durrant thus wrote :
> Lewis G Rosenthal wrote:
>> Even Novell is moving toward virtualization. Open Enterprise Server 2 
>> is out now, and the next "version" of NetWare will be purely virtual, 
>> running on top of the Linux kernel.
>>
> And what did Novell Netware run on top of before ??  If I remember 
> correctly versions 2 & 3 used to come in two forms, one ran on top of 
> DOS, the other on top of OS/2.
>
Actually, NetWare 3 and above didn't/doesn't run "on top of" DOS. DOS is 
used for the IPL. SERVER.EXE runs in protected memory, and DOS can 
either be removed from memory after the server is up or not (if it is 
removed, then downing the server is the same as rebooting it; otherwise, 
downing the server - on a non-ACPI machine - returns you to a DOS prompt).

NetWare for OS/2 was indeed neat, though somewhat tricky to load balance 
(the system RAM was partitioned between the running OS/2 system and the 
NetWare server portion, essentially allowing you to run both OSes in 
parallel). The nice part was that for small shops especially, at a time 
when most people didn't understand the benefits of running separate 
servers and workstations, they could have the best of both worlds.

The last version of NetWare to support NetWare for OS/2 was NetWare 
4.10. IntranetWare (the short lived "new" name for NetWare 4.11, thanks 
to Bob Frankenberg) orphaned the OS/2 server option.

NetWare 2 could be run non-dedicated on top of DOS, and I ran my first 
NetWare 2.15c install that way. It made for a somewhat quirky setup, as 
DOS (unlike OS/2) doesn't really do well in a shared environment like 
that. The first interrupt which comes along to hog the CPU makes the 
NetWare side hiccup (unlike under OS/2, where such events are 
virtualized). :-)  Those were the days!
> I don't think Novell Netware was ever a full OS platform in its own 
> right, was it ?
>
It is possible to install a NetWare 6.5 cold boot loader with no DOS on 
the drive.
> They now own Suse Linux of course, so it is logical that they move 
> onto Linux - if Lunux's DOS emulation is not good enough, then 
> virtualisation would seem the way to go.
>
Virtualizing DOS is one thing. Running NetWare in a box under Linux is 
another... I shouldn't complain, of course, as SuSE is solid enough, and 
NetWare has always lacked a really good process killer, resulting in 
having to reboot the box when something really runs away (Java is 
notorious for this on NetWare, hogging the second CPU for some reason, 
and refusing to unload). I'm just not a great fan of virtualization when 
I already have a good, stable OS which runs fast as lightning on the 
hardware as it is (DOS is a little different, as DOS lacks all of the 
niceties of OS/2 we've all grown to love; running DOS on OS/2 is like 
making it sing - no memory tweaks for hours on end trying to get 
everything crammed into 640KB with an EMS page frame, etc...).

Cheers.

-- 
Lewis
------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA, CLP, CLE
Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC
Accountants / Network Consultants
  New York / Northern Virginia           www.2rosenthals.com
eComStation Consultants                  www.ecomstation.com
Novell Users Int'l       www.novell.com/openenterpriseserver
Need a managed Wi-Fi hotspot?               www.hautspot.com
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