another question on iManager

[stevenriz]

In order to access iManager over the web, would we simply open up the necessary ports on the firewall? Is this secure? Is it even recommended?? Since we have a VPN, I guess it really isn't needed. Along those lines, what about iFolder? I am learning that too. Does that listen on a particular port?

 

[Psychoid]

Hi.
In order, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Oh. OK I guess I should elaborate.

First, all of the web services, including iManager and iFolder use SSL encryption & NDS authentication, so it really isn't necessary to use a VPN. iFolder also uses public key encryption to further secure your data.

You also don't necessarily have to open a bunch of ports on your firewall. Typically ports 80 & 443 are open for HTTP & HTTPS. You could set up iFolder to use these ports & then just open 2200 for iManager. Of course, you want to make sure that you have a static NAT entry for your NetWare server or nothing will get to it.

If you're interested, I wrote a How-To in the FAQ section of this forum. It contains the procedures that I went through to get all of the web services running on my one NetWare server in my home network. While it may not be totally relevant to what you're doing, it could probably give you some tips and let you know about a few gotchas.


Good luck



------------
Bill
Consultant / Network Engineer
CNE, CCNA

 

[stevenriz]

Bill, thanks a lot!! I have used Novell products for over 10 years and am a Novell fan at heart. Unfortunatly moving to a new company forced me to oversee the NT network which is still here. I am slowly building a Novell server with like services and then am planning a competition of sorts with the audience being the company officers. We'll see how it goes......

FYI - I will look up your FAQ.

Steve

 

[Psychoid]

Good luck, Steve. You face an uphill battle that many of us have unsuccessfully fought. May the force be with you.

These forums are a great source for information, so if you run into any snags with web services, just post here & somebody will jump in to help.

I do have a few suggestions for your comparison between MS products & Novell ones:
1) Unless your audience is technical, stick with talking about monetary and productivity benefits.
2) File & Print speed and performance doesn't seem as important as it used to, so I'd show them the other services.
3) Demonstrate these products, especially the web services like iPrint, iFolder, NetStorage, NetDrive, and Web Access. These are truly compelling products that can provide instant value and really raise the "cool" factor.
4) Demonstrate to them how, with web services, they can get to their files from anywhere through a web browser. Show them how they can keep their laptop data synchronized with a copy on their admin assistant's PC. Mention to them that, in the event of a stolen or crashed laptop, their data is still safe in iFolder on the server. Show them how they can print to any of the company printers from anywhere in the world. This is especially useful when a remote employee fills out some confidential HR form... he can then send a hard copy directly to their printer without messing with a fax machine.

OK OK that's enough preaching for now.

I wish you luck.


------------
Bill
Consultant / Network Engineer
CNE, CCNA

 

[stevenriz]

No Bill, keep it coming, that is such great info. I admit I don't know much about some of those products yet, but am learning as we speak. They all sound great.

 

[Psychoid]

I forgot to mention one thing....
They can get to their files, print, etc without messing around with the darn VPN client that never seems to work right.



------------
Bill
Consultant / Network Engineer
CNE, CCNA

 

[stevenriz]

email too I assume. I know we used to use Groupwise Web or whatever they called in a couple years ago. I liked it. Web Exchange here I had to shut down because we kept getting viruses that I couldn't clean permanently. I still think I have something dormant on the NT server.......

 

[Psychoid]

Groupwise 6.5 is really compelling.
Not only do you have the security & NDS integration advantages, but it has a redesigned interface that makes a whole lot of sense.

We've migrated a few clients to 6.5 and I've only heard good things. They particularly like the built in spam filtering.



------------
Bill
Consultant / Network Engineer
CNE, CCNA