Uh-oh.
Opus just said that he wants a server for security and reliability.
This would be the wrong forum for that.
For such a small network, get NetWare 6 with a 5 or 10 user license. Just a SMALL list of advantages to this are:
1. Licensing. With Novell's licensing, you pay for the number of USER objects in the tree, not for any servers. When you buy a license, you OWN it. Novell will not call you in a year and tell you to send them more money for the priviledge of being licensed. Nor will they force you to upgrade ALL OF YOUR CLIENT PC's when they release a new server OS. And before you say "NetWare is expensive," check the pricing and what you get for the price. Additionally, you would be wise to factor in the additional support and hardware costs associated with using Win2K
2. You said it--security and reliability. I did a search on the Security Focus (a non-biased security site) site and found that:
since 1997, the total number of vulnerabilities for ALL VERSIONS of NetWare is 17
Since 2000, the total number of vulnerabilities for Windows 2000 Server(not including NT 4) was 47
NetWare has an unbeatable track record with security and reliability. MS has talk.
3. Native File Access: With NW6, your Windows or Mac clients can access their data on the server without using any NetWare client.
4. NDS. The Directory has been around since... er... 1991 if I remember right. It is generally regarded as the de facto standard directory service for reliability, scalability, and cross-platform functionality. Active Directory, on the other hand, isn't largely deployed because IT MANAGERS generally don't trust such a new and immature product.
5. File & Print Serving. It is widely accepted that nothing from Redmond can touch NetWare in the speed and reliability of these critical services. The only exception were a couple of "benchmark tests" that MS SANCTIONED AND PAID FOR. In these, the "testers" purposefully disabled NetWare to lower its performance to the level of Win2K.
6. The vendor. After reading this, I'm sure you realize that I'm a NetWare zealot. This is because Novell makes the best products and doesn't screw over their customers with crappy products or service. Compare this with MS, who bundles trash and makes you pay increasingly more for it. Who would you trust?
Hope this helps your decision.
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Certified in absolutely nothing
