Novell

NOVELL: Mesaba Airlines chooses Novell over Microsoft to keep business up and running
PROVO, Utah, Aug 07, 2002 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- When you're the nation's fourth-largest regional airline serving more than 5 million passengers a year, having the network go down is not an option. Because resulting flight delays and cancellations can cost millions of dollars, Mesaba Airlines chose Novell technology over Microsoft, allowing it to achieve zero downtime while managing more systems with fewer servers.
Mesaba Airlines is a Northwest Airlines affiliate with three major hubs providing service to 98 cities throughout the United States and Canada. With servers located in each hub, Mesaba Airlines needed an integrated and secure network, a disaster recovery solution, and centralized network and desktop management. Mesaba Airlines worked with Novell Consulting to implement a business solution including NetWare 6 and Novell Cluster Services, Novell eDirectory, and Novell ZENworks for Desktops.

"We were sold on Novell Cluster Services from the very beginning," said Scott Ficek, Mesaba Airlines director of Information Technologies. "We see the power and reliability of Novell solutions and have continually chosen them over Microsoft. Novell consultants provided step-by-step validation throughout the entire process and ensured all aspects of the offering were successfully implemented."

Novell's clustering capabilities let individual network servers work together, making Mesaba Airlines' network more efficient and secure. For example, if a server encounters a glitch while handling systems like flight dispatch information or airplane tracking, other servers in the cluster automatically take over, guaranteeing uninterrupted system operation and reliable access to essential applications and data.

"Since implementation, we have saved a significant amount of time and money while improving employee efficiency and, most important, customer service and satisfaction," Ficek said. "We sleep much better knowing that our resources are always available and secure with Novell."

CONTACT: Kevan Barney, Novell, Inc Tel: +1 801 861 2931 e-mail: kbarney@novell.com ..""

By Dave Kearns
Network World NetWare Newsletter, 05/09/01

Novell has helped to improve the security of Apache by porting the Web server to NetWare.

Because Novell engineers carried out much of the work, it was not surprising that they also took the opportunity to enhance security by tying it to Novell Directory Services (NDS).

Apache is an excellent choice as a Web server - it's the most heavily used server on the 'Net, and the price is right, too (its free). But although many Web sites are happy with its standard security modules, which allows for basic logons and some file access restrictions, businesses usually want greater granularity than a simple " yes/no " access method. That's where the new modules can help.

First there's MOD_TLS, a module that ties Apache to NetWare's built-in Secure Socket Layer protocol - essential for setting up VPNs and encrypting all communications. Then there's MOD_NDS, which is used to force Apache to respect the file rights that you set up through NDS to be enforced by the file system. This works by modifying Linux code to make calls to Novell's own Directory Services Application Programming Interface.

Finally, there's the AUTH_LDAP module, which allows the Apache Webmaster to enforce authentication to any LDAP-compliant directory service - and NDS certainly fits that description.

All modules are available from apache.org, which also provides its own Apache NLM. That version is a more mainstream Web server than those shipped with NetWare up to this point, but it is strongly rumored that NetWare 6 will include Apache as the web server of choice. But with Apache NLM, you don't have to wait for NetWare 6, though, to get a mainstream Web server with NDS security - and it won't cost you a penny.