Novell buys network software company
Software developed by Netoria will be used to enhance Novell's directory services, which manage the operations of entire computer networks.
Today the company announced the acquisition of Netoria, a maker of software for computer network administrators, and said it plans a Linux version of its Novell Directory Services (NDS) software. Also, as expected, it said it has shipped NDS 8, a new version of its core software.
Novell did not reveal terms of the Netoria acquisition. The company, which is based in Orem, Utah, said that during the next several months it would integrate Netoria products and technology into its NDS product line.
Novell also said that by the end of this year it would ship a version of NDS that runs on the increasingly popular Linux operating system. The new version will allow companies to integrate NDS-based Linux servers with servers running Windows NT, NetWare, and Solaris operating systems.
As previously reported, NDS 8.0--the latest version of the company's directory technology--aspires to tackle the needs of telecommunications carriers and service providers, building on the company's core of customers in corporations. Novell boasts a 50-million user base for NDS.
Users of earlier versions of NDS can download NDS 8.0 from Novell's Web site.
Directory software essentially provides a network manager with a central database to store information about users, systems, and networking devices. As more applications are written to take advantage of its directory software, Novell executives hope a wider array of uses will be found for it. Novell will face new competition in the directory services space when Microsoft debuts its Active Directory technology as part of the Windows 2000 operating system, expected later this year.
"We intend to build on this expertise in the development of new directory applications that simplify network management while enabling new e-commerce activities and opportunities within the business ecosystem of Novell customers and partners," Stewart Nelson, Novell senior vice president, products, told Reuters.
Novell made the announcements at the Brainshare Europe '99 conference in Nice, France.