"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"

The Answer Guy

By James T. Dennis, answerguy@ssc.com
Starshine Technical Services, http://www.starshine.org/

Novell NDS Support for Linux

From ac in the comp.unix.questions newsgroup on 23 Jul 1998

Support what aspects or services of NDS?

Do you mean the user account management and authentication?

I've heard of a PAM module that allows one to authenticate (user) against an NDS domain (using a Novell or compatible server). I don't know where that is, but I'm sure there are archives of the PAM (pluggable authentication modules) mailing list. I think Red Hat was hosting the PAM list and providing the archive and search space for it for awhile, so I'd start there.

Are you referring to the ability to ncpmount Netware 4.x filesystems?

I have no idea.

Generally I'd suggest Caldera OpenLinux (Standard?) for any interoperability with Netware. They have the exclusive commercial implementation of the Netware NDS and bindery client code (which is apparently licensed such that they can't make it freely available).

NDS (Netware Directory Services) for Linux: Clients and Servers

From Dave Kauffman on 07 Aug 1998

That's an interesting question.

As far as I know their Netware client software (nwclient) (which supported bindery and NDS servers) was proprietary and under exclusive license with Caldera's distribution. From, what I gather, you could use the package with another Linux installation -- but I suspect that you were legally required to own a copy of Caldera OpenLinux (Standard?) for every copy of 'nwclient' you deployed.

(I'm a bit unclear on this since the only occasions when I've deployed Caldera were in situations where it was a gateway between a set of Netware domains and a set of Unix systems --- basically a set of cron jobs existed to rdist files from Netware servers out to Unix ftp and web hosts (in one case) and all of the Linux/Unix users had shell accounts to access Netware servers (in another case).

It would have been handy if I could have deployed nwclient through the workgroup in the second case --- but a number of them were able to use ncpfs (the free, OpenSource Netware client) for their needs.

So, with this release of Netware for Linux we get a ability to download a copy of nwclient for free. The question becomes --- what rights does this entail.

I really don't know, but it is an interesting question --- one that I didn't think to ask when I was talking to Ransom Love (the General Manager for OpenLinux) last night. (He was in town to speak at the Silicon Valley Association of Software Entrepreneurs (http://www.svase.org) along with a number of other OpenSource and Linux notables.

So, I'll defer it to Caldera's support address.

At the same time I'd suggest taking a careful look at the copyright notices and licensing that are included in the package, as you downloaded it. That should state any intended limitations on the use and redistribution of the package or its components. It may be that the included copy of 'nwclient' is only legally valid for use with that server --- that, technically, you are only allowed to deploy upto three copies of 'nwclient' and that all three of those are to be used only with that particular server.

Their licenses and copyright notices are really the final authority in the matter.

Copyright © 1998, James T. Dennis
Published in Linux Gazette Issue 32 September 1998

	phreak	abandon	javaterm	BBS	flaws	doslinux	resume
	softwindows	convert	apache	emulate	database	distrib	proxy
	disable	DVI	superblock	serial	permission	detach	cdr
rs422	modem	notfound	tuning	libc5	startup	clock	ping
accounts	lilo	NDS	95slow	nonlinux	progenv	cluster	ftpd