Java paves way to creating extended enterprise network, plus enables new distributed computing architecture
8/30/97 — Novell is preparing to launch two major Java-based initiatives as part of an overall effort to redefine the company.
In the near term, on Sept. 17 Novell will outline its plans to extend its Border and Collaboration Services using Java technology. Scheduled to take place in New York, this initiative will show how Java can be used in conjunction with the next major upgrade of NetWare, code-named Moab; Novell Replication Services; Novell Directory Services; ManageWise; and a GroupWise 6.0 upgrade, code-named Jolt, to create an extended enterprise network.
For the long term, Novell is working on a new distributed computing architecture that leverages Java to bring location independence to data stored on the network. The new architecture, called the Java Network Framework (JNF), is being developed as part of Novell’s Wolf Mountain clustering initiative, due out next year.
Novell is developing the technology because “right now, data is stored on a specific computer, and we haven’t looked at data in a network-independent and protocol-independent fashion,” said Glen Ricart, Novell’s chief technology officer.
Through JNF, “it will be possible [to have] the same files under the same file names appear to be present on all elements of a Wolf Mountain [clustering] arrangement,” said Ricart. When files are needed, they can be copied to a local disk for processing in a way that is invisible to the user and the application.
At the heart of the company’s new strategies is the realization that the computing paradigm has changed, according to Ricart.
“A typical OS optimizes the use of the processor, then tries to use memory well, on the basis that the processor is the most expensive thing, so it’s important to keep it busier,” said Ricart. “In the new world, the network is the key item to make sure [the processors are] well used.”
Ricart says Novell has not yet decided on how to turn the technology into products.
The technology is part of Novell CEO Eric Schmidt’s plans to redefine and update the company’s strategy. During a keynote address at the recent Java Internet Business Expo in New York, Schmidt emphasized Novell’s commitment to Java.
“We at Novell will, over time, write all our services in Java,” said Schmidt, although subsequently this statement was qualified by other Novell senior management.
According to Ricart, Novell will not necessarily rewrite all of its products in Java, but it will write low-level services in Java and use other languages for higher-level functions — but these products will also have Java-compliant interfaces.
Chris Stone, the company’s new senior vice president of strategy and corporate development, added that “there are many cases where the code will be Java, but there may be cases where this may not be appropriate.”
Novell Inc., in Orem, UT, is at https://www.novell.com.
