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By Barbara Morgan, 20 October 1998 00:25

NEWS Novell is striking a deal to enable its increasingly prolific Novell Directory Services (NDS) technology to run natively on Linux, the open source operating system (OS) that is gathering significant vendor support. In recent weeks, Oracle, Informix and IBM have said they will port their database software to run on the OS. Intel and Netscape have taken minority stakes in leading Linux vendor, Red Hat.
Novell is working with another Linux specialist, Caldera Systems - which was founded by ex-Novell chief executive, Ray Noorda - on the NDS for Linux project. The two companies are extending an existing relationship which saw Caldera develop a product called NetWare for Linux, which allows a Linux server to sit on a NetWare network. However, users of the product cannot use NDS to manage user access because no integration exists with Linux's security structure. NDS for Linux will incorporate technologies that are part of the just-released NetWare 5.0, including TCP/IP. When the product is complete it will be the first commercially available directory service for Linux. Caldera is claiming that a native NDS for Linux will open doors to larger enterprises, saying IT managers will gain confidence in using the operating system because it has native directory services. Ransom Love, chief executive of Caldera, said: "As each vendor embraces Linux and brings its respective strengths to the technology, Linux as a whole becomes a more viable alternative." Analysts are not so sure. Todd Chipman, an analyst with research company, Giga Information Group, said NDS for Linux is a solution looking for a problem, as it solves large-scale user administration while there are still no large-scale Linux deployments. Chipman added: "It just seems to me like Novell has to strike up a deal like this because the company doesn't want to miss the Linux boat - if by some chance it does take off." The two companies are expected to release more details about pricing and availability within the next month.