Roadmap for end of Netware and other Novell products support

Enterprise Information Technology Services Press Release
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

Monday, May 4, 2009

WRITER: Steve Hilliard, flowman@uga.edu
CONTACT: EITS Help Desk,706-542-3106, helpdesk@uga.edu

Novell, Inc., has announced that general support for Netware and eDirectory 8.7.3 will end March 2010 and general support for ZENworks 7 will end August 2010. Campus units who rely on these products should prepare now for a transition away from Netware to Open Enterprise Server (OES) Linux or other network capable operation system.

The information in this release is intended for IT professionals who are responsible for departmental networks, and, as a consequence, is of a technical nature.

End of Netware/Novell Support Dates

Effective Immediately: No new Netware servers are to be added to the UGA eDirectory tree. Current installations of Netware will be supported as long as they are patched to current patch levels (Netware 6.5, sp 8). This includes servers administered as part of cost-recovery services. Any non-Netware server in the UGA tree will be supported as long as they are patched to the current patch level of eDirectory (eDirectory 8.7.3.10b or 8.8.3).

March 1, 2010: EITS will no longer provide support for Netware and ZENworks 7. Departments needing technical support for Netware after March 1, 2010, will be required to purchase extended support from Novell through EITS. (This support cannot be purchased directly from Novell.)

March 1, 2011: All UGA servers in the UGA eDirectory tree must be migrated to OES Linux 2.x or greater.

March 1, 2012: Extended support ends.

ATHENS, Ga.— UGA has been dependent on Netware and other Novell products since the early 1990's, and for many of these years it was the de facto standard for departmental local area networking. With the emergence of newer technologies, including MS Windows and Novell's OES (Open Enterprise Server) Linux, Novell, Inc., has announced that general support for Netware and eDirectory 8.7.3 (directory service) ends March 2010 and general support for ZENworks 7 (server management) ends August 2010.

To help prepare network administrators for a transition from Netware to a different network capable operating system, EITS has developed a support roadmap (see the "End of Netware/Novell Support Dates" insert).

Departments using Netware for networking services such as file and print are advised to start planning a migration to OES Linux, MS Windows, or another network capable operating system.

EITS will offer assistance to these migration efforts through cost-recovery arrangements, or on an as-available basis at no cost. If you anticipate your department will need assistance with a migration, it is important that you contact EITS as soon as possible via the EITS Help Desk (706-542-3106 / helpdesk@uga.edu).

EITS has facilitated the use of Netware for many years by participating in the Academic Licensing Agreement, a discount program that allows the university to obtain Novell products at advantageous prices. EITS also purchases pre-paid support incidents that allow EITS to open support requests, both for core services and for on behalf of departments that need requests escalated to Novell. UGA is still committed to the use of Novell products where appropriate, most prominently SUSE Linux, OES Linux, eDirectory, and Identity Manager (IDM).

About the Office of the CIO and EITS
The Office of the Chief Information Officer and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) are committed to the mission of UGA as a land-and-sea-grant institution where academics come first and the research extensive university community encourages research efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To that end, under the direction of the University´s Chief Information Officer, EITS endeavors to provide a robust, reliable, and secure information technology infrastructure, maintain essential production services, and offer world-class support.

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