Hey - I know it's hip to knock Netware, but many of us older-timers are getting a little misty-eyed watching it being retired.

I've supported it at work for the last 15 years. Netware and ZenWorks has served our 2,000+ users/PC's on 30 servers - we're on the small end of Novell installations. I can count unplanned downtime on one hand. With the exception of our other dinosaur (IBM mainframe), it's been far more stable and reliable than anything else in house - SGI's, HP-UX, Suns, Linux, and of course that other steaming pile of crap some people think is server-worthy.

And most importantly, all of the above has been managed by one full-time position. Our Exchange system takes 2.5 FTE's - for farkin' mail and calendering! And it's down more than Richard Lewis.

Our move to Linux is being driven by a few factors - none of them, having anything to do with reliability or feature set in Netware. First, it's getting very difficult to find folks like me who know the system - all the youngsters are Linux Heads, something I'm on board with. Most importantly, Novell has made it clear Linux is THEIR future...so it makes sense not to go down with the ship. And finally....Novell services are the real gem, Netware just sits underneath. With 99% of Novell's services ported over to Linux, we get the best of both worlds.

So listen up, you young whipper-snapper...don't be knockin' the platform that's made me look so good for the better part of my career. I just might have to come over, and smack you with my cane...