Novell has released Year 2000 Information Ferret, a free software tool that will help its customers ease the rush towards Year 2000 network readiness. The only tool of its kind, the Year 2000 Information Ferret is a Windows 95/98/NT client-based downloadable tool that checks servers for Novell products and identifies the Year 2000 status of Novell products.
The resulting report provided by Novell includes the status of Novell products, as well as update and upgrade recommendations if Novell products are not Year 2000 ready. Novell intends to deliver more than 300 000 copies of the Year 2000 Information Ferret tool to customers world-wide.
With NetWare and Novell Directory Services, customers can order their managed network environment and identify specific hardware and software components, then use this data to analyse their network environment and its Year 2000 exposures. Novell`s directory-enabled products provide customers with a solution to quickly administer Year 2000 assessments from a single workstation.
To address Year 2000 problems at the server and client level, Novell offers both the Year 2000 Information Ferret tool and Greenwich Mean Time Check 2000 software from its range of Year 2000 solutions. These solutions include more than 90 products and Year 2000 updates and tools available from Novell`s Web site.
The combination of these two products provides a powerful resource that will help businesses assess their networks for Year 2000 issues, deploy Year 2000-ready products and apply appropriate fixes to ease the transition into the next millennium.
"With more than 81 million users and 4 million servers world-wide, Novell will be taking more networks into the 21st century than any other company; being Year 2000 ready isn`t an option, it`s a requirement," said Novell corporate business strategist Stafford Masie.
On the basis of the information provided, Novell will send back a comprehensive report on which are Year 2000-ready servers and which Novell Loadable Nodules (NLMs) need upgrading. The report will also list the third party NLMs that run on each servers.
"Novell`s Year 2000 solutions can especially benefit small and medium sized businesses, many of which are only now beginning to address their Year 2000 requirements", said Masie.
"Industry research indicates that more than two thirds of small businesses will upgrade their computer networks this year. Tools like the Year 2000 Information Ferret and products like Novell`s NetWare for Small Business allow smaller businesses to face this task more efficiently; letting them concentrate on the more important business of running their companies."
Novell also bundles Greenwich Mean Time`s Check2000, a Windows product that checks PCs for Year 2000 risks. It works with Novell Z.E.N.works to identify and alert network administrators to potential Year 2000-related issues at the desktop and assists them in repairing problems.
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