By David Strom (5/13/96)
If you like the idea of setting up your own Intranet server but don't want to run Unix, you might be tempted to consider NetManage's NT-based product of the same name. But don't: while it has some promise, the Intranet Server is a confusing morass of half-finished software that is more of a construction kit than a fully-featured product. And while NetManage gets points for including a lot of different things in the box, the level of integration is almost non-existant and you'll do better sticking with Unix for the time being.
The idea of an Intranet server that does more than just provide web pages is a good one, and I don't want to give you the impression that I don't think think NetManage is going after the wrong target. It is just their execution that is so poor. The product comes with a bushel basket full of seven different servers, but the two most important ones are a web server and a netnews transport protocol (NNTP) server. Also included are a directory server, a Domain Name Server (DNS), a Network File System (NFS) server, a NetTime server and a Line Printer Daemon (LPD) server. It sounds like a list of Unix services and it is -- with one very notable exception: Post Office Protocol email. For a native NT solution for email, you'll have to go elsewhere, such as Software.Com's Post.Office product. That is an unfortunate omission.
The news and web servers are easy to setup and get going, but a major pain to configure and maintain. Part of the problem is that this Intranet server is very much a work in progress. You have to master command-line options on various executable programs (the server doesn't place any icons in NT's Program Manager) [CHECK], plain-text configuration files, Registry keys, and NT Services in the Control Panel. Keeping track of which thing controls what function is tedious. You'll notice that notably missing from the list is any native Windows software to manage your Intranet server -- that's because there isn't any. I guess NetManage put this product together quickly and didn't really spend the time integrating anything.
There are a few places where they did recognize some native NT features, however. One is how you can display on NT's Performance Monitor some statistics specific to the Intranet server. That's nice, but it isn't compelling.
The news server is supposed to be the product's centerpiece, and it did work once we edited (using NotePad) the NNTP.ACCESS configuration file. You have to master the command syntax, which for me recreated the Unix-like feel of the product. Why don't they develop some web forms to do the job? Indeed.
Next is the bundled minimalist Web server. While NetManage includes software that runs as both an NT service and as an application, they are two separate executables: this means that if you are running the Web service, you'll first have to stop the service and then run the executable application to administer the web server. Not a very prety situation, and given that this is a very competitive market, you would have hoped they would have done a better job.
Even so, you have almost no administration settings here. Unlike every other web server I've tested, you can't administer it from anything other than its own local console. What got my goat was this line from the manual: "Certain web server settings are not yet available via configuration dialogs, and must be set manually in the Windows Registry." Sorry, folks, but anything that tells me to edit my registry to change such things as the path to the CGI directory and enabling DNS lookups for log files -- both fairly important and common items -- isn't my kind of software. I suggest you don't even bother with the web server component: you are better off looking at either Microsoft's IIS or O'Reilly's WebSite.
I tested the Intranet Server on a 486/50 machine running NT Server 3.5.1 with 32 megabytes of RAM: that is the bare minimum machine I'd recommend for the product. If you are going to use this to receive netnews feeds from Usenet, you'll want to buy as much disk as you can afford as this can fill up anyone's hard drives in a flash. I was able to connect to the Intranet Server for both web and news services from Windows 95, NT and Macintosh machines running Netscape's Navigator browser, and read and post news using Newswatcher on the Mac as well.
I think this could become a very valuable product, if NetManage did its homework and put together a more finished and integrated product that used a graphical interface. But in the meantime, you are better off looking to Unix to deliver the full suite of applications, or trying out SoftArc's FirstClass or Attachmate's Open Mind products if you just need an NT-based news server.
Fever: one notch up from COLD
A grab bag of services including web, netnews, and NFS servers.
Seven different services are bundled together to help NT compete with what normally comes with most Unix servers. However, NetManage's Intranet is difficult to manage given the lack of any graphical interface.
Pros: The various services are simple to get running and setup.
Cons: Configuring these services is difficult and will require lots of patience. Little integration exists among the various services, and the user interface is lousy.
Cupertino, Calif. 95014
408 973 7171
408 973 8272 fax
price: $495 until July 1, $995 thereafter
Platform: NT (Server or Workstation, Intel only) 3.5.1, Service Pack 2 or better, 32 Mb RAM.
(C) Infoworld Publishing Co. 1996