Novell Launches Open Source Web Site, Releases UDDI Server [LWN.net]

Novell, Inc. has announced the launch of the Novell Forge Web site, an open source developer resource. "As part of the announcement of Novell Forge, the company is releasing the source code of the Novell Nsure(TM) UDDI Server, which makes Web services registries more secure and easier to manage by adding identity management capabilities to the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) standard." Other related announcements from Novell can be found here.

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Novell preparing for the end?

Posted Apr 15, 2003 0:57 UTC (Tue) by sphealey (guest, #1028) [Link]

One can only hope that this means someone has had the foresight and courage to make arrangements such that when Novell finally implodes the code and patents for NDS (eDirectory) and NCP will be open sourced (or GPL'd, or BSD'd). That would be the greatest legacy that Novell could leave to the net world.

sPH

Novell preparing for the end?

Posted Apr 15, 2003 9:49 UTC (Tue) by mefistofeles (guest, #3022) [Link]

I don't think Novell is about to implode anytime soon.
eDirectory and Netware sales has been rising, and their philosophy seems to lean towards to OS and integration.

/Mef.

Novell preparing for the end?

Posted Apr 15, 2003 15:50 UTC (Tue) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510) [Link]

No, this is not Novell preparing for the end. They are trying to set a new course, and some involvement in Free Software is part of that. They have cash and a large number of continuing Netware licenses - enough that they have put new work in Netware such as making a commercial MySQL license available to every user. But I think they see that some new directions are warranted.

They seem to be concerned about being good citizens. They bought about two consulting days from me in validating that the plans for their current release would fit the community. I know the people involved, some of them for years, and feel that if there was a problem I'd be able to get their ear and get it fixed.

So, what do you do if you want some Novell products to be Free Software? First, don't talk to them as if they are about to go out of business, it's not a good negotiating strategy :-). Prepare some arguments for opening the software you want, including something about how it might effect their current business. Bring in others who would be interested, so that you can ask as a group. Ask politely. Consider the problems for them: for example, they may not own their entire product. Pieces that they licensed may not be available to be opened, and may have to be replaced at great expense. And if they don't say "yes" right away, don't walk off in a huff. Some of these things take years. I first started talking with Novell two or three years ago.

Bruce