Novell Gurus...I need advice.

[Scarpozzi]

Guys and gals! I just took a position at a University as a Server Admin... This is temporary because I'm trying to get my feet wet and I want to see if I can shine in the next 6 months. I'm thinking about getting my CNA in the next little while, but I'm not sure if there are any practice tests available that are free....any ideas? I would appreciate it greatly if you know of any.

The "highly technical" part is that I was in a meeting today and we were discussing Novell 5.1 (what our main file servers are running) and we're trying to find out how secure it is. We've heard that it can be hacked (as most anything else can), but we have some admins that are skeptical and are pretty much ignoring this as an issue. Does anyone know any places I could check to find out about security with Novell BESIDES the Novell website. Novell probably doesn't know much about their security issues if there are any since they only come out with patches about once or twice a year. Once again, I appreciate any assistance, answers, or good vibes. Thanks!

 

[Nothinman]

Actually you'll be hard pressed to find any Novell hacks that work with any recent system, most are for really old versions of the OS or require console access and are only good for recovery by the admin.

You could search around on SecurityFocus.com which is the current house of BugTraq.

 

[Scarpozzi]

That's good to hear. Heh...if someone had console access, what would the point be of hacking? Wouldn't they have already won the war? I guess I'm just wondering if anyone knows of anything that's been discovered that Novell wouldn't admit, but it sounds pretty secure for the latest versions. I'll check that site. Thanks.

 

[Nothinman]

Hell most of the hacks are against 3.X and lower version, and with patches and proper setup they're secure too. Novell has really some of the best software out there, they just market it for sh!t.

 

[MadRat]

5.1 has all of the buffer overflow avenues patched. I say that unless a new hack comes from the mouths of Novell then take it as secure. Novell is very quick about patching flaws in their security. Progressive resolutions are how all vendors work for patching hacks, with most fixes within mere hours of the publically recognized threat. Accountable support from Novell themselves is one of the gems of using Novell's products on your servers.

Nothinman-

I agree with your praise of Novell.

Gotta love Novell's clustering services.

 

[Nothinman]

I agree with your praise of Novell.

Gotta love Novell's clustering services.


I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it praise, they have good software (many times better than MS' software) but I don't really like the company itself.

 

[mckennma]

If you are planning on getting your CNA, I would use the Novell study kits. The are a bit expensive. However, they come with software. The upgrading to Novell 6 kit had a 5-user copy of Novell Netware 6. From what I can tell it is a full copy. I am a CNE 4.x - 5.x and working on my CNE 6. You will find it hard to find exams that are free for Novell. Transcender does a great job on Cisco, Linux, and Microsoft not Novell. Certify.com has the Netware 5.1 exam for $60. I am going to contact them about Netware 6 exams.