In addition to adding cross-platform support to Novell Directory Services (NDS), Novell is planning to deliver NDS for the Internet. NDS will then have native support for open Internet standards and protocols, including Domain Name Service (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), HTTP, and TCP/IP.
This support will enable NDS to synchronize with other standards-compliant directories, providing a single interface for all directory information and ensuring that directory content is updated in real time across all applications and platforms. By supporting Internet standards, NDS will enable users to access directory information through any World-Wide Web browser over a combination of transport protocols. (Novell currently provides LDAP support through an add-on product called LDAP Services for NDS. For more information about this product, see "LDAP Services for NDS: A Heavyweight Solution for a Lightweight Protocol," NetWare Connection, Sept. 1997, pp. 2837.)
Novell also plans to provide tools that will allow you to manage both NDS objects and IP addresses using the NetWare Administrator (NWADMIN) utility. With this capability, developers will be able to easily create applications that leverage NDS by writing directly to standard Internet application program interfaces (APIs).
For more information about NDS, visit Novell's web site (http://www.novell.com/products/nds). You can also call 1-800-NETWARE or 1-801-861-5588.