A Colleague's Comments:

How can my staff and students access files from home?


My Comments:

 

File access with iFolder &/or Netstorage is available for Windows, Linux & Novell in different varieties and is a wonderful and easy thing. If you have the Novell school agreement you should already have iFolder & Netstorage. If you do not already have it you can spent $0.50 per student to add it or you can trade off something you are not using.

 

With NetStorage the user follows a web link (I have the links right on the school web site) and then logs in using their regular network login. This then gives them access to their home directories and they can upload and download files with a mouse click. IFolder takes it one step further. They can download the iFolder client and it will automatically synch their files between computers. All they have to do is save their file in an iFolder designated folder on their computer and it is automatically updated on any computer they use that has iFolder.

 

I have this set up on a Novell 6.5 network and you can also purchase this for a Windows or Linux network. The Netstorage/iFolder is very easy to use for just about anyone. If you have Novell this is simple to set up and it is not hard for those with Windows and Linux.

 

Some organizations have eliminated the Novell client all together and only use the iFolder and the Novell Application Launcher (NAL) to manage their network access. Some of the schools only use NetStorage and the NAL to manage their network resources. I do not enjoy running Zenworks without the Novell client, so I continue to use it. Still, Novell's Identity Manager will automatically synch your users from an Active Directory server into the Novell NDS. This allows you to manage with Active Directory and keep your Windows servers as is and still add all the new and cool Novell applications, this is also great if you are running a dual Windows/Novell network. Remember, almost all the Novell management can now be done from a browser anywhere. Very slick.

 

All of this is secure. However, to make the student folders even more secure I recommend isolating them on their own server with a huge hard drive.

 

Good luck and have fun,

 

Dirk D Dykstra

PS - Check with Novell, http://www.novell.com, on the specific details for your installation as features change from version to version and NOS to NOS.