Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

Novell has been a major influence in the growth of the microcomputer industry. It developed Z-80-based microcomputers in the 1970s and created its first networking products in the early 1980s. In 1983, when IBM announced the IBM Personal Computer XT, which had a hard disk, Novell quickly responded with a product that converted the hard disk system into a file-sharing system. Workstations attached to the server with a star-configured cabling system known as S-Net.

During the 1980s, Novell expanded its product line with the popular NetWare network operating system. In 1993, Novell announced NetWare version 4. Its most important feature was NDS (NetWare Directory Services), which enabled network administrators to organize users and network resources such as servers and printers the way people naturally access them. NDS is discussed further under "NDS (Novell Directory Services)."

Today, Novell markets NDS for use on a number of non-Novell operating systems. In addition, its NetWare operating system now fully supports the TCP/IP protocol suite and Web technologies.

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