Novell's MHS is the Rodney Dangerfield of the store-and-forward world--it doesn't get any respect. Critics complain about the clumsy administrative interfaces to MHS and the newer server-based messaging engine, GMHS (Global MHS). Others point out that MHS and GMHS lack the client/server architecture of next-generation engines (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server and Lotus Communications Server). Nonetheless, MHS traffic abounds on LANs, ranking third behind cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail.
MHS is pervasive because NetWare is, but also because it's exceptionally open to software developers. ``Compared to VIM (Vendor-Independent Messaging) and MAPI, the MHS specs are so easy it's pathetic,'' says John Rizzi, vice president for sales and
strategy with On Technology (Cambridge, MA), a software developer of group-scheduling applications. ``Five lines of ASCII in a text file, placed in the right directory, goes anywhere in the world.'' You have to take MHS criticism with a grain of salt. Sure it's a hassle to administer, but so are cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail. Neither of these can yet seamlessly integrate with a NOS (network operating system), as MHS under NetWare 4.1 can (see the screen
User/Mailbox Administration
).
Client/server messaging, however, is clearly the way to go. ``File-based technologies are hard to constrain,'' says David Knight, vice president of marketing for Isocor (Los Angeles, CA), a vendor of E-mail applications, services, and transports. He argues that a protocol-driven engine, such as the forthcoming Microsoft Exchange Server, can better secure messages because it doesn't leave readable text files lying around in public places. It can also more reliably track messages because only well-defined AP
I calls can manipulate them. Such engines can also free themselves from dependence on the location of a message store or its underlying technology (e.g., file, database, and object), says Anik Ganguly, vice president for product development with Campbell Services (Southfield, MI), a network-scheduling vendor. Banyan's Intelligent Messaging service, he notes, offers these benefits now.
Of course, Novell now has two mail engines--Global MHS and the GroupWise engine that comes from WordPerfect. The latter, though also currently file-based, logically separates the mail client from the mail engine. ``We have client/server messaging now,'' says A. J. Dennis, strategic planner for WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group, ``it just isn't protocol-based.'' That will happen in the second half of this year, says Stewart Nelson, vice president for R&D for Novell GroupWare. In addition to security and location independence, he notes, a client/server approach offers scalability. ``Today we have 250-user post offi
ces, because in file-sharing mode, you have limits,'' says Nelson. ``In client/server mode, those limits go away.''
A key GroupWise strength is its ability to track messages. Users know when messages are delivered, when they're opened, and when they're deleted. They can even withdraw unopened messages, a ``save your job'' feature for those who fire off hotheaded missives and later regret them. Message tracking, which GroupWise users take for granted, isn't available in most LAN E-mail packages. It's not only a major benefit for users but also an enabler of work-flow software. Lotus Notes, for example, must use third-party engines for centralized monitoring and control of message and document traffic. GroupWise's built-in tracking capability, coupled with its planned integration into NetWare's directory and distributed management services, should help Novell address the emerging work-flow market. In addition, Novell plans to add conferencing to the mix. Collabra Share for GroupWise, jointly developed by
Novell and Collabra Software, is slated for mid-year.
Novell and WordPerfect engineers are still trying to figure out how to unite their separate technologies. ``In Orem, you hear strong religious statements about the WordPerfect Office server, and in San Jose, they say the same things about Global MHS,'' says Isocor's Knight. ``Eventually, you'll see Klingons working on the starship.'' They need to reach detente quickly, though. Novell networks right out of the box should provide interpersonal messaging services as complete, pervasive, and manageable as the basic file and print services, but today that's not the case.
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In NetWare 4.1, at last, the administration of users and mailboxes happens on the same screen, reflecting the underlying integration of NDS and MHS.
Messaging and GroupWare
