*UnixWare grows up; Novell's revamped SVR4.2 environment proves very workable. (Novell Inc.'s UnixWare 1.1 Personal Edition includes Unix System V Release 4.2 reference implementation) (includes
PC Week  March 21, 1994 v11 n11 pN1(2)
PC Week  March 21, 1994 v11 n11 pN1(2)

UnixWare grows up; Novell's revamped SVR4.2 environment
proves very workable. (Novell Inc.'s UnixWare 1.1 Personal
Edition includes Unix System V Release 4.2 reference
implementation) (includes related articles summarizing
UnixWare upgrade, recommending the package and describing
rival products) (PC Week LABS: Review) (PC Week Netweek)  

by	Blakeley, Michael

Abstract
Univel's UnixWare 1.1 Personal Edition operating system, which is the
reference standard for Unix System V Release 4.2 (SVR4.2) on Intel
microprocessors, has been enhanced to include broader hardware
support, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and
Microsoft Advanced Merge DOS/Windows emulation functions. Univel is
offering the UnixWare 1.1 Personal Edition at a reduced cost of $249.
The upgrade is free to registered users of Version 1.0. The company will
also offer the UnixWare Application Server for $1,299 and the UnixWare
Software Developers Kit (SDK) for $99. The new release corrects some
user complaints about the serial drivers contained in the UnixWare 1.0
package. It also complies with the Common Open Software Environment
(COSE) group's Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Unix user interface
and adds support for the Open Software Foundation's (OSE) Motif 1.2
standard for access to NetWare file and print services.

Full Text
Injecting much-needed vitality and workability into its reference
implementation of Unix System V Release 4.2, the Novell Inc. Unix
Systems Group's UnixWare Version 1.1 includes broader hardware
support, some bug fixes, and TCP/IP and DOS emulation as standard
equipment, based on testing by PC Week Labs.

The overhaul should be welcome relief for those 35,000 or so purchasers
of UnixWare 1.0, who defied the "never buy Release 1.0 of anything"
maxim and snapped up Univel's Unix iteration for X86 processors upon
its November 1992 debut. Complaints ranged from limited hardware
compatibility to flaky serial-port drivers and bad man pages.

Despite these serious limitations, the Univel platform wound its way
into traditional Unix markets, where the low cost of Intel platforms
made UnixWare an attractive desktop system.

In addition, organizations with a mix of Unix and NetWare systems were
attracted to UnixWare's excellent integration with NetWare's mail, file,
and print services; UnixWare machines have transparent access to
NetWare file and print servers, and they can act as gateways between
Novell's Message Handling Service and Unix-style SMTP mail.

With UnixWare 1.1, these benefits still hold true, and early
implementers can upgrade to Version 1.1 for free. To lure still more
devotees, Univel has reduced the price of the Personal Edition to $249;
the Application Server is priced at $1,299, and the SDK now sells for a
mere $99.

Operational requirements

Though UnixWare Version 1.1 will run on a 386 with 8M bytes of RAM and
an 80M-byte disk partition, running any iteration of Unix comfortably
demands at least a fast 486, 16M bytes of RAM, and gobs of disk space.

If you're running an X-based GUI, a fast video subsystem really helps.
Unfortunately, most video adapters require specialized drivers for
enhanced performance or resolution. UnixWare 1.1 does include drivers
for some popular video subsystems, but it lacked a driver for the S3 chip
set in our test machine, a 50MHz 486DX2-based Dell Computer Corp.
450/ME workstation with 16M bytes of RAM.

On the hardware-compatibility front, the latest release of UnixWare
supports new SCSI controllers from Adaptec Inc. and Future Domain
Corp., additional Ethernet cards (including Eagle Technology Inc.'s
ubiquitous NE3200), and video hardware from Tseng Laboratories Inc.,
Sigma Designs Inc., and other vendors.

PC Week Labs was pleased to see the Adaptec 1510 SCSI card on the list
of host bus adapters supported by UnixWare Version 1.1. However, after
an entire week and multiple calls to technical support, a Novell
technician told us that "there might be a problem with some revisions of
the board." This is not good news for a card with only one jumper bank
and one chip. We finally switched to an Adaptec 1740 board, and
everything worked fine.

The installation process hasn't changed from Version 1.0. You still boot
from three floppy disks (or more if you have special hardware drivers to
install) and then continue the installation with CD ROM or an existing
UnixWare server, or by wading through a mile-high stack of floppy disks.

Software enhancements

After installing the operating system, we immediately noticed -- and
were grateful for -- several minor enhancements. The man pages now
work from the command line instead of requiring a cryptic symbolic link
(the symbolic link is now on the CD). However, the @ sign still maps to
the kill signal, making E-mail difficult to address.

UnixWare 1.1 includes TCP/IP support in the out-of-the-box Personal
Edition and Application Server versions, rather than requiring the
purchase of extra floppy disks, as did the initial release. In addition,
UnixWare's TCP/IP support implements remote access via PPP and
remote management via SNMP.

Widespread complaints about the serial drivers in UnixWare 1.0
prompted a fix; Version 1.1 includes graphical administration tools to
configure dial-up access and local dumb terminals. We were able to
configure a terminal line on COM2 in less than 5 minutes.

COSE compliance

The multivendor COSE (Common Open Software Environment) standard
for Unix was established after the release of UnixWare 1.0, so this
update provided an opportunity to standardize UnixWare. The principal
elements of COSE's Common Desktop Environment are SVR4.2 support,
the Open Software Foundation's Motif 1.2, access to NetWare file and
print services, SunSoft Inc.'s ToolTalk interapplication messaging,
graphical log-in, and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Visual User Environment.

UnixWare 1.0 included SVR4.2, NetWare access, and a graphical log-in.
The latest release has added Motif 1.2 and beefed-up NetWare support by
including compatibility with NetWare 4.x servers. However, ToolTalk and
the Visual User Environment remain absent. Release 2.0 of UnixWare,
slated for mid-1994, is expected to increase overall COSE compliance.

UnixWare 1.1 also includes Advanced Merge, a DOS/Windows emulation
package that shipped after UnixWare 1.0 hit the streets. Advanced Merge
provides 286-like DOS 3.3 emulation, extended and expanded memory,
NetWare access from within DOS, access to local DOS partitions, and
access to COM and LPT ports.

Hands-on report

To test UnixWare's DOS/Windows compatibility and performance, PC
Week Labs ran the ZD Benchmark Operation's PC Bench 8.0 and WinBench
4.0 tests. UnixWare's graphical performance under PC Bench seemed
slower than its performance under WinBench, but we were unable to
complete testing due to PC Bench's requirement for 386-mode operation.
WinBench testing completed successfully, which bodes well for
UnixWare's overall Windows compatibility, since WinBench 4.0 makes
use of a large portion of the standard-mode W indows API.

Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 3.1 isn't shipped with UnixWare 1.1; it must
be installed by the end user on top of the DOS emulation. Once installed,
Windows feels more usable and faster than any graphics-intensive
DOS-based application we've tested.

However, Windows under UnixWare is still no speed demon. Though the
multitasking nature of the underlying operating system caused our
WinBench 4.0 test results to vary somewhat, UnixWare 1.1's Windows
emulation averaged around 20 percent of the total performance of the
same 50MHz 486DX2 system running native Windows 3.1.

Windows emulation under UnixWare 1.1 felt like running Windows on a
medium-speed, 386-based machine -- in other words, if you have one or
two Windows applications that see occasional use, Advanced Merge
probably will meet your needs.

Overall, UnixWare Version 1.1 provides excellent functionality. The
update fixes the previous release's known problems, adds some new
functions, and points the Unix community in the right direction. Those
who need the combination of Unix functionality and tight NetWare
integration will be well-served by UnixWare 1.1, and registered users of
UnixWare 1.0 should take advantage of the free upgrade.