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A standard answer to y2k is to move to a clent-server microcomputer format, replacing the legacy mainframe system. This is easier said than done. Novell, a very big network supplier, has a y2k problem with its server software. It promises to be sending out compliant software by early January, 1998, but this means that the time remaining for making the switch to a network-based system is running ominously short.
This story appeared in INFOWORLD ELECTRIC (Oct. 20).
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NetWare 3.12 and 4.1 are not year-2000 compliant, and although Novell will make available this week a beta version of a patch that fixes the problem, the company has yet to find a way to automate distribution of this patch to NetWare 3.12 client machines.
As a result, IT managers may soon face a nightmare scenario in which they will have to update each client machine on the network manually or avoid the problem by migrating to NetWare 4.0 or some other alternative within the next two years. . . .
With the date set to Dec. 31, 1999, and the time set to 11:59 p.m., the machine was shut off. After 2 minutes, the machine was restarted, and its date and time had rolled to 12:01 a.m., Jan. 1, 2000.
When the NetWare server came up, the time was not set. After manually setting the time by issuing the "set time" command, the NetWare server reported the time as 12:02 a.m., Jan. 1, 1988. The problem also appears if the server is left up during the transition from 1999 to 2000: Though NetWare initially reports the correct time, it reverts to 1988 on subsequent restarts. . . .
According to a Novell official, the company has not yet found the solution with this beta release for delivering the patch to client machines. . . .
The official release of the patch is scheduled for January 1998. . . . Novell officials said they intend to have all products shipping after Jan. 1, 1998, in accordance with year-2000-compliance requirements.
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