1.2 Why Use ConsoleOne?

Novell is committed to ConsoleOne as a single management tool and is working hard to improve its capabilities and performance so you won't need legacy tools like NetWare Administrator. Following are some of the advantages of ConsoleOne over legacy tools. A few limitations are also listed after the advantages.

Advantage

Explanation

Use on a Windows* computer or a NetWare server

Because ConsoleOne is Java-based, it can run on Windows, NetWare, Linux*, Solaris*, and Tru64 UNIX*. The legacy NetWare Administrator, NDS Managerâ„¢, and Schema Manager tools run only on Windows.

Manage the latest Novell products

ConsoleOne lets you manage the latest Novell products and enhancements, whereas NetWare Administrator and other legacy tools aren't being updated to do so. For example, you can administer DirXML, Single Sign-on, and Certificate Server only in ConsoleOne.

Browse huge eDirectory trees

If your tree is running NDS 8 and has containers with thousands of objects, browsing it in ConsoleOne is faster and more consistent. NetWare Administrator is slower opening large containers and is limited by available RAM.

Access eDirectory resources through DNS federation

If a tree is running NDS eDirectory 8.5 or later and is configured for DNS federation, ConsoleOne lets you access contexts in that tree whether or not you are logged in to the tree. This allows you to treat multiple eDirectory trees as a single system for purposes of assigning rights and memberships. No legacy tool exposes this capability. See Section 2.1, Browsing and Finding Objects.

Create filtered eDirectory replicas

If your tree is running NDS eDirectory 8.5 or later, ConsoleOne lets you create filtered replicas that contain only the objects and properties needed for synchronization with specific applications like PeopleSoft*. No legacy tool has this capability. See Section 7.2, Managing Replication.

Generate eDirectory reports

ConsoleOne lets you generate reports on eDirectory objects, users, groups, and security. No legacy tool has these capabilities. See Generating Reports.

Create all eDirectory object types

ConsoleOne lets you create any object type defined in the schema of your eDirectory tree, including custom types you've added. NetWare Administrator can only create object types for which it has snap-ins. See Section 2.2, Creating and Manipulating Objects.

Modify all object types, one at a time or several at once

ConsoleOne lets you generically edit any object property defined in the schema of your eDirectory tree, including custom properties you've added. No legacy tool has this capability. ConsoleOne also lets you modify multiple objects of any class in a single operation, including files and folders on NetWare volumes. NetWare Administrator lets you do this only on User objects. See Section 2.2, Creating and Manipulating Objects.

Define and use auxiliary classes

ConsoleOne lets you define auxiliary classes and extend any eDirectory object with the properties defined in auxiliary classes. No legacy tool has this capability. See Section 6.2, Defining and Using Auxiliary Classes.

Assign ASN.1 identifiers to classes and attributes

ConsoleOne lets you assign ASN.1 identifiers to object classes and attributes in the schema of your eDirectory tree. No legacy tool has this capability. See Section 6.1, Defining Custom Object Classes and Properties.

Set up role-based administration

ConsoleOne lets you create roles in eDirectory so you can delegate administrative responsibilities. A role is a list of specific application functions that a person can perform. For an application function to be added to a role, it must exist as a task object in your eDirectory tree. For details, see Configuring Role-Based Administration.

At the time of this publishing, ConsoleOne also has a few limitations compared to legacy tools. Most of these will no longer exist in future releases.

Limitation

Explanation

Can't manage print services

For now, you should use NetWare Administrator to manage network print services.

Can't remotely repair eDirectory or check partition continuity

For now, you should use the legacy NDS Manager tool to remotely repair eDirectory on individual servers, to check partition continuity, or to abort a partition operation that was started by another administrator.

Can't generate eDirectory schema reports

For now, you should use the legacy Schema Manager tool to generate reports on the schema of your eDirectory tree, unless you design your own report forms to generate schema reports in ConsoleOne. See Section 9.4, Designing Custom Reports.

Can't create or run new user setup scripts

ConsoleOne lets you create all aspects of user templates except for setup scripts. Also, ConsoleOne can't execute a setup script when creating a new user account from a template. You must use NetWare Administrator to perform these tasks.

Can't manage some older Novell products

A few older Novell products haven't shipped ConsoleOne snap-ins yet, such as NetWare for SAA*. For now, you can use NetWare Administrator to manage these products.

Performance can be sluggish on older hardware

Because ConsoleOne is Java-based, it can be sluggish when run on older hardware. If you have the hardware configuration recommended in Section 1.5, Installing and Starting ConsoleOne, performance is reasonably good. The biggest performance booster is adding RAM.

Minor user-interface quirks

ConsoleOne still has a few minor quirks in the user interface. For details, see Section 10.10, Known Quirks and Limitations.