CD Commander Makes CD Networking Pretty as a Picture

CD networking has become integral to network operating systems like Novell NetWare. Ornetix's product makes it easy for NetWare novices to access CDs across the network.

CD-ROM drives have become a PC standard, just like floppy disk drives. They're shared across networks, used in jukeboxes and take up their own bay in a computer. Using CD changers that fit in a half-height computer bay, companies are packing more CD capacity into a single drive. Software lets you share these changers with other network users.

We decided to test a CD networking package with a sleek 8X SCSI four-disc CD-ROM changer. We wanted to see how third-party CD networking software differs from the CD networking built into a Novell server.

We tested CD Commander 2.0, a user application, and CD Vision, a CD server, from Ornetix (Sunnyvale, CA 408-744-9095). CD Vision and 10 CD Commander user licenses cost $950. We also installed Nakamichi's (Torrance, CA 310-538-8150) MJ-4.8s ($400) 8X SCSI four-disc CD-ROM changer in a free half-height computer bay. Attaching the drive wasn't tough once we got a

SCSI card.

The MJ-4.8s is a neat little changer that fits in the same bay as a regular CD-ROM. It works like an elevator, changing CDs by moving them up and down. The idea of leaving it on a standalone

computer is tempting because of the minimal space it occupies. But it's more practical connected to a server, where the four CDs can really be optimized. The changer only has one drive and an access time of 150 ms.

Ornetix's icon approach to CD networking is interesting. It takes advantage of Novell NetWare's built-in CD networking, but is totally transparent to the user. Like NetWare, it lets you set up user passwords for security purposes. The icons and dialogue boxes make the product extremely user-friendly.

CD Vision is the server that manages the CDs in the changer. CD Commander is the user interface that lets users on the network access CDs. You need CD Vision to run CD Commander.

We installed both on a 3.12 NetWare network running Windows for Workgroups. Basic installation, as the box says, was essentially easy. The program was friendly. It didn't attack our existing Novell server. Besides, the disk did everything but map the drive. (Mapping the drive is designating a letter to it on the network -- D:, F:, etc.) That's something you should know how to do before you install it. Otherwise it will slow installation.

Chances are, if you know Novell, this isn't hard because it has to be done for any type of drive you add to a Novell network. You need supervisor rights to the Novell network to install CD Vision and CD Commander. Working in the Novell architecture shouldn't be an obstacle because, as a network supervisor, you already know how to do these basic tasks.

Another feature offered by Novell NetWare that CD Vision takes advantage of is the way users are allowed access to the CDs in the changer. In Novell, users are added in Syscon (a NetWare administrator tool). CD Vision accepts the users designated to be networked from Syscon. They appear in CD Vision, but since it functions as another server on the Novell network, it lets Novell handle the networking. It's simple because it's a standard Novell feature.

Like any hardware you add to a NetWare network, the CD changer had to be mapped by the NetWare Supervisor as one drive letter on the network. With CD Commander, each CD appears as a directory. This is good. When you use the Nakamichi changer on a single PC, each CD requires its own drive letter. Sometimes, as a network user, most of your drive letters are already used. Depending on the network you're connected to, using all available CDs in the CD-Changer may force you to be removed from the network.

NetWare's CD networking takes up one of your drive letters when you want to access a CD. CD Commander, because it appears as an application, doesn't occupy any available drive letters. As a CD Commander user, you access the CDs through what looks like an application.

Double-click the icon of the CD you want and presto. In NetWare, you need to go into the File Manager. Click a drive. Pick a path. A window displays a list of titles or directories. At that point you can access the CD you want.

As a user, I particularly like the application route. It was simple and easy to use. Clicking an icon in Windows that does all the work for me gave me less steps to remember. However, the person assisting with testing liked the Novell approach. He knew that NetWare could let users reach CDs over the Network. He knew how to access them. I didn't. As a seat on a network, I don't necessarily have to.

Once CD Commander and CD Vision are installed on the network, you can go to any workstation and CD Vision appears as an icon that looks like a waiter ready to serve CDs. It's a good server because it has a friendly user interface and accesses the CDs as quickly as the CD changer permits. This is part of the software's appeal. However, the workstation that has CD Vision as a server can't be a CD Commander user.

Setting up and assigning picture icons to represent the CDs was fast. You follow-the-dialogue-boxes. Even if you made a mistake and assigned the wrong picture from the icon library Ornetix, fixing it was a cinch. For example, you assigned a picture of a sunflower to a military CD -- reassigning a new icon, like that of soldiers, to represent the CD took just a few clicks.

The CD changer worked beautifully. It's one of those things that awe you at first because of its small size. Then you wonder if it's up to the task. It is. Accessing the CDs seemed quick. We weren't looking at our watches, wondering when the CDs would appear.

It's true. You can do CD networking in NetWare. So why buy CD networking software? Investing in this approach is something you do for your users -- not the server or NetWare administrators.

-- Special Thanks to Freddie