I understand that Cisco owns Linksys and that Novell owns NetWare, and that both companies are (among other things) involved with the production of network components (routers, hubs, etc.) I can''t seem to get a definite answer as to what NetWare exactly is, and what advantages it has over Linksys technologies (Netware is a network OS -- ??). Most importantly, does anybody know which firm is more popular; meaning who ultimately sees their products implemented in more networks that the other : Cisco or Novell? And where does Oracle fit into all of this? "Software that powers the internet" ?? WTF

Novell started out creating a product called Netware. Netware is a file and print serving OS. Think Windows NT but without the ability to run Windows applications. It has evolved into other things such as a Name Directory Service. They even purchased an email client producer back in the 80''s that turned into Groupware.

I don''t believe Novell was into hardware manufacturing in a big way. They may have made little stuff, but Netware was their main product. In the beginning, they would run on any hardware. I had Netware running on an original IBM PC with 2 floppy disks, no HD (yes, I''m old).

They recently purchased SUSE, a Linux distro, and Ximan, the makers of GNOME and Mono (.NET clone). Looks like they are moving to put Netware on Linux.

Cisco is mainly into hardware: routers, switches, etc. They truly are the hardware that run the internet.

Oracle makes a high-end database, but have tried to get into vertical applications such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. I don''t believe they manufacture any hardware. Oracle doesn''t make "Software that powers the internet". IMHO, the internet is about protocols, not software. True, a lot of big companies use Oracle''s database as the backend of their web sites, but that is hardly running the internet. This is just Larry Ellison, owner/founder, on an ego trip.

You may be confusing Novell with Nortel, which makes routers, switches and other network hardware. It''s backbone level stuff though, so you won''t find it anywhere. Cisco and Nortel are by far the two largest network hardware suppliers in the world, with Cisco being the bigger of the two. Nortel took a huge hit after the dot-com crash, and still hasn''t recovered.