Novell: ZENworks Client Doesn't Support Vista SP1

A key part of Novell's ZENworks systems management suite suffers from a loss of functionality on machines running Vista service pack 1, but neither Novell nor Microsoft is talking about what specific functions are affected.

Novell's ZENworks 10 Configuration Management client (ZCM 10) doesn't currently support Vista SP1, but Novell will address that in an update slated for release in late March or early April, a company spokesperson said an email to ChannelWeb.

However, Novell didn't respond to repeated requests for information on specific functionality that's lost after Vista SP1 is installed. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company has no additional information to share on the ZENworks-Vista SP1 compatibility issue.

The incompatibility is ironic in light of the interoperability pact that Microsoft and Novell signed in 2006, in which the vendors pledged to build better ties between Linux and Windows. That deal has been something of a punching bag in the open source community, a significant portion of which believes it goes against the intentions of the Linux general public license.

Novell unveiled ZENworks Configuration Manager 10, formerly known as Pulsar, at last year's CeBIT conference in Hannover, Germany. The product, which supports both Novell eDirectory and Microsoft Active Directory, helps speed Vista migrations and minimize downtime by keeping users' personal desktop and application settings intact during the migration process.

Robert Brentson, CEO of InTech Solutions, a Novell VAR in Penfield, N.Y., says there has been a noticeable increase in adoption of ZCM 10 in recent months, due in part to its flexibility. "ZCM 10 is directory agnostic, and that has allowed us to reach native Microsoft customers that we normally haven't done business with in previous versions of the product," said Brentson.

Of course, many businesses are still waiting for Microsoft to fix the well publicized technical issues in Vista before they even begin to think about migrating. Oddly enough, that reticence is part of the reason why Brentson isn't overly concerned about the fact that ZCM 10 doesn't yet support Vista.

"To be frank, most of my customers still aren't looking to adopt Vista, so the immediate impact is probably going to be minimal," Brentson said.

Microsoft, which announced the release to manufacturing of Vista SP1 earlier this month, plans to offer it to the public sometime around the middle of March.

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