Universal Driver Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where does the Universal Driver fit within the network product suite?

The Universal Driver is a next generation network product from Revelation. Designed for Revelation based systems deployed on Windows, Novell or Linux environments, this product replaces the Windows 2000 server, as well as the Revelation NLM on networks running contemporary operating systems.

The Universal Driver is only designed to work on networks where all the workstations are NT, 2000 or XP, being true 32-bit operating systems. More accurately, you may be able to install the Universal Driver on networks with other workstations, but the Windows ‘98 workstations and below will not run Advanced Revelation, or OpenInsight using the Universal Driver. Where older workstations need access to the system, users will need to opt for either the Windows 2000 Service, or the Revelation NLM network products.

Who should purchase the Universal Driver?

There are three core groups of users who should purchase the Universal Driver:

• Users running Netware with IP, or who want to.
• Users who wish to run their Revelation based applications from a Linux server.
• Users who are running their Revelation based applications from a Windows server.

Incidentally, Microsoft themselves have tested and certified OpenInsight version 7 and the Universal Driver for use on their Windows 2003 server operating system.

Why should you purchase the Universal Driver?

There are three main reasons why anyone with 5 or more workstations should purchase the Universal Driver. Those reasons are discussed below. Users with 3 or more OpenInsight users should purchase the Universal Driver Lite to also take advantage of the following benefits.

Protection from data corruption.

Data corruption can occur for a variety of reasons, including bad network cabling, power fluctuations, hardware errors, no record locking, or users aborting processes. Often it is impossible to predict, or to prevent such events. The Revelation Universal Driver protects you against data corruption when such events do occur, by recognising that an error occurred and notifying the user, whilst protecting the data table from incomplete transactions, virtually eliminating data corruption errors (Group Format Errors).

Increased speed performance.

Revelation Network Products are designed to enable database activity to be off-loaded onto the file server. This architecture dramatically reduces the amount of network requests. The reduction of network requests translates to increased performance. Benchmark testing show a dramatic performance increase on local area networks (LANs) and an even greater increase on wide area networks (WANs).

Reduced Downtime

Costs mount very quickly when your users can not use the system. The real cost of data corruption is the downtime created while the appropriate back-ups are found and restored. If the system can not be restored with a recent back-up, the information must be re-entered, thus consuming additional precious resources.

Why should I upgrade to the Universal Driver?

Depending on your situation, you have probably been waiting to use the Universal Driver. As Netware servers have progressed, they have embraced the ability to use IP instead of IPX. Until the Universal Driver, Revelation Network Products for Netware required IPX, which in some networks is a drawback. That is no longer the case.

The Universal Driver is a network product that will not only protect your Revelation application data, but also increase the speed of the application. It is the much anticipated addition to Revelation technology for those that wanted to move from their current Network Operating System to a Linux Server.

If you are currently running the Windows NT or 2000 Service, there have been modifications to the Service portion of the Universal Driver to improve stability.

What configurations will the Universal Driver run in?

The Universal Driver can be used with Advanced Revelation version 2.03 or later and all OpenInsight version 4.1 or later, subject to certain conditions.

This table is correct at the time of creating this document. The Revelation web site at www.revelation.com should be consulted for the very latest information.

I'm using an existing Revelation network product, why should I consider an upgrade to the Universal driver?

There have been some major enhancements to the network products and these have been delivered through the release of the Universal Driver. Revelation has provided existing Windows 2000 Service and Revelation NLM users with an upgrade path to enable them to take advantage of these enhancements and which include:

• The ability for users to take advantage of pure IP based systems (Novell IP in the case of Novell based systems). This provides even better system performance and stability than that which we saw with the earlier network products.
• Reduced installation and configuration time, as only one REVPARAM file is required regardless of how many directories contain .LV and .OV files. This also reduces the risk of missing a REVPARAM file during installation and the risk of future support costs.
• The ability to support larger frame sizes.
• A much faster LH Verify process by incorporating it on the server side of the system.
• The ability to support files larger than 4 Giga Bytes. This is a major benefit to users who require the ability to store media files, such as images, video and sound within their Revelation based systems.
• The ability for application developers and configuration engineers to hide .LK and .OV files from workstation users. This provides even greater system security as the data can be completely hidden from Hex editors at the workstation level.

Will the Universal Driver work with Advanced Revelation?

Yes, it will work with Advanced Revelation 2.03 or later and 32-bit OpenInsight.

Will the Universal Driver work with Windows 95/98 workstations?

No, it will only work with NT, 2000 and XP workstations. On networks where you have a mix of NT/2000/XP and Windows 95/98 workstations, if you install the Universal Driver, the Windows 95/98 workstations will not run Revelation-based applications.

Tell me more about the Linux aspect of the Universal Driver.

The Universal Driver allows you to run a Windows-compiled version of OpenInsight or Advanced Revelation on a Linux machine using a SAMBA connection. This allows Windows workstations to access the Linux "Server" with OpenInsight, or Advanced Revelation on it.

Can I upgrade from an NLM to the Windows Server portion of the Universal Driver?

No, you cannot switch Server platforms by purchasing an upgrade to the Universal Driver. You will need to purchase a full installation of the Universal Driver if you are switching from one Server platform to another.

What is the pricing?

Please contact us for the very latest pricing information.

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