unctions of a NOS. When selecting a NOS, companies must address the following questions ahead of time: How many printers are supported per server? Can multiple printers be driven by one print queue? Can multiple print queues drive one printer? Will the NOS deliver an alarm message to an operator if a printing problem arises? Will the NOS inform the user when a print job is completed? Can the print function be managed remotely? Network media -- Many different network media types are in use in companies today. To be successful, a NOS must support a broad collection of network media, including all ethernet media, all token-ring media, asynchronous and synchronous telephone lines, packet-switched data networks, fiber-optic, and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).. Network protocols -- Companies selecting a NOS must be certain that the protocols on the corporate network are compatible with the NOS. These protocols may include AppleTalk filing protocol (AFP), TCP/IP, Telnet, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), SNA, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX), NetWare file services, NetWare print services, NetBIOS, and NetBEUI. Network services -- NOS platforms should provide the functions needed to support large business environments, including support for directory services that allow users to access network services without having to know the network address, and security services that control access to directory management functions. Security -- Companies need to feel comfortable that corporate data assets are secure. This category evaluates a NOS platforms' standards compliance (B2 and C2 security ratings), support of access control lists, disk quotas, automatic discovery of and management of intruders, support of callback modems, support of security management systems, and wh...
