MARS_NWE
MARS_NWE is a free NetWare emulator for Linux, originally written by Martin Stover of Marburg, Germany. It is a long-running retro-computing project that aims to keep classic NetWare-style services available on modern Linux systems.
This repository is now the de facto home of MARS_NWE: the central place where ongoing maintenance, fixes, integration work, and current public releases are collected.
Current Development Status
The original author's last release was on 1 September 2000. Marco Cavallini of Koan Software later produced version 0.99.pl21 around 14 June 2003.
With the 0.99.pl22 release in May 2012, I effectively took over ongoing public maintenance of MARS_NWE. Since then, I have collected and integrated many of the patches that had accumulated across different distributions and downstream packages, including work from Arch, Debian, Fedora, PLD, Koan, and other sources, while trying to keep the project building and working as a whole.
This repository is where that continuing integration and maintenance work now happens. Public release milestones include 0.99.pl22 (20 May 2012), 0.99.pl23 (5 November 2013), 0.99.pl24 (31 May 2023), 0.99.pl25 (31 July 2024), 0.99.pl26 (28 March 2026), and 0.99.pl27 (21 April 2026).
Although MARS_NWE still builds and runs on modern Linux systems, it remains an old codebase with rough edges, missing features, and bugs that still need attention.
About This Repository
This repository was originally assembled to compare the differences between the more recent MARS_NWE versions, especially those not produced by the original author. Older versions going back to 0.96 were also imported to preserve development history and make it easier to track how the code changed over time.
The source archives used to build this repository history can be found here:
What MARS_NWE Can Do
As described in the old project documentation, MARS_NWE is a functional clone of a NetWare server for Linux. It works with the usual DOS client software normally used with classic NetWare servers. It provides file, bindery, and print services for NetWare client software, and it does not impose user license restrictions. It also includes a RIP/SAP daemon that can turn a Linux machine into an IPX router.
MARS_NWE Ecosystem and Submodules
The wider MARS_NWE ecosystem consists of several companion repositories that are typically used together. While they are linked here, each project has its own README with important details, especially regarding configuration and usage.
-
SMArT (Web Administration Interface)
https://gitea.disconnected-by-peer.at/mars_nwe/mars-smart
Provides a web-based configuration and management interface for MARS_NWE.⚠️ Important:
The SMArT repository mainly documents usage of the web interface itself. Parts of its configuration are described in the README files of related submodules, especially:mars-mailmars-dosutils
This split can be confusing at first — make sure to check those repositories as well when setting up SMArT.
-
dosutils (DOS Client Utilities)
https://gitea.disconnected-by-peer.at/mars_nwe/mars-dosutils
Collection of DOS-side helper tools for login, drive mapping, testing, and general NetWare client interaction.The README in this repository explains:
- available tools
- usage on DOS clients
- integration into SYS:PUBLIC
-
mailutils (Mail Integration Tools)
https://gitea.disconnected-by-peer.at/mars_nwe/mars-mail
Additional utilities related to mail handling in a MARS_NWE environment.The README includes:
- configuration relevant for mail handling
- parts of the setup that are also required when using SMArT
-
ncpfs module
https://github.com/EnzephaloN/ncpfs-module
Standalone NCPFS kernel module for Linux 4.18 and newer. -
ipx kernel module
https://github.com/pasis/ipx
IPX kernel support for Linux 4.18 and newer. -
ipx-utils
https://github.com/pasis/ipx-utils
Userspace IPX utilities for Linux.
Notes on Documentation Structure
Due to the historical growth of the project, documentation is distributed across multiple repositories:
- The main repository documents the core server
mars-smartdocuments the web interfacemars-mailandmars-dosutilscontain important configuration and operational details- Some setup steps (especially for SMArT) require reading multiple READMEs
If something seems incomplete in one repository, check the others — this is expected for now.
SMArT
SMArT is the web configuration tool for MARS_NWE. It provides a web-based way to configure and manage a MARS_NWE installation.
Security Warning
This codebase implements very old network protocols and has not had the kind of continuous hardening expected from modern network-facing software.
THERE WILL BE SECURITY VULNERABILITIES.
If you decide to run MARS_NWE, do so on a trusted private network only. In particular, since version 0.99.pl9, MARS_NWE has made filesystem calls as the root user in order to handle trustees, which may be a source of security issues.
Building
With the required kernel support installed, a typical build should be as simple as:
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
sudo cmake --install build
The older in-tree build style still reflects how the project was traditionally built:
cmake .
make
sudo make install
Current installs also provide systemd service files, including:
mars-nwe-serv.servicefor the main MARS_NWE servermars-nwe-webui.servicefor the HTTPS-enabled web UI daemon that places the older Perl SMArT interface behind proper encryption
Basic Configuration
After installation, edit:
/usr/local/etc/mars_nwe/nwserv.conf
/usr/local/etc/mars_nwe/smart.conf
At minimum, you should:
- give your server a name (section 2)
- set Ethernet frame types and IPX network numbers (section 4, you may be able to skip this if you have no other NetWare servers on your LAN)
- set a password for the supervisor user (section 12)
The comments in the configuration file are worth reading carefully, as there may be additional settings you want to customize for your environment.
Running
On current systems, MARS_NWE should normally be managed through the installed systemd service files.
To start the main server:
sudo systemctl enable --now mars-nwe-serv.service
To start the HTTPS-enabled web UI daemon:
sudo systemctl enable --now mars-nwe-webui.service
Clients
You will also need a NetWare client.
For DOS and Windows 3.11, one of the best choices is probably Client32 v2.71 from February 1999.
For other operating systems, or for older DOS machines, additional client software can be found here:
MARS_NWE does not work with the classic Mac client, because that client requires NDS from NetWare 4.x or newer, which MARS_NWE does not implement.
Where To Get Help
There is some very old documentation in the doc directory that may still be useful. The old linware mailing list archives may also contain useful information:
If none of those help, the remaining option is often the same as it has always been for old infrastructure software: read the code.