>2 identical Servers:
> - 2 Pentium II 400 mhz Servers (128mb RAM, 6gb HD, etc.)
> - 1 of them Running NT Server Service Pack 4
> - 1 of them Running Novell Netwer Server 5
>
>Databases are on both servers:
> - 50 databases, 50 cdx files, etc.
> - no more than 20,000 records in the transaction file
> - no more than 2,000 records in the customer file
> - transaction file size = 20mb
> - customer file size = 10mb
>
>Program files reside on the Workstation:
> - Win95/Win98 PCs (Pentium II, 128mb Ram, etc.)
> - M:\data = the MS NT Server Data folder
> - N:\data = the Novell Server Data folder
>
>File opening technique:
> - Using Local Views with 2-3 index tags on the view.
>
>Problem:
> - When the program uses the Novell data (N:\data), it takes about 2
> seconds to bring up the customer screen.
> - When the program uses the NT Server data (M:\data), it takes about
> 2 MINUTES!! to bring up the customer screen.
>
>Summary:
>QuickBooks, Office, and other programs access data on the NT Server at an acceptable speed. Only our VFP apps are very slow accessing data on the NT Server. However, the NOVELL server data access is fast.

Most tests and reviews have shown NT and NetWare running at similar performance levels as file servers. There is no way NT should be 60x slower.

Since you're accessing both servers from the same workstation, the difference(s) probably lie in the network and/or server configurations.

1. What network protocols are loaded on each server?
2. What client software is used to access each server?
3. Does the NT box have any built-in antivirus software that may be continuously scanning all files?
4. Any proxy server on the NT machine that may be slowing down IP access?
5. What apps are being run on the NT Server?
6. Has the NT box been set to increase priority for background tasks at the expense of foreground tasks?