Client/server computing has evolved from concept to reality at a surprising number of companies, mainly because of the convergence of three key technologies.

LAN servers, database-management systems (DBMSs) and high-speed networks — the client/server building blocks — have matured enough in the past year to give companies the confidence they need to erect new computing architectures, according to industry analysts.

These technologies have converged so quickly that even some analysts have been surprised by the client/server wave. In a recent study, Cambridge, Mass., market researcher Forrester Research Inc. found that 69 percent of Fortune 1000 companies now use server databases, compared with only 26 percent a year ago (see chart …

Most people have a tendency to avoid planning for rough times. The thinking seems to be that if you don’t plan for it, maybe it won’t happen.

With servers, this kind of thinking will always lead to trouble because of computing rule No. 1: All computers eventually will seem slow. Servers are no exception. The server that today has more CPU power and disk speed than you can use will be as slow as an old dog tomorrow.

The good news is that with the right tools, you can prolong any server’s life. The first step, of course, is to find out just what the server is doing and exactly …

The client/server world is brand-new for companies planning to rightsize their database operations, and that shows in the slim availability of database-management tools to support such platforms.

Many of the tools available for mainframes to control and manage data don’t yet exist in client/server database systems. Tools for monitoring, measuring, testing, evaluating and simulating the performance of the database under different allocation formats “will either not be there or will be significantly less powerful than what’s on the mainframe,” said George Schussel, president of Digital Consulting Inc., an Andover, Mass., consulting firm.

Granted, most client/server database-management systems come with tools for defining a database, allocating space for it, defining tables …

A recent story in a business magazine raved about a young, hotshot money manager. One example of The Kid’s savvy: He’s shorting Novell stock.

Why? Because the wunderkind is afraid of what Microsoft is about to do to Novell.

It was jarring to see it put that bluntly. But the notion wasn’t so different from what I’ve heard from other money managers and analysts, and from a number of the seers and gurus in the computer press, as well.

Let’s not go overboard here. Novell’s 60 percent-plus share of the network operating system market is a solid base. With the acquisition of Unix System Laboratories, the strengthening of Novell’s …

Imagine seamlessly accessing data from IBM AS/400, HP 9000 and PC servers, regardless of the type of client platform. Better still, imagine developing an application that runs on multiple clients and integrates with these servers without prior knowledge of what those platforms are.

Creating such a truly distributed computing environment is the goal of a growing class of software called “middleware,” which provides a common interface for diverse front ends and servers. With so many approaches to client/server computing and a diverse installed base, the demand for middleware is increasing. By definition, client/server applications demand the seamless integration of software across computer platforms, operating systems and networks.

One new middleware …