Windows NT

Windows NT, Windows NT Server, and Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition are server and workstation operating systems made by Microsoft that run on Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentium, Intel 80x86, and DEC Alpha.

special topics

Peripherals: “Many PC peripherals work with NT, many don’t. See the HCL for a list of devices that are certified to work.” —Kristian Elof Sørensen^w36

Internet Services:

Businesses and organizations with servers powered by Windows NT: ABCNews.com, AudioHighway.com, Burger King, Compaq, Ebay.com, EDiets.com, ESPN, Ford, Gillette, Intel, MarthaStewart.com, NextCard.com^w52

http://www.baynetworks.com/Products/nav/f_netid_3_0.html “NetID” commercial DHCP/DDNS server from Bay Networks that runs on Solaris, HP-UX, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 95; links into Oracle and Sybase, with tools for managing IP addresses.

“When it comes to more sophisticated networking functionality, it seems that Microsoft’s NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition can’t hold a candle to the more mature commercial UNIX operating systems. Although not essential to network performance, 64-bit computing is here today with these UNIX operating systems (as opposed to NT’s 32-bit operating system).” —John Kirsch, “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”^w51

Microsoft NT 4.0 lags behind the leading UNIX vendors due to poor support for directory services, network security, NFS, and few TCP/IP extensions. Microsoft has largely focused adding value to its bundled Web server product and to tuning its Java Virtual Machine.” —Digital Equipment Corporation, “AIX 4.3 Leaps To 64-Bits In Dead Heat With Digital UNIX 4.0”^w51

	HP-UX 11.0	Solaris 2.6	AIX 4.3	Irix 6.4	Digital UNIX 4.0d	NTS 4.0/EE
Extension
IPSec	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
IPv6	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
RSVP	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
IP Multiplexing	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
IP Multicast	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial
Performance Optimizations
Telnet in kernel	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Kernel Sockets	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
TCP Large Windows	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Zero Copy TCP/Hardware Checksum	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Path MTU Discovery	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
OpenShortestPathFirst (OSPF)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
RTP: Real Time Protocol	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
RTCP: Real Time Control Protocol	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallelized TCP/IP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

INTERNET/INTRANET NETWORKING FEATURES

Networking Features Graph

“Since Microsoft sees NT as a viable alternative to all other network-capable operating systems on the market, UNIX and Novell included, one would assume that NT would come with all the tools necessary to accomplish the most basic tasks required: file and printer services. Any systems/network administrator knows from experience that there are two important issues to be considered when setting up a file server or adding a new network user: security, i.e. passwords and file permissions; and quotas for limiting disk usage of any new or existing users or groups. Although NT provides basic password security, it only provides file-level security if you choose to use its proprietary filesystem called NTFS. Some MIS departments are reluctant to implement this file system (at least on users’ machines), because they feel that recovering from disk problems is hindered by the use of NTFS. More important than this issue, however, is that NT does not provide any mechanism for limiting a user’s disk usage! UNIX and Novell, on the other hand, provide software for performing this seemingly elementary control.” —John Kirsch, “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”^w51

“For most businesses, e-mail has become an indispensable tool for communication, and most companies run their own internal/external e-mail systems. With Windows NT, you will have to buy a separate software package in order to set up an e-mail server. UNIX operating systems come with a program called Sendmail. There are other mail server software packages (or MTAs, Mail Transport Agents) available for UNIX, but this one is the most widely used, and it is free. Some UNIX administrators feel that exim or qmail are better choices since they are not as difficult to configure as sendmail. Both exim and qmail, like sendmail as well, are free for use even in a commercial environment. Many NT-based companies use Microsoft Exchange Server as their MTA. This is an expensive solution with limited success in an enterprise environment. Microsoft Exchange Server Enterprise Edition — 25 Client Access Licenses costs $3,549.00. If you have more than 25 employees, the same package with 50 Client Access Licenses costs $4,859.00 (Source: Microsoft). For more information on this topic see http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/sendmail-exchange.html ֹMicrosoft Exchange versus Sendmail: Views of Other MIS Professionals’.” —John Kirsch, “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”^w51

“Meanwhile, Windows NT already loses on many more competitive issues. Linux, FreeBSD, and other forms of Unix can be configured as a firewall right out of the box. Windows NT cannot. Free Unix operating systems have built-in features like IP masquerading. Windows NT doesn’t even do basic IP filtering without additional software.” —Nicholas Petreley, “The new Unix alters NT’s orbit”, NC World^w74


Market share as of January 2002	Defacements = about 30,000 between April 2000 and February 2002
Microsoft software runs about a quarter of Web servers, but is the target of the majority of successful Web defacement attacks. —Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2002ⁿ³

Security:

    “As Windows users are being plagued by computer viruses, spam, buggy software, and Web pop-up ads, some are questioning why the Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth has failed to integrate security and repair features that could make computers less prone to problems.
    “ ‘Microsoft has added lots of bells and whistles to Windows to protect their operating system franchise over the years, but when it comes to Windows security and reliability, they’ve done comparitively little until recently,’ said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a Bethesda, Md.-based computer security and training organization.
    “ ‘It’s like they are selling faster cars with more powerful engines but leaving off the seat belts and air bags — all those critical things that make customers safe when using their products,’ he added.
    “Microsoft’s critics say the reason the company isn’t eager to add security features is simple: Doing so wouldn’t help it fend off competitors whose products could undermine the spread of Windows.
    “ ‘You would think there would be money to be made in Microsoft having some kind of more effective antiviral program of their own,’ said Andrew Gavil, an antitrust expert and law professor at Howard University. ‘But virus programs don’t present any threat to their operating system monopoly.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004ⁿ⁴

Microsoft falsely claimed that it would make security a company-wide priority in its much publicized 2002 “trustworthy computing initiaitve”. Since then, Microsoft Windows (all versions) has become even more vulnerable to viruses and other internet attacks. Security is a purposely false and misleading marketing slogan at Microsoft.

    “Ironically, some experts say, product bundling is partly to blame for Windows’ security woes.
    “Lee A. Hollaar, a computer science professor at University of Utah, said the widespread proliferation of the Melissa computer virus stemmed from the tight integration of Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail program with its writing application, Word.
    “ ‘The Melissa virus exists only because Microsoft expanded Word documents to contain functions that let it access the Outlook address book’, Hollaar said.
    “Similarly, he explained, when the Internet Explorer Web browser was folded into the operating system, it exposed Windows to greater security risks from the Net.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004ⁿ⁴

Although the network capabilities of Windows NT Server and Windows NT Workstation are very different, this is the result of of a marketing decision rather than a technical difference. Although it is a violation of Microsoft’s license, a few minor changes in the NT Registry will convert Windows NT Workstation into a fully functional version of Windows NT Server.^w65

alternatives to Windows NT

1.1 MB QuickTime movie of Bill Gates explaining his criteria for selecting the best operating system.

“Microsoft enjoyed its great success not because it had great software but because people were stuck with it. Market domination, not innovation, drove the company’s success,” wrote James Wallace in the book “Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace”, John Wiley & Sons, September 1997.

Commentary: Quite simply, Windows guarantees more work for the M.I.S. departments — because it computers require far more technical support to do the same work. And when the M.I.S. departments make computer recommendations to management, they tend to look out for their own job security over the best interests of the business. The same reason that many retail stores also push Wintel machines — it guarantees more work for their highly profitable service departments.

In addition to

Macintosh OS X (formerly

Rhapsody) (which combines the ease of use and professional content creation capabilities of the

Macintosh with the power, reliability, and speed of the

NeXT version of UNIX),

BeOS, NetWare, and

OS/2 Warp Server, any of the many free and commercial versions of UNIX offer a better high end operating system than Windows NT. See John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX” at http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/.

And in the server arena, the leader (in number of installations) is still NetWare.

Study after study has shown that Macintoshes are less expensive to support and maintain than Wintel machines. Wintel computers typically cost four to 10 times as much in support costs. Even Intel’s own internal study showed that it was costing them four times as much to support Windows machines as it did to support their Macintoshes (yes, Intel used Macintoshes for mission critical work — and since that study they have been expanding their use of Macintoshes).

Independent studies over the years continually show that worker productivity is substantially higher on Macintoshes than on Wintel computers. And the difference is greatest in the creative fields (pre-press, illustration, digital photography, 2-D and 3-D animation, 3-D modelling and rendering, film special effects, broadcast video editting, CD-ROM production, multi-media, music composition and performance, sound editting, and web site production), where the Macintosh is the most prevalent computer (even more than the high end graphics work stations — and Macintosh OS X (formerly Rhapsody) brings the Macintosh to the high end graphics work stations). Macintosh OS X is numerically the most used form of UNIX, bringing the flexibility, reliability, power, and speed of NeXT’s object oriented frameworks together with some of the ease of use, user interface, and consumer software of the Macintosh.

See also: http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/, John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”

Ethics: Bill Gates is a longtime member of the Augusta National Golf Club, the official site of the Masters Golf Tournament. The Augusta National Golf Club refuses to allow any women join their club and for decades refused to allow Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities to join, only relenting in 1990 to allow a few token Black members when facing criminal charges for Civil Rights violations. The only reason that Microsoft hires women and minorities is because of tough federal Civil Rights laws. If you are a woman, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or a member of any other minority group, remember that Bill Gates and Microsoft hate you and only take your money becuase they are forced to by law.

references

geek humor

“Windows NT: Insert Wallet into Drive A: and press any key to empty.” —Matt Garrison,MacLine

“How many Microsoft technicians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
“Three: two to hold the ladder and one to screw the bulb into a faucet.” —Matt Garrison,MacLine

A web site on dozens of operating systems simply can’t be maintained by one person. This is a cooperative effort. If you spot an error in fact, grammar, syntax, or spelling, or a broken link, or have additional information, commentary, or constructive criticism, please e-mail Milo. If you have any extra copies of docs, manuals, or other materials that can assist in accuracy and completeness, please send them to Milo, PO Box 1361, Tustin, CA, USA, 92781.

If you have an extra or unwanted copy of any official manuals or documentation on this operating system, please send them to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA. I have the following items: NONE.

Note: I am looking for a fan of Windows NT who has the time to check this web site for completeness and accuracy regarding Windows NT. Just check through the site about once a week or so and report back with any information (including the URL of the web page you are reporting).

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Macintosh	Windows	UNIX
AIX	AmigaOS	BeOS
BSDi	Digital UNIX (or DUNIX)	FreeBSD
GNU Hurd	HP-UX	IRIX
LINUX	Macintosh	Mac OS X
MS-DOS	MVS	NetBSD
NetWare	NeXT	NeXTSTEP
OpenBSD	OPENSTEP	OpenVMS (or OVMS)
OS/2	OS/2 Warp	OS/2 Warp Server
PC-DOS-2000	Pyramid	Rhapsody
SCO	Solaris	SunOS
ULTRIX	UNIX	VMS
Windows 3.1	Windows 95	Windows 98
Windows NT	Windows NT Server	Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition

†UNIX used as a generic term unless specifically used as a trademark (such as in the phrase “UNIX certified”). UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.

OSdata.com

Windows NT

also: Windows NT Server and Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition

summary

OSdata.com is used in more than 300 colleges and universities around the world

special topics

INTERNET/INTRANET NETWORKING FEATURES

alternatives to Windows NT

references

references within this web site

further reading: web sites

official web sites

FAQs

user group web sites

other related web sites

further reading: books

further reading: books: introductory/general

further reading: books: administration

further reading: books: internet

further reading: books: enterprise/business

further reading: books: content creation

further reading: books: programming

further reading: books: hardware

further reading: books: miscellaneous

geek humor

OSdata.com is used in more than 300 colleges and universities around the world

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