The Prime Directive

Several years ago, I was the director of software development at amedium-sized company. My staff and I took great pains to test ourmission-critical software before putting it into production. If ourimplementation was successful, 600 users could continue working withoutinterruption. If we failed, the system could go down, costing hundreds ofdollars per minute. The recent problems with Service Pack 2 (SP2) make me wonderwhether Microsoft developers forgot that Windows NT is running business-criticalenvironments.

The recent horror stories of users rebuilding systems after installing SP2have prompted some special coverage in this magazine and on our Web site. MarkMinasi relates his SP2 war story and provides some interesting tips for avoidinga service pack disaster. Jonathan Chau gives some workarounds andtroubleshooting tips. And we've created a special Web page (http://www.winntmag.com/news/sp2/sp2.html) just for NT service packs.

To be fair, I acknowledge that every OS has problems with maintenancereleases. I spent a few wasted evenings trying to recover from AS/400 programtemporary fixes (PTFs) and NetWare loadable module (NLM) patches. OS maintenanceis usually two steps forward and one step back, but SP2 is more like two stepsback and one step forward.

From what I can tell, several things have happened to NT development.First, Microsoft merged the Windows 95 team into the NT team. I'm not sure thetwo groups have the same development philosophy, and the difference is beginningto show. Next, Microsoft's Internet emphasis has removed part of NT'sdevelopment from the protective care of Dave Cutler. That move worries me.Cutler's philosophy assures quality because it is event driven: The product isfinished when it's finished. The new team seems to be date driven: Whateverexists on the predetermined release date is what ships. In other words, the teamhas already determined when SP3, SP4, and NT 5.0 beta will ship. Regardless ofNT's condition, the product will make that date. Worse yet, the softwareis available for download from Microsoft's Web site, where we can all experiencethe agony of defeat within minutes (hours, if you have a slow connection.)

NT's success is built on one principle: stability. In fact, instead of "Wheredo you want to go today?" Microsoft's motto could have been "WindowsNT: It just works." If NT loses its reputation for stability, thefoundation will crack and the house will crumble.

Dear Microsoft, treat NT like a fine wine: Don't release it before its time!Stability is the prime directive, and it's worth the wait.

NT Workstation License Follow-Up
Last November, I wrote about the Windows NT Workstation (NTW) licensingagreement confusion (check http://www.winntmag.com/editorial/nov96.htm).I mentioned that Microsoft would work with Windows NT Magazine andInternational Data Corporation (IDC) to investigate whether to change theagreement.

Microsoft never called. So I contacted Adam Taylor, Microsoft group productmanager for desktop marketing, and asked about the status of the agreement. Hesaid the license agreement will stand as is--no changes. "Our corecustomers have said the current license agreement is not a problem," saidTaylor. However, many readers have written me wondering whether theirenvironment violates the agreement. How can NT licensees who have goodintentions deal with this confusion?

One interpretation of the agreement is that if you're using NTW as yourprimary workstation, you're fine, regardless of the number of connections. Thisscenario may violate the letter of the law, but it keeps the spirit. Microsoftis not going to send the license police after you. Microsoft has enough troublewith people who aren't paying anything for software. Above all, Microsoft shouldnot restrict NTW more than other desktop operating systems, including Windowsfor Workgroups, Win95 or OS/2 Merlin. That approach makes no sense.

If you're using NTW as a server, you need to limit the number ofsimultaneously connected inbound computers to 10. This way, you can runsmall Web servers, peer-to-peer networking, and other small services. If youknow you have more than 10 inbound computers simultaneously connecting,upgrade to NT Server. Often, NTW can technically handle the server application,but that's not the point. When you buy NTW, you're buying 10 simultaneousinbound computer connections for desktop use. The fact that NTW can act as aserver is a bonus.

Thanks for all your email on this subject. I think this interpretation willwork for most of us.

—Mark Smith, Editorial Director
[email protected].
www.winntmag.com/mark.htm