Windows NT 5.0

Just when you thought you had time to figure out Windows NT 4.0, here comesversion 5.0. Last November, Microsoft unveiled an enormous amount of newtechnology that will eventually take form as Windows NT 5.0 and BackOffice. Muchof this technology will affect your enterprise's infrastructure and the way youinteract with NT. Right now, I'll give you some highlights of what to expectfrom 5.0, and you can look for in-depth coverage in the February issue of WindowsNT Magazine.

Microsoft wants us to build corporate solutions on what it's calling itsActive Platform, which consists of the Active Desktop (the InternetExplorer--IE--4.0 Web browser, which will be built into NT Workstation), theActive Server, and ActiveX. The Active Server consists of Internet InformationServer (IIS) 3.0, Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), MicrosoftTransaction Server, and Falcon (message queuing-based middleware). On top ofthese services rest the other BackOffice components: SQL Server, ExchangeServer, SNA Server, Conference Server, Personalization Server, InformationRetrieval (indexing), Content Replication, Merchant Server, and Proxy Server.

IIS, formerly a BackOffice option, is now mandatory for building an NTServer environment. Its role is to serve Active Server Pages (dynamic HTML andActiveX pages) that other services will use. One important service that usesActive Server Pages is the new Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which letsyou manage all aspects of an NT network from one user interface. And MMC managesnot just Microsoft products. Third-party vendors will be able to write ActiveXmodules to let their products snap into the MMC framework. Because MMC supportsActive Server Pages, Administrators will be able to manage their systemsremotely through a Web browser.

So what's in NT 5.0? For starters, plug-and-play, power management, fullDirectX support, Windows 95-to-NT migration, built-in IE 4.0 for Workstation,and the latest Internet technologies. Add the new Active Directory, ZeroAdministration Initiative, hierarchical storage management (HSM, from Wang),volume management (from Veritas Software), a dynamic Domain Name System--DNS(say goodbye to Windows Internet Name Service--WINS), and more. On page 39, MarkMinasi gives an overview of NT 5 technologies.

You can also bid farewell to DOS-based scripts. NT 5.0 supportslanguage-independent Active Scripting. This engine will let you use VisualBasic, Java, and other languages to automate procedures. The idea is that alladministrative features will be extensible via Active Script. Finally, a realbatch language.

I can hear it now. Some of you are saying, "I haven't even implementedNT 4.0 yet. How many nights and weekends do I have to spend keeping my systemsup-to-date?" Microsoft's plan to help you upgrade is Wolfpack, NT's newclustering solution, which is due by June 1997. By putting two or more serversinto a cluster, you can manually fail over one server to another server thatwill pick up the workload. Then you can upgrade and test the first server. Whenyou're comfortable with the change, you can bring the server back online andhave the users and processes automatically move back. Meanwhile, users are upand running the very application you're updating.

When will NT 5.0 come out? According to Lou Perazzoli at Microsoft, "Late."However, you can expect to see many of these technologies available on the Webbefore the final release of NT 5.0. We are testing parts of NT 5.0 in the WindowsNT Magazine Lab and will let you know when we think the new functions areready for a production environment.

Warning: All the new features will run on only NT Server 4.0, so ifyou're still on NT 3.51, you'll have to watch from the sidelines. Still, runninga business on NT 5.0 (or any other) beta software is a waste of time. In fact,staying on NT Server 3.51 is a very safe, conservative strategy until you decideto go to 4.0 or wait for 5.0.

What do you do with all the new 5.0 stuff? First, if you haven't implementedan intranet infrastructure in your corporation, do so now. Most systemsmanagement tools from Microsoft or third parties will come with Web connectivityof some kind. Second, assume that your next corporate development platform willbe based on intranet technology. Finding a development platform that doesn'tsupport the Internet/intranet is nearly impossible.

As we explore this and other NT-related technology, we'll continue toprovide the information you need to help you get the job done today. And we'llkeep you informed about how to prepare for the future.