CHANGING YOUR NETWORK OPERATING SYSTEM: MAKING AN EFFECTIVE PLATFORM TRANSITION

As technology advances and software choices expand, today's schools are taking a long look at aging computer inventories and considering their options for new hardware and software. The latest multimedia software demands peak system performance, require additional hard disk space and larger monitors to deliver meaningful learning experiences. Outside the classroom, the Internet waits as a compelling educational tool for those willing to make an investment in faster modems, additional memory and data communications technologies. For many schools, this examination has led to the decision to support a computing environment that includes both Windows and Macintosh clients within an existing Microsoft Windows NT Server network from Microsoft. Others may decide to completely replace their existing Appleshare networks with Windows-based clients and servers. Your district's choice will depend heavily on budget, existing equipment and your overall technology plan.

Whatever your particular strategy may be, making the conversion from Appleshare to Windows NT on the server or clients requires proper planning and execution to ensure that all your users in the classroom, computer lab or administrative office realize the benefits of this transition. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the benefits of this transition and highlight some of the key steps in the process.

New Capabilities
If you are used to working in a mostly Macintosh operating system environment, you may not be aware of how easily Windows NT based servers support Mac clients and some of the new capabilities these servers can offer your current networking environment. Patrick Kuras, a Dell systems consultant and former Apple employee, is familiar with a number of the key features that make moving to Windows NT based networking attractive for schools.

"Windows NT offers a lot of advantages over Appleshare," notes Kuras, "Macintosh client support is a built-in part of Windows NT Server, and Windows NT can generally provide faster performance [through support of a wider range of equipment options] as well as support more users per server." Kuras also notes operating system tools and options that make life for network administrators a little easier. Windows NT servers can function as Macintosh routers, eliminating the need for additional software to allow Mac clients to "speak" to the network. Your user accounts can be quickly converted to the new domains without retyping and re-defining user accounts. And control of access to printers eliminates students printing to the principal's networked printer!

Windows NT's support for larger amounts of RAM and disk storage make it the choice for those areas of K-12 schools using large amounts of multimedia such as libraries or labs. "For those who want to eliminate racks of VCRs and adopt video servers," says Kuras. Windows NT can let you replace separate cable TV and computer networks with a single, high-speed data network. The technology for serving video is better supported under Windows NT than other operating systems.

So what are the benefits for Macintosh users to work on a Windows NT-based network? Aside from improved performance and easy integration, Kuras describes a domain logon feature of Windows as a very visible and immediately noticed benefit when working with a Macintosh connected to a Windows NT network. "No matter which server you need to connect to, you'll only need to provide your name and password once. That's a really convenient feature that makes less sophisticated users more comfortable with reaching different parts of the network." Macintosh client computers can access this feature of Windows NT using DAVE client software from Thursby are Systems. Students and teachers both realize immediate benefits from less confusing access to multiple school or district resources. Administrators and support professionals in your district will also enjoy the reduced training and password administration time spent with Macintosh users.

For your PC users, you may also consider upgrading from Windows 95 or Windows 98 to Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0. The benefits of Windows NT you can realize on your network can also be realized on your PCs.

Better Manageability.
You can limit what applications are installed or allowed to run based on specific profiles for each student, group of students or class. It also prevents installing unauthorized software, protecting your investment from viruses or illegal software. How it's done: Windows NT Workstation 4.0 is designed to be the most manageable Windows desktop. The Zero Administration Kit (ZAK) takes full advantage of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 management capabilities, including shell lock down, managed applications and file access.

Faster performance.
All of us run multiple applications simultaneously when doing a report or accessing the internet. Faster performance means that students get the job done faster which in turn allows for more computer free time. More students have access to computers. How it's done: From business productivity applications to highend technical applications, Windows NT provides the fastest performance for today's standard desktop (32 or 64 MB RAM). For example, in performance testing using the SYSmark32 benchmark, the Business Applications Performance Corp. (BAPCo) found that PCs running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (on the same Pentium and Pentium 11-class systems and 32 MB RAM) improved performance by 13 to 29 percent over PCs running Windows 95.

Increased reliability.
Less downtime means more productive time. Reliability means fewer reboots, allowing students to concentrate on their work, not the system. It also can reduce support needs. How it's done: Windows NT is designed to actively protect itself and applications from errors and external damage, whether accidental or deliberate, and to respond predictably to software and hardware errors. For example, every application (including legacy 16-bit applications) is configured to use its own private memory space. This means that if one application fails, it does not affect the other applications or the operating system. Core system components (executive) run separately from the many subsystems, so back-door entry points cannot compromise security or damage the system in any way.

Better security.
Windows NT and security are synonymous. Windows NT-based machines can keep a log of users making it easy to monitor usage and protect from unauthorized access to internal or external resources. How it's done: The operating system includes capabilities ranging from casual file protection on portables to industrial-strength protection against malicious hackers. For example, Windows NT Workstation 4.0 supports multiple user profiles on the same machine, so system "owners" can govern which users may have access to various program groups, files, and menu commands. Unauthorized users cannot "log into" a machine. Different users authorized for a machine cannot view each other's data.

Another benefit can be realized in your technology budget. Although the initial cost of the necessary hardware may seem high, moving to the Windows NT will help you realize significant savings in TCO (total cost of ownership) for your district over time. A key reason for this savings is simple supply and demand, due to the high installed base of PC-based networks in industry. From his company's experience, Stuart Elefant, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for network integrator Cohesive Network Systems, notes that "about ninety percent of installed network systems are PC based, which means if something happens to go wrong in your network, you have a very large knowledge base to draw upon, both inside and outside of education." That larger knowledge base results in overall lower costs for support or hiring expertise to assist you in installation and/or troubleshooting. Software products, Elefant notes, provide similar long-term savings through greater choice of tools.

Back To Top