vailable updates to the OS and applications will be automatically and seamlessly loaded and made available for the end user wi
thout the need for the administrator to intervene.
In addition, increasingly we have users who aren't tied down to a specific PC within an organization. They move from PC to PC. The ZAW initiative will also further enable users to move throughout the organization and have the information that they need follow them regardless of their physical location.
The ZAW initiative will also let administrators more easily manage their systems from a central location. We give administrators the ability to centrally manage systems today, but this is largely a manual task. ZAW will let administrators set a policy and let the OS administer that policy.
All of that combined is designed to bring down the needless costs for administration.
BYTE:
What are the main pieces of ZAW, and when are they expected to become available?
Raisys:
The ZAW initiative is designed to be available with the Windows NT 5.0 and M
emphis OSes. [Editor's note:
At press time, Microsoft slated the second half of 1997 for release of both OSes.
] It's a little early to go into the details of the implementation, but components of the initiative will go into the next version of NT and will include things like the Active Directory (Microsoft's forthcoming advanced directory service), Windows Scripting Host, enhanced setup technologies, the Microsoft Management Console, and other technologies in the OS. It will also include products already available, such as Microsoft's Systems Management Server.
BYTE:
Is the goal of ZAW truly Zero Administration, or should it be more accurately described as "lowered administration"?
Raisys:
It's both of them. We can bring the administration of certain everyday management tasks like distribution of software upgrades and application updates down to zero. Once an administrator specifies the desired state of the desktop, n
o additional administration will be needed to maintain that state of the desktop.
But there will always be administration costs and administrative tasks associated with management, depending on an organization. Zero Administration frees up administrators to focus on the tasks that they really need to spend time on, such as supporting their end users or spending more time planning the infrastructure.
BYTE:
Will ZAW provide any benefits to customers using existing technology?
Raisys:
The basic concepts of ZAW will work with any client, though we hope to introduce more advanced management features into future clients and applications.
BYTE:
How does ZAW relate to the Net PC (Microsoft's proposal for a 16-MB, Pentium-based PC that specifies a hard drive to cache information, a sealed case (i.e., add-ons attached externally via external buses such as the Universal Serial
Bus), and the floppy disk as optional)?
Raisys:
Both are geared toward reducing the overall cost of PC ownership. We approach that goal two different ways. One is from the operating systems side of the business and one is by working with some of the hardware vendors to keep PC costs down. The combination of the two provides a benefit to an administrator, and both are geared to bringing costs down. But they can also operate independently of each other.
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Zero Admin Windows
