NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition moves Windows NT a major step toward enterprise-level capabilities.
Morgan Stern and Gary Monti
If you've ever seen an Olympian sprinter prepare for a race, then you've probably noticed the pre-race ceremony: a few quick warm-ups leading to a dramatic pause in the starting blocks just before the explosive dash to victory. If Windows NT 5.0 symbolizes the dash to victory for Microsoft, then Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition is the dramatic pause, an opportunity for Microsoft to g
ather its thoughts, make minor adjustments, and prepare for the effort ahead.
Enterprise Edition builds on NT Server 4.0 to fortify the OS for the rigors of enterprise computing. With this upgrade, Microsoft
has made NT a more scalable, reliable, and manageable platform.
The upgrade has a number of notable changes, including support for up to eight processors on a single server and up to 32 processors in special OEM versions to be offered by hardware manufacturers. Another new feature, called 4GB Memory Tuning, increases the upper limit of mem-ory that can be addressed by a single process from 2 GB to 3 GB for Intel-based servers with enough RAM (see the sidebar "Tuning Up for 4GB"). This RAM need not all be physical RAM; the extra address space can provide significant performance benefits for I/O-intensive applications, such as SQL Server.
Microsoft packages additional features of the Enterprise Edition as modules that can be installed separately or in comb
ination. Three important new ones are the Cluster Server (formerly known by its code name, "Wolfpack"), the
Transaction Server
(which was previously downloadable from
http://www.microsoft.com
), and the Message Queue Server. Microsoft also continues to bundle Internet Information Server (IIS) 3.0 and FrontPage 97 with the package. All these additional features are burned into a companion CD called the Component CD.
Safety in Clusters
Organizations looking for increased server availability can implement the Microsoft Cluster Server to construct a two-server, automatic fail-over configuration. In a cluster, if one server either requires service or crashes due to a hardware failure, the second server takes over from the unavailable unit and automatically restores any existing serv
er connections. This represents Microsoft's Phase I philosophy for clustering. Load balancing and multinode clustering will both be addressed in phases II and III, with release dates yet to be announced.
To create a server cluster, you need a pair of network adapter cards to act as the interconnection between the clustered servers. An external SCSI disk subsystem provides common storage for the two servers, each attached separately through an approved SCSI controller. Before buying any hardware, we recommend checking the Microsoft Cluster Server Hardware Compatibility List for components that have passed Microsoft's Cluster Validation Test, a subset of the standard NT 4.0 Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). This is viewable at
http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest/hcl
.
New Chrome and Tail Fins
The two other main Enterprise Edition components, the Message Queue Server and the Transaction Server, should appeal to enterprises planning to use NT as an application-development platform.
The Message Queue Server, an application-to-application messaging service, lets developers use the Microsoft Message Queue service to support asynchronous communications between a sender and a receiver passing data in any format that is understood by both parties. Because it's asynchronous, message queuing can work around any application and network failures. The queuing function stores messages during network or intermediate system failure, which allows it to maintain integrity while it determines whether to retransmit or reroute.
The Transaction Server provides high-volume transaction-processing services that permit developers to use off-the-shelf ActiveX controls to create three-tier client/server applications. By putting a layer between the client application and a server-based database, such as SQL
Server, the Transaction Server increases your programming flexibility by assuming control of the interfaces to the back-end servers. Developers can create client front-end applications using any of a number of tools, such as Visual Basic or Active Server Pages, leaving the complexity of managing the interactions with multiple databases up to the Transaction Server.
Set It Up, Joe
The installation program matches the standard NT 4.0 process, right through the final reboot. Upon authenticating to the server for the first time, you encounter a mandatory Service Pack 3 (SP3) update. Cynics and mystics might ponder why the Enterprise Edition install wasn't integrated with the rest of the install, but once the process is completed, the Enterprise Installer launches and provides an interface for installation of the various packages contained on the Component CD.
Though inelegant, this installation procedure allowed us to upgrade a standard NT Server to the Enterprise Edition in less than 10 minu
tes. One quick system reboot later, and the server was up and running. Those with an eye for detail will notice that the Enterprise Edition build is identified as Build 1381, which is consistent with the current, standard release of Windows NT Server 4.0/SP3. SP3 always supported eight processors and 4-GB memory tuning, but the capabilities were kept in reserve until now, according to Microsoft.
Once you're past the Enterprise Installer, the package doesn't look much different than its predecessor except for the new splash screen identifying it as the Enter-prise Edition. Component-package installations are straightforward. Microsoft Cluster Server, Message Queue, and Transaction Server all follow the standard installation format for Microsoft products.
Wrap It Up, Take It Home
When Microsoft announced the Enterprise Edition at Scalability Day, it also announced availability of a special Enterprise Edition version of SQL Server. Naturally, corporations will want to implement both products
as a pair so they can take advantage of the improved transaction processing. However, the release of the Enterprise Edition version of SQL Server will lag at least two to three months behind that of NT Server Enterprise Edition.
With the release of Enterprise Edition soon to be overshadowed by the impending arrival of NT 5.0, one has to wonder how this release fits into the NT product line. Adding to the confusion is Microsoft's decision to bundle versions of the Transaction and Message Queue servers into the first release of the Windows NT Option Pack.
Microsoft recently changed its Service Pack strategy to shorten the time between bug-fix releases. Starting with Service Pack 4, technology updates will no longer be included. Instead, they will be released as components of the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.
The Option Pack contains version 4.0 of IIS, version 2.0 of the Transaction Server, version 1.0 of the Message Queue Server, and the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) update. In addi
tion to being available as a low cost CD-ROM, the Option Pack will be available as a free download from the Microsoft Web site.
Before this change, all Service Packs up to and including SP3 contain bug fixes and technology updates, such as IIS 3.0 and Front Page97. As the number of technology updates and bug fixes increased, the time required to test all components extended dramatically, as did the time between Service Pack releases. By designating Service Packs as the exclusive vehicle for bug fixes, Microsoft hopes to resume a more regular release schedule -- surely welcome news to administrators.
According to Microsoft, the components that will be unique to the Enterprise Edition are the changes to the core OS (i.e., support for up to eight processors and 4-GB memory tuning) and the Cluster Server. In addition, the version of the Message Queue Server that ships with the Option Pack is a scaled-down one, lacking many of the features that ship in the Enterprise NT Server version. An Enterprise Ed
ition version of NT 5.0 is expected to be released when the standard version ships.
For organizations that are looking to increase the performance and reliability of their NT servers, NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition will bring them closer to their goal. By offering features such as eight-processor support and the Cluster Server, Microsoft is taking an eagerly anticipated step toward offering a truly enterprise-worthy OS. However, organizations looking for other enterprise-type features, such as a true directory service, will have to wait for NT Server 5.0, which is due sometime later this year.
Product Information
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition........$3999 for 25 client licenses
(90-MHz Pentium or Alpha RISC, 64 MB of RAM,
and 500-MB disk required)
Microsoft Corp.
Redmond, WA
Phone: 206-882-8080
Internet:
http://www.microsoft.com
Enter 1073 on Inquiry Card.
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The Microsoft Transaction Server is but one of the new components offered in the NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition.
Morgan Stern is a network consultant based in Boston. You can contact him by sending e-mail to
morganst@world.std.com
. Gary Monti is a network systems engineer for International Network Services in New England. You can reach him at
gary_monti@ins.com
. Morgan and Gary are coauthors of NT Enterprise Network Design (Sybex, 1997).
Microsoft Laces Up for the Enterprise Race
