If you read computer publications, you’ve no doubt sampled the coverage
that’s been lavished on Windows 2000, Microsoft’s latest upgrade to the Windows
NT platform. And you’ve probably noticed that while the Windows 2000 coverage has
been abundant, it has been short on facts, and long on hype and speculation. I think it is
time to separate fact from hype with regards to Windows 2000. Also, I think it is time to
consider Windows 2000’s relevance to the CTI industry.
In this column, I’ll discuss the telephony components added to Windows 2000. But
before I get that far, I’ll have to acquaint you with some of Microsoft’s
enhancements made to the kernel, as well as the improvements to the operating
system’s usability and manageability.
To qualify myself to write about Windows 2000, I took the trouble to acquire the
necessary hands-on experience. Actually, it was no trouble at all. I simply called
Microsoft and asked them to send me the Beta3 release of Windows 2000. Microsoft
graciously obliged.
RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS
I was all eagerness to get my hands on the beta CD. When it finally arrived, I
had a brand-new Pentium 400 with 128 Meg of RAM just waiting for this next-generation
operating system to be installed! Actually, I received two CDs, one for Windows 2000
Professional (equivalent to Windows NT Workstation), and another for Windows 2000 Server
(which replaces Windows NT Server 4.0).
Windows 2000 Professional is designed for standalone or network client PCs. It supports
the basic features supported by Windows NT Workstation, but it has a limited Web server.
And it works only with a single CPU.
Windows 2000 Server has all of the capabilities and features of the Professional
version. In addition, it supports up to two CPUs. Also, the Server version contains a full
version of Microsoft IIS 5.0 and an Active Directory controller.
Not content with just two flavors of Windows 2000, Microsoft also supplies Advanced
Server, a version that can handle up to four CPUs, address 64MB of RAM, and provide load
balancing and clustering. One final flavor, called Datacenter, can handle up to six CPUs.
Of the two flavors actually shipped to me — Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000
Professional — I decided to install Windows 2000 Server, since it contains features
and capabilities that Windows 2000 Professional lacks.
INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING WINDOWS 2000
Network administrators will love the new remote install feature. They’ll
find they can create a boot disk that will start the PCs, point them to an existing
Windows 2000 server, and allow the server to automatically install the operating system
without any user intervention. This feature also works with bootable network adapters. Of
course, for a single installation, the Windows 2000 CD is bootable for quick installation.
I set the system BIOS to boot off of the CD-ROM first, inserted the Beta3 CD, and
hurriedly rebooted the PC in excitement to check out Microsoft’s latest operating
system. The beginning installation phase was very similar to a typical Windows NT 4.0
Server installation. One difference during the installation was that Plug-and-Play is now
supported on Windows 2000. I am happy to report that Windows 2000’s Plug-and-Play
detected my network card, video card, and sound card. I was especially pleased with the
sound card detection, since I have had countless adventures with Windows NT 4.0 trying to
get various sound cards to work properly.
After the Windows 2000 installation finished, I logged on for the first time and was
greeted by a user-friendly, wizard-like interface for configuring such settings as Active
Directory, Print and Web services, Networking, and other features. Windows 2000 novices
will find this wizard extremely useful, but experts will no doubt configure various
elements manually, and stop the wizard from loading when Windows 2000 first boots.
SCOPING OUT THE USABILITY ENHANCEMENTS
I noticed several usability enhancements. For example, I saw that Microsoft had
reduced clutter by removing both the Channel Bar and the online services folder. Other
icons have been placed in more prominent positions. For example, the My Documents folder
is now a shortcut on the Desktop to C:\My Documents.
I have always found administering Windows NT 3.51 and NT 4.0 to be a nuisance. Some
administration utilities are in the Control Panel, while others are in Start, Programs,
Administration Tools. Arghh! My screams of frustration must have echoed from Connecticut
all the way to the Microsoft campus in Washington!
Fortunately, Microsoft must have heard my cries (and those of 20 million other NT
Administrators). It made the Control Panel the emphasis for users to configure and
maintain their systems. Printers, Network Connections (including Dial-up Adapters),
Administration Tools, and Scheduled Tasks have been moved from My Computer to Control
Panel.
Another cluttered area Microsoft has addressed is under the Start, Programs folder.
Many users have confronted cascading menus that go on forever, obscuring the programs of
interest. In Windows 2000, the frequently used programs are emphasized; the rest are
hidden beneath a series of down arrows.
These arrows are “clickable.” That is, if you do need to see the entire list
within the cascading menus, you simply click on the down arrows. Also, programs that you
have run before versus programs you have never run before are differentiated by different
shades of gray, making it easier to scan for programs you use more regularly.
Another useful part of Windows 2000 is that just about everything is a
“snap-in.” That is, everything can be configured from the Microsoft Management
Console program, which is familiar to most NT administrators, particularly those used to
configuring Microsoft IIS. The Control Panel, Services, Event Viewer, Device Manager, and
TAPI settings are all “snap-ins,” which means they can be configured from the
centralized Computer Management application (a snap-in viewer).
Plug-and-Play devices, such as the 3Com network card, can have their
“properties” checked and configured via the Device Manager, which is a snap-in
within the Computer Management application. Take note of the “Microsoft Multicast
Conference TAPI Service,” which is of special importance to CTI, since this service
will allow multicast multiple video and audio streams to multiple participants over IP.
I tested a TAPI multicast application that comes with Windows 2000. With this
application, which is called Microsoft Phone Dialer, and which was actually written by
Active Voice, I was able to hold a video conference with two other participants, making a
three-way video conference. Unfortunately, one of my cameras died during the video
conference, so my record of the event, a screenshot, includes but two video participants.
The remaining participant, as the figure shows, was audio only.
TAPI 3.0 is going to enable software developers to create some very interesting and
exciting CTI applications. Without sounding too pro-Microsoft, I can promise you that
within six months of Windows 2000’s release, you will see some novel CTI applications
developed using TAPI 3.0. These applications might just transform the CTI industry as we
know it!
CONTEMPLATING THE BSOD — WILL IT REST IN PEACE?
Windows 2000 increases reliability through various means, including an improved
kernel mode write protection to prevent system crashes. Is this the end of the dreaded
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)? (May it rest in peace!)
Also added to 2000 is what is called the System File Protection (SFP) feature, for
preventing the replacement of certain monitored system files. Administrators will like the
new Kill Process tree, which allows the Task Manager to kill single processes without
rebooting.
Speaking of rebooting, one of the biggest complaints about Windows NT was the number of
situations that would oblige you to reboot the PC when you made changes. Windows 2000 has
eliminated many of the instances (38 fewer reboot scenarios) in which you would be
required to reboot, such as adding or removing network protocols, and changing the size of
the page file.
I should also point out that administrators will be happy to hear that Microsoft has
devised a “driver signing and driver verification” scheme to help end driver
installation conflicts.
While I recognize that Windows 2000 has improved on reliability, during my testing of
Beta3, I was able to crash the operating system after just 15 minutes of use, simply by
attempting to configure certain portions of Active Directory. I was prompted with a screen
that stated something like this: “Program has performed a fatal error. System will
shutdown in 30 seconds. 29 seconds. 28 seconds.” As the clock ticked away, I
attempted to kill the automatic shutdown process via the Task Manager, but to no avail.
The system was coming down whether I liked it or not.
So, while I believe that I’ll see the BSOD less frequently, I have to wonder how
often failures will trigger these automatic system shutdowns. Perhaps this is
Microsoft’s BSOD replacement? Of course, I am being a bit facetious when I joke about
Windows 2000 still having system failures, and a new BSOD replacement. The version I have
is still in beta form. But let us hope that Microsoft will work out most of the kinks by
the time the operating system is released!
Other notable features added to Windows 2000 include Plug-and-Play support and power
management, which are both provided by the ACPI specification. Support for Universal
Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 “FireWire” is also now available. Another
addition, “Safe Mode Boot,” will allow help desk and MIS personnel to start
Windows 2000 with a minimal set of drivers to troubleshoot the system. Beta 3 even lets
you use a standard FAT-formatted boot disk to access your NTFS-formatted hard disk.
SUMMING UP
Overall, I was quite impressed with Microsoft’s enhancements to Windows NT
— now Windows 2000. Microsoft has improved the operating system’s usability,
reliability, security, and ease of use. The upgraded operating system, which includes
better telephony functionality, betokens Microsoft’s commitment to the CTI industry,
particularly in light of recent events.
I refer to Microsoft’s 5 percent acquisition of Dialogic. Granted, this move may
have been superceded by the Intel buyout of Dialogic, but Microsoft’s commitment to
both TAPI and S.100 remains.
Windows 2000 will become a popular platform for running just about any CTI application,
thanks to its TAPI 3.0 support, multi-casting capabilities, and support of security
standards such as IPSec. VARs, integrators, and CTI developers have been waiting for a
stable, reliable, and robust Windows platform for bringing new CTI products to market. As
such, Windows 2000 is a step in the right direction.
One of the objections to using Windows NT in the telecom/CTI space has been its
reliability. Of course, even today, there are many CTI applications running on the current
version of Windows NT (including the Artisoft PC-PBX in our editorial offices). Besides
PC-PBXs, Windows NT is used today in voice mail systems, unified messaging platforms, fax
servers, auto attendants, and more.
That said, it is widely acknowledged that today’s flavor of Windows NT (version
4.0) lacks the four nines of reliability (99.99 percent) that many businesses require.
While I don’t profess that Windows 2000 will have four nines of reliability,
Microsoft has surely increased its reliability via an improved kernel, clustering
capabilities, and software bug fixes.
One last point: While Microsoft claims that Windows 2000 will be an “end all”
product targeting both the mid-range and high-end of computing, my personal view is that
Windows 2000 still has a way to go before this product will be used on the high-end.
Still, Windows 2000 is a welcome improvement over the previous version, and I look forward
to seeing the final product.
Tom Keating is chief technical officer and executive technology editor for TMC. He
welcomes your feedback. To contact him, send your e-mail to Tom Keating .
|
Internet Telephony Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
CUSTOMER 
Cloud Computing Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
IoT EVOLUTION MAGAZINE
