By Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE etc.
REPRINTED FROM WWW.CRAMSESSION.COM
Still haven’t gotten around to upgrading those desktop machines to Windows 2000? Still running on NT Workstation – or worse, one unstable flavor or another of Windows 9x (who, ME, you say)? I feel your pain.
Windows 2000 offers some significant advantages over both NT and the 9x family, in terms of stability and support for advanced networking functionality. On the other hand, there is one major reason not to upgrade your desktop operating system at this time, if you haven’t already: the next generation of Windows (called XP in its desktop incarnation and Windows 2002 in the server flavors) is even better.
In today’s article, we’re going to take a step back and look through the myriad of Windows operating systems that are in use today, discuss advantages and disadvantages of each, and help you form a plan for when and how to upgrade (or in some cases, to upgrade again).
Coming Down from Cloud 9x
Those of us who make our livings working with and writing about the newest, latest, greatest “cutting edge” technologies often forget that we’re out of step with most of the “real world” out there. After working with Windows 2000 since the early betas, I tend to forget that it’s only been officially released for a little over a year, and many companies haven’t even started thinking about upgrading yet. Heck, I’m already a little tired of W2K and deeply into the new features of Windows XP/2002.
But, as I am constantly reminded whenever I take on a new consulting job, most folks are out there who are running networks for the purpose of making their non-tech-related businesses work more efficiently. They don’t have the money, the time or the desire to immediately upgrade their operating systems each time Microsoft builds a better o/s, even if it has features that would benefit them. The company decision makers may not be technically savvy, and thus may be completely unaware of which Next New Thing is all hype, and which one will save them money and greatly increase the productivity of network users. Tech personnel may be so overworked and so busy putting out fires and soothing savage beasts (users) that they don’t have time to stay abreast of the latest technologies, either – and rolling out an upgrade may be a bigger job than they want to take on until forced to do so.
All these factors combine to create a situation in which, despite the current focus of many technical industry publications and books on Windows 2000, there are still a lot of organizations running NT servers and Windows 95 on the desktop (and more than you might expect still running the “obsolete” NT 3.51 and Windows 3.11 operating systems).
How do we bring these folks into the new millennium? If you’re a network admin still supporting what Microsoft now calls its “down level” operating systems, what solid reasons can you offer your company management for upgrading at this point? Or should you just hold off a little longer, and wait for the new “cutting edge,” Windows XP/2002? Let’s look at a few of the pro’s and con’s of an upgrade to Windows 2000 now.
The Windows of Opportunity
If your job includes making decisions about when and how to make a major – and expensive – operating system upgrade that impacts your entire organization (or even if your job only includes providing your input and opinions on the matter), you know that it’s never as simple as it might seem. There are many factors involved; some of them technical, some economic and some political. When is the “best” time to move to a new o/s? How can you be sure when you reach the point where not upgrading becomes more costly, in terms of productivity and compatibility, than biting the bullet and rolling out the new o/s? How do you recognize that window of opportunity and seize it before the “new” operating system is so close to being replaced that it doesn’t pay to bother?
There is no set answer to these questions that applies across the board to every organization. Instead, you must assess how your network is used, and do a cost/benefits analysis of upgrading vs. waiting. Some questions to ask include:
· What operating system(s) are you currently using and how well are they serving your current needs? If your users are still stuck in a 16-bit world when most new applications being released are 32-bit, it’s probably time to start planning an upgrade even if everyone is comfortable with Windows 3.x and no one really wants to learn a new interface. It will become more and more difficult to find software and drivers for the “obsolete” operating systems, and the difficulty or impossibility of using new technologies such as video conferencing may put your company hopelessly “behind the times” when interacting with others.
· What is the technical level and attitude toward change of your network users? If your current technology is somewhere “in the middle” (for example, desktop machines are running Windows 98) and the applications you need will run on your current o/s, you may want to consider how resistant (or enthusiastic) your users will be about learning a new operating system. This must be weighed against the other benefits and drawbacks of upgrading.
· What are your security needs? A company’s security needs may change over time. An organization that, ten years ago, had nothing on the network that really needed to be protected may find that today much of the data on the network is sensitive, or is required by law to be kept confidential (such as some personnel records). One of the most compelling reasons to upgrade to Windows NT or 2000 from the 9x family is the enhanced security. And given the very significant security enhancements Microsoft built into W2K, and the relative costs of upgrading, there aren’t many arguments at this time for upgrading from 9x to NT Workstation. The question becomes instead whether to upgrade to W2K, or wait a little longer for XP.
· What is your hardware situation? Will the upgrade you’re considering require that you purchase all new hardware? If you’re currently running NT Workstation and considering an upgrade to W2K Professional, you may need only to add some RAM to your current machines. If you’re thinking about taking a giant step from Windows 3.x to Windows XP, it’s almost a certainty that your old hardware won’t support the new operating system and will have to be replaced completely (unless you consider another alternative, which we’ll discuss in more detail later in the article – thin client computing with terminal services).
· What is your overall budget situation? An upgrade is inevitably expensive; at the very least requiring the purchase of licenses for all the upgraded computers on your network, and often requiring some hardware upgrades as well. Look at your long term plans; if there are features in Windows XP that you absolutely have to have, and you plan to deploy that o/s soon after it’s released, it probably would not be cost effective to upgrade to W2K now, when you’ll be doing another major upgrade in less than a year.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a better idea of how to approach the upgrade decision, and if you determine that your current operating system is not going to meet the needs of your network for much longer, you can consider one of several upgrade options. We will look at a few of those options in the sections below.
Upgrade Now to Windows 2000
Whether you’re running Windows 3.x or Windows 9x on your desktops, you’ll enjoy several benefits by upgrading to Windows 2000. Increased stability and security are the most important ones.
On the downside, some of your older programs may not work on W2K, especially games. In a production environment, games probably won’t be a big concern, but if you have custom written programs that were designed for the 16-bit environment, it could be a major concern.
One reason for upgrading to Windows 2000 now is that the o/s has been out for over a year, and many of the initial “bugs” have been worked out or addressed via workarounds, and there is a solid base of knowledge about the o/s available.
Wait for Windows XP
Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of its next desktop operating system, Windows XP, later this year (October 2001 is the current “target date”). XP is the long-awaited merger of the Windows 9x (including ME) and Windows NT (including W2K) lines into one. At long last, all Microsoft operating systems will be built on the same kernel code, which will increase compatibility and reduce the driver issues that have plagued users in the past. XP will come in both a “personal” edition for home users and a “professional” edition for the corporate desktop and SOHO users.
NOTE: The server versions of the new operating system will not be called XP, but Windows 2002.
If you are running Windows 9x on the desktop now, and have no immediate needs (such as security) to upgrade to Windows 2000, you may find it expedient to wait for the release of Windows XP. Several new features are included.
One especially attractive feature of XP Professional that you won’t find in W2K Pro is the ability to manage your organization’s desktop systems remotely without third-party add-ons, using the W2K terminal services client or the XP Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client. This will make it much easier for administrators to troubleshoot users’ machines without having to physically visit the site.
Deploy a Thin Client Solution with Terminal Services
What if you need the features of Windows 2000 or XP, but your company can’t afford to upgrade its old hardware to run the new operating systems? All is not lost – Windows terminal services comes to the rescue. Both Windows 2000 and 2002 server products allow you to configure a server running terminal services (included with the standard server o/s, unlike with NT) as an application server. By installing the terminal services client software on desktop machines running Windows NT, 9x or even Windows 3.x, you can provide your users with the Windows 2000 or 2002 desktop and modern applications, without upgrading the hardware. This is because all the processing takes place on the server.
The terminal desktop can be run full screen or in a window, and users can continue to use their local programs as well. This is an especially good solution if you have users who need to run a proprietary 16-bit program that won’t run on the newer operating systems, but also need access to Office 2000 or other modern applications that can be installed on and run from the terminal server.
NOTE: To deploy terminal server in application server mode, you will need a license for each terminal client (except those running Windows 2000 Pro, which include a TS license). However, this is still much less expensive than buying new computers to run the more powerful o/s.
Using the terminal desktop is “the next best thing to being there.” The Windows 2000 terminal services has a few limitations: the terminal window can only run in 256 colors and does not support sound. The Windows 2002 terminal server, using the RDC client, allows you to run the terminal in true color and bring sound to the remote desktop.
Summary
Network administrators who are still running older Microsoft operating systems on the desktop have several different choices today as they consider upgrading. The three most viable choices at this time are:
· Upgrade to Windows 2000 now
· Wait until October 2001 and upgrade to Windows XP
· Deploy terminal services on a Windows 2000 server and run the modern o/s and applications in a terminal window on top of Windows 3.x, 9x or NT on your low-powered desktop machines
An upgrade to any member of the Windows 9x family at this time probably is not advisable in most cases, as the 9x kernel is being phased out while Microsoft builds its future operating systems on the same more stable and more secure NT/2000 kernel.
In making a decision as to when and how to upgrade your desktops, you should consider your application needs, security needs, user needs, hardware, and budget factors. The best upgrade is the one that works best, at the least cost, for your individual network and organization.