Jan 4, 1997
Sunbelt Windows NToolstm Electronic
Newsletter
Vol. 2, # 1
USA:
www.ntsoftdist.com
EUROPE:
www.sunbelt.co.uk
Welcome to the First New Year's Issue!
Sunbelt Windows NTools E-News Sunbelt
Windows NTools E-News is the world's largest E-newsletter
designed for NT System Managers that have the job of getting and
keeping WinNT up & running in a production environment.
Sunbelt launched this electronic newsletter so that we could keep
members of the Windows NT community informed and aware of what is
happening with 3-rd party NT System Management Tools, and to
provide hints and tips that will enable you to better understand
and utilize Windows NT. You'll find general Windows NTools
related and third party news, technical information, and 3-rd
party beta and release information. By subscribing to NTools
E-News, you are
also a charter member of the Sunbelt Field Test Bonus Program.
Sunbelt Software is the first and largest distributor worldwide
of Third Party System Management Tools for Windows NT.
This Extra Large Issue of Windows NToolstme-news contains:
1. "EDITORS CORNER"
*NEW YEAR'S WELCOME AND 1997 PREDICTIONS
2. "TECH
BRIEFINGS"
* QUOTA MANAGER V2.6.1 NEW FEATURES
* BATCH JOB SERVER AVAILABLE FOR ALPHA
* DISKEEPER NOW AVAILABLE FOR LAPTOPS
3.
"NT RELATED NEWS"
* SERVICE PACK 2 NIGHTMARE
* WIN NT 5.0 FEATURES
* GEMS IN THE 4.0 RESOURCE KIT FOR SYSADMINS
4.
"THIRD PARTY NEWS"
* STORAGE ADVISOR/NT FROM W.QUINN
* USE GHOST TO CLONE FAT MACHINES
* CORRECT URL FOR JAZ & ZIP DRIVERS
* REALLY USEFUL UTILITY: KIXSTART
5. "HINTS
AND TIPS"
THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL OFFERS
6. "HOW
TO USE THE MAILING LIST"
*Instructions on how to subscribe, sign off
and change addresses.
"EDITORS
CORNER"
Dear NT-ers,
Welcome to a new and exciting year for Win NT. It is very easy
to see that this year will be its biggest ever, so that is not
one of the predictions I'll venture. But here are a few you may
like or perhaps hate <grin>.
1997 New Technology Predictions:
--------------------------------
In good tradition, every newsletter worth it's salt sticks out
their neck a few feet and predicts the new events to come in the
next year. Here are the NTools E-News ones!
+ Win NT 5.0 will be released sooner than most people think but
not as expected: it will might just be drip-ware delivered in
chunks when they are ready via the Net.
+ Microsoft will move to a subscription based maintenance/
update model via the Internet for NT Server.
+ 1997 will be the first year where NT overtakes Novell and Unix
combined
+ NT WS will outstrip Win95 on desktops within large corporations
in 1997
+ As a corollary, NT on Pentium Pro will be the Server of Choice
and get to a price point below $2,000 for entry level server
systems
+ The "Network Computer" will turn out to be a fad, it
is a
backward innovation. Nobody in their right mind is going to
try to take away people's PC's unless they have a death wish
or like revolts
+ People predicting a Net meltdown will find they are wrong.
These problems will be solved as there is enough available
capital to invest in faster backbones, and the upgrading is
currently in full swing
+ In 1997 NOVELL will be bought up by another larger company.
The new guys will strip all the fat and live off the existing
base of users, Computer Associates is my personal bet.
+ Apple computer will go downhill faster than expected and end
their year deep in the red. They made a start with Q1 expected
losses of a whopping 150 million.
+ If you own Microsoft Stock, expect $2,50 per share this year.
And if you want to know what Bill Gate's predictions are, look
here:
www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/bill-g/column/1996essay/12-31col.htm
Here's some good stuff for the next year!
Warm regards,
Stu
*************************************************************************
2. "TECH
BRIEFINGS"
* QUOTA MANAGER V2.6.1 NEW FEATURES
Quota Manager 2.6.1 provides more control over more types
of Windows NT disk objects and gives you greater control
of quotas through new, more flexible management options.
Quota Manager 2.6.1 adds the ability to send Administrative
messages by email as well as through pop-up messages. Email
Messaging is possible through your MAPI compliant messaging
system. Send administrative messages by simply choosing the
message delivery option that best meets your needs. Group
Messaging allows you to send administrative messages to any
local or global group on the network. Take complete control
over who sees these messages.
Add Quota and Change Quota dialog boxes, now include options
to set the size and numbers in the text boxes. Select KB, MB,
or GB as the units displayed in the text boxes. The
Configuration dialog box has tabbed folders that simplify
the navigation.
The HomePath utility searches your network for user's home
directories, generating a list that makes it easier to set
groups of quotas.
Download the new eval copy from the Sunbelt Website:
http://www.ntsoftdist.com
-----------------------------------
* BATCH JOB SERVER AVAILABLE FOR ALPHA
Camellia Software Corporation Announces Batch Job Server v2.0
Beta Testing for DEC Alpha System Camellia Software Corporation
is currently seeking people that are interested in testing Batch
Job Server V2.0 on a DEC Alpha system.
Testing is now underway for the Intel version of Batch Job Server
V2.0 on DEC Alpha systems using Digital's FX!32 V1.0, Digital's
new 32-Bit Intel emulator. Except for a few minor problems, Batch
Job Server performance and BJS batch job performance have been
excellent!
The Intel version of BJS does not degrade batch job performance
on an Alpha system. BJS batch jobs execute as native Alpha
applications as long as they are executing native Alpha programs.
The performance of the Batch Job Server service, which is
typically
less than 1% of the CPU, has no adverse effect on the performance
of batch jobs or other critical systems on the server.
The bottom line is that Batch Job Server can be used on an Alpha
server today! If you are interested in trying this you will need
to download and install FX!32 V1.0 from the following Digital web
page: http://www.service.digital.com:80/fx32/
-----------------------------
* DISKEEPER NOW AVAILABLE FOR LAPTOPS
Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0. This
Service Pack has been tested with Diskeeper 2.0 both in-house and
by
field test sites. We have found that it is completely compatible
with
Diskeeper 2.0 and that it does contain the fixes which resolve
the
incompatibility issues with Diskeeper running on laptop and
notebook
computers. Once you apply Service Pack 2(use uninstall!), you can
ignore the Diskeeper installation warning regarding laptops. An
update to Diskeeper will be available soon at www.ntsoftdist.com
**********************************************************************
3. "NT
RELATED NEWS"
* SERVICE PACK 2 NIGHTMARE
The last newsletter was a newsflash warning everyone that the new
SP2 could cause a LOT of problems. The plan was to send everyone
the full works on this, like bugs and workarounds and what
exactly
_is_ in this Service Pack. But reinventing the wheel is not our
cuppa tea, and Windows NT Magazine has created a wonderful SP2
information center with the following sections:
- Microsoft's Read.Me
- Summary of major changes
- Bugs and Workarounds
- New System Calls
- Forum Discussion
- and regular updates.
So you are referred to http://www.winntmag.com for the latest on
this, what we will do over here is a short summary of the
problems
that have been reported to us. Everybody that has given feedback,
thank you _very_ much!
* * *
Reported Problems with SP2:
1) Both McAfee and Symantec's NT Virus Protection products have
reported problems with SP2. Fixes are in the works
2) Microsoft Money 5.0, fails to connect to Money Online to
access information about a financial institution while it is
setting up online services. Uninstalling SP2 fixed it.
3) SP2 installed onto a system, rebooted, and got a blue screen
of death telling the NTFS.SYS was corrupt... This was repeatable.
Only a full reinstall fixed it.
4) A Rash of unexplained BSOD's (Blue Screens Of Death) that
disappeared after uninstalling SP2.
5) Trying to access Drive A:\ immediately and repeatedly causing
BSOD's.
6) Exchange server malfunctions, EMWAC IMS mail server
malfunctions
giving illegal/unknown users all the time.
7) DO NOT APPLY SP2 OVER A NETWORK CONNECTION. If you do, you
risk the possibility of damaging the NTFS.SYS and ADVAPI32.DLL
files,
making your system unbootable if it's a NTFS boot device. The
only
fix once that happens is to install NT into another directory (if
you
have room) and manually fix the destroyed files. There doesn't
seem
to be a problem if you copy the original SP2_400I.EXE to your
local
hard drive and expand it there and apply it from your local
drive.
8) Other problems with SP2, after applying to one of our
workstations,
it could no longer make drive connections to 3 of our 32 servers.
After uninstalling, all was well again. To try and isolate the
problem
we applied SP2 to an "identical" machine -- it worked
fine?????
9) Just to inform those of you who have ATAPI/IDE CDROM drives
and
NT 4.0 WKS installed. If you upgrade to SP2 under NT 4.0 WKS,
Beware
that every time you insert a CDROM disk, data or audio, your
machine
will bluescreen IMMEDIATELY!! To resolve the issue, just copy the
original ATAPI.SYS driver back into
\%SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS
directory and reboot.
10) When trying to install a modem, blue screen of death appears.
When trying to restore files from backup, blue screen of death.
11) After installing, we are unable to format a diskette using an
NEC
computer 466ES. Powermate 90, Powermate 133). After the format
reaches
100%, we get a stop screen (0x0000000a), IRQL not less or equal.
The
message is identical on all three types of machines.
12) Problems with FT volumes on SCSI drives, e.g., they
disappeared
when SP2 was applied. The disk administrator could not even see
the
raw disk drives. Uninstalling restored the system back to normal.
13) After a lot of VB 4 coding and after installing SP2 VB apps
didn't work properly. The problems appear to be connected to
using
Crescent's Quick Pack Pro version 4.2 controls and with Crystal
Reports version 5.0.
* * *
This is just a selection of the problems encountered. It would be
a good idea if MS would release the SP's to the 3-rd party
vendors
first, before letting the public loose on them. That way it's not
the customers doing field testing on production machines.
At least you are now warned. Always use the uninstall option and
TEST first on non-critical machines before you apply SP's to
production systems!
---------------------------------
* WIN NT 5.0 FEATURES
Microsoft's Direction on Windows NT 5.0
Scalability:
The Virtual Memory Manager in NT 5.0 will be a 64 bit VLM. This
will
effectively increase the Virtual Address space to 32 gigabytes.
Storage System and I/O:
Next on the list is the evolution of the NTFS file system.
Support
for long overdue features such as hot plugging, the ability to
extend disk partitions on the fly , Quotas by volume, HSM, FAT-32
(Windows 95 compatibility) and native content indexing. In
addition
some new features such as Reparse points (used for symbolic links
and junction points), OLE tracking and additional volume
management
services will also be available. Junction points will allow you
to
emulate UNIX style mounts points.
NT 5.0 will also support compression over the wire for compressed
files. Currently a compressed file that is accessed over the
network must be decompressed and sent. If you store that file in
a
compressed directory it must then be recompressed and the stored.
Compression over the wire will allow compressed files to be sent
as compressed files.
Zero Admin Windows:
NT 5.0 will support the Zero Admin Windows initiative proposed by
Microsoft. NT 5.0 will use the intellisense technology used in
Office applications to provide process based help. Windows NT 5.0
will support protected and locked down systems.
This allows admins to effectively limit, what certain users
can and can't do on a system. Windows NT 5.0 also will have
enhanced
applications support such as an OS oriented install and uninstall
that is simplified and unified. ISV's are encouraged to take
advantage
of the universal install and uninstall rather than writing their
own
installation utilities. In this way the operating system will
know
what is installed and what isn't, allowing for a much more stable
system and better application cleanup.
Following the logically centralized physically de-centralized
model
Windows NT 5.0 will support enhanced centralized installation of
applications and user setup. In an example They explained that
this would allow an administrator to setup applications for 100
users
rather than having each user install the application on their
machines separately.
With Zero Admin windows the concept of installing applications on
a
particular machine is a thing of the past. Instead you install
applications for a particular user. As that user goes from place
to place the data and applications follow them. Since you now
have a roaming user, you now have the concept of a replaceable
PC.
If a machine breaks down, you just replace it with a new one and
the user continues to work.
The way this works is by using the disk on the local machine as a
persistent cache rather then for file storage. All files and data
are stored on the network. Automated OS update at boot will also
be included in the 5.0 release. This will allow the system you
are
working o to be in sync with the most current OS releases and
service pack levels. Remote OS boot was also mentioned, but
they were doubtful that it would make it in the 5.0 release.
Windows NT 5.0 will also support verification of files and
drivers
via digital signing. This allows you to verify that you are
installing
the correct file from the proper vendor and that the file has not
been modified or tampered with. You will be able to set a
parameter
that will not allow your system to load drivers or executables
that
have not been certified. Look for a design preview in late winter
on the www.microsoft.com site.
Performance:
Windows NT 5.0 will also make available better instrumentation
for
capacity planning. This feature will be implemented via an API
called Windows Management Interfaces or WMI. People will be able
to
query these API's and write dynamic query engines that allow you
to
query metrics and display system metrics much like perfmon. They
explained that these API's will be available to all drivers and
applications and encouraged ISV's to player SNMP and DMI
implemen-
tations on top of WMI to enhance it. They also promised continued
performance gains similar to previous releases.
Fault Tolerance:
Clustering is a major part of Windows NT 5.0. Currently two node
clusters are going to beta based on Windows NT 4.0. Windows NT
5.0
will support up to 16 node clusters.
Additional Hardware Support:
Windows NT 5.0 will support the new Merced chip from Intel when
it is available. Also on the list is Plug and Play and Power
management. The power management will be based on the ACPI
standard and will require that your computer support the ACPI
standard for power management features. Driver support for I20
which is a mainframe style channel controller that can be
programmed will also be included. Support for industry standard
buses such as 1394, USB, Fibre Channel and AGP will also be
provided. Microsoft will also work closely with OEM's to support
custom buses such as Turbo Laser. Removable media will also be
supported in Windows NT 5.0. Specifically mentioned was Jazz
drive and DVD support.
-----------------------
* GEMS IN THE 4.0 RESOURCE KIT FOR SYSADMINS
There is great news for NT 4.0 System Administrators. In the
new ResKit are a bunch of really cool tools and info. Note,
there are now two different reskits: WS and SV.
The NTW kit provides a new section on disk and file trouble
shooting and this in itself is almost worth the whole kit.
It includes a whole set of disk and file system tools, plus
a low-level sector and partition editor called Disk Probe,
a new disk mapper and a fault tolerant Registry Editor which
allows you to modify mirrors and RAID arrays. The NTW kit
also has the "Themes" a-la W95. More over, it has an
extension
to the ADDUSERS command line interface that allows you to
input comma delimited file !! More goodies:
-Tools to delete user profiles and services
-Remote clipboard viewer (network)
-Service Installer Wizard
-SU.EXE updated so you can start a process playing another user
-all kinds of network tools like protocol analyzers.
The NTServer kit is a superset of the NTW one, so it has
all the above and more:
- 3 volume book set
- CD-ROM
- 360 page resource guide
- 860 page networking guide
- 200 page internet guide
- browser problem troubleshooting tools
- dbWeb that links to IIS
- DHCP and Domain troubleshooting tools
- New GROUP COPY tool
- Updated SMTP/POP Mail Server
For all the details, go to www.microsoft.com/mspress
and a small reminder for people that want to fax from NTWS:
www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/fax.htm
**********************************************************************
4."THIRD
PARTY NEWS"
* STORAGE ADVISOR/NT FROM W.QUINN
StorageAdvisor/NT is a storage management software that manages
all the
storage for systems on NT, Win95, UNIX, and OpenVMS. A
centralized
NT management station, enables you to track space consumption,
set
alarms, and take action when potential problems are found. The
product
is successful in the OpenVMS market and features an impressive
set of
options: storage management reports, report generators, policy
manager/
event monitor, policy generator, trend analysis reports, schedule
manager,
graphical reporting, object manager, and configuration manager.
Pricing
for a 5 NT server pack is $875 per node when licensed as a
package.
Have a look at http://www.wquinn.com/
---------------------------------
* USE GHOST TO CLONE FAT MACHINES
If you are using W95 for your desktops and need to roll out
hundreds of them, here is a tool that will save you a TON of
work and time... Ghost 1.5.4. Ghost allows you to make an
image of a PC's hard drive that you can use to speed the
process of installing software on other desktop systems.
It has error free system installation from PC cloning, it
is operating system independent and self adjusts to different
disk sizes. It's not yet fully NTFS-aware but they are working
hard on that too! It's $295 for a single user. Have a look at:
http://www.ghostsoft.com
------------------------------
* CORRECT URL FOR JAZ & ZIP DRIVERS
Name of the file is WINNT141.EXE, pick it up at their site:
http://www.iomega.com/support/software/ftp.html
------------------------------
* REALLY USEFUL UTILITY: KIXSTART
Steve Wilson sent us the following: I've just finished the *NEW*
KiXtart
Archive. Besides the new look, you'll notice the addition of a
brand new
tool for trouble shooting KiXtart Scripts. Author Richard Hollis,
of
Keypoint Computing, has created this useful utility which writes
errors
to the registry and displays them after the user has logged on.
Give
this a try and let him hear your comments.
A big thanks to Jim Kay of the DC area NT Users Group, who hosts
many of
the NT lists to which many of us subscribe. Jim has volunteered
to host a
discussion list for KiXtart users, so here goes!
To subscribe:
Send an e-mail message to: listserv@sice.oas.org
with one line of text: join KiXtart
*** The KiXtart Archive: http://netnet.net/~swilson/kix.html
*** Questions, comments, snide remarks to: swilson@simmonsjp.com
*********************************************************************
5."HINTS
AND TIPS"
"THIS MONTH SPECIAL OFFERS"
We have TWO special Offers for the New Year:
PERFMAN, a lean and low cost powerful Performance Manager for NT
is offered at the price of only 5 servers for 10 machines. Have a
look at the specs at our website: http://www.ntsoftdist.com
You cannot manage what you don't measure!
REMOTELY POSSIBLE/32-NT is twice as fast as pcAnywhere for NT
remote
control. It allows you to take over 3.x , W95, NTW or NTS machine
and do anything you want (except a power cycle). Small footprint,
fast, robust. Get a free Workstation thrown into the starter
pack.
See our Website for more info.
6. "HOW TO
USE THE MAILING LIST"
Instructions on how to subscribe, sign off
and change addresses
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIST
send the command 'subscribe nt-list firstname lastname'
as the first line of your message to listproc@intnet.net
_____________________________________________________
TO QUIT THE LIST
send the command 'signoff nt-list' or 'unsubscribe nt-list'
as the first line of your message to listproc@intnet.net
_____________________________________________________
TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS
First unsubscribe and then resubscribe as per the
procedure above.
*************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION
On the World Wide Web point your browser to:
For the newsletter:
http://www.ntnews.com
USA:
http://www.ntsoftdist.com
EUROPE: http://www.sunbelt.co.uk
Email for US sales information to:
ntsales@ntsoftdist.com
Email for US Tech support to:
daved@pssi.com
Email for European Sales to:
chris@sunbelt.fr
Email for European Tech support to:
robdixon@sunbelt.demon.co.uk
webmaster
Legal Stuff:
This document is provided for informational purposes only. The
information contained in this document represents the current
view of Sunbelt Software Distribution on the issues discussed as
of the date of publication. Because Sunbelt must respond to
changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be
a commitment on the part of Sunbelt and Sunbelt cannot guarantee
the accuracy of any information presented after the date of
publication.
INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS
IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM
FROM INFRINGEMENT.
The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use
of this document. This document may be copied and distributed
subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied
without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All
copies must contain Sunbelt's copyright notice and any other
notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be
distributed for profit. All trademarks acknowledged.
Copyright Sunbelt Software Distribution, Inc. 1996.
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