Windows 2000 moving forward, but work remains

CARY, N.C. - Users and developers say the evolution of Windows 2000 is progressing, but Microsoft still needs to refine the software if it expects to ship the operating system by year-end.

Some users say problems remain with Active Directory and the Domain Name System (DNS) in the server editions of the operating system. And IBM, a Microsoft rival and development partner, says scalability and interoperability are still issues.

The IBM observations were made during a press briefing last week.

Users say the recent Windows 2000 Release Candidate 1 of Beta 3 is a marked improvement over the Beta 3 software sent out in April. A second version of the software is expected to ship early this month.

"Beta 3 was interesting to try and work with, but Release Candidate 1 is more stable," says Al Williams, director of distributed systems services for Pennsylvania State University's Center for Academic Computing. However, Williams says Active Directory is still rickety, as is DNS, which replaces the Windows Internet Name Service architecture for locating network computers.

"I haven't been able to build a stable system with Active Directory in order to stress test it," he says.

Williams says Windows 2000 Professional, the desktop version of the operating system, is in good shape. He is optimistic that Microsoft can work out the server kinks, but he will not deploy the software until after Year 2000 concerns pass.

Many others may make the same decision.

"Once users find out that Windows 2000 is not a simple upgrade, they will adjust their rollout far into 2000 and beyond," predicts David Marshall, an analyst with International Data Corp., a market research firm in Framingham, Mass.

IBM believes other issues will affect deployments, especially the integration of Windows 2000 with existing systems. IBM this month will begin to provide integration and scalability options. The company plans to tap its knowledge of high-end systems to optimize hardware and software for Windows 2000.

IBM later this month will release Cornhusker, which supports eight-node Intel clusters. The technology borrows heavily from IBM's SP2 switch technology for RS/6000 clusters. IBM also plans to introduce a new two-way Netfinity server (see story, below).

But IBM's Patrick Gibney, director of Windows 2000 systems, is especially critical of Microsoft's message that symmetric multiprocessing will translate into scalability.

"If you think you will run multiple apps on one eight-way box, you will be disappointed in performance," Gibney says, referring to Windows 2000 Advanced Server. He adds that without applications specifically designed for eight-way processing, performance gains are suspect.

IBM officials say they will address the integration issues they see with Active Directory, security and Microsoft Management Console. Gibney says those products are all geared for a homogeneous Windows platform.

To combat that, IBM plans to develop its middleware products to support both IBM's architectures, especially its e-business Application Framework, and Windows 2000. For example, IBM will support Microsoft's Component Object Model as well as Enterprise Java Beans in its middleware products.

IBM plans to have more than 300 middleware, development and systems management tools available to run on Windows 2000 the day the software ships.

It also plans to have 250 hardware systems from desktops to servers certified to run the operating system, and will offer free upgrades to the desktop version of Windows 2000.