Some Windows NT sites leery of fast NT 5.0 deployment

By John Cox
Network World Fusion, 6/11/98

The second test version of Windows NT Server 5.0 is due within five weeks, giving rise to hopes that Microsoft Corp. may hit its early 1999 shipment date for this major new release of its flagship operating system.

But at least some Microsoft customers say they're in no hurry to deploy NT 5.0. They cite three reasons: the first release of such big advances from Microsoft are plagued with software bugs and glitches; there is so much new stuff being added to NT 5.0 that users want to move slowly to assimilate it; and the year 2000 work is creating urgent new priorities for MIS groups.

"So many of our clients are at NT 3.51 and are focusing on migrating to NT 4.0 first before they even think about 5.0," said George Konwiser, information systems manager with AT&T Solutions' Information Technology Services in Bridgewater, N.J. "It's not as easy as vendors want us to think." A senior systems consultant with the same group, Jean Weintraub said one of the big unanswered questions is: What will be the impact of NT 5.0 on the network infrastructure? "For us, that's not clear," she said.

Several other users, who asked not to be named, said they thought it was only prudent to assume that the first release of NT 5.0 just wouldn't be stable enough for general deployment. Most said they'll wait for the expected patches and bug fixes to be found in a subsequent Service Pack release. "I figure when Microsoft ships Service Pack 1.0, then that will be the first, real release of NT 5.0," a user said. "We're waiting for SP 1.0," agreed the AT&T consultants.

But not everyone feels the same way or, at least, that they have to simply wait until the Service Pack release. "We're creating an early adopter program for NT 5.0," said Michael Platania, senior consultant with systems integrator QuickStart Technologies, Inc. in San Francisco. "We'll set up a lab for the client, test the operating system and applications so that when the general release ships, they'll be ready."

Getting ready is vital, said Adrian King, a consultant, software developer, and author of the upcoming "Introducing Microsoft Windows NT Version 5.0" from Microsoft Press. There's so much that's new and important in NT 5 - such as the Active Directory - that customers have to take a close look at how it will change their computing environment, he said.

"You have to sit down with a blank piece of paper and think carefully," King said. The NT Domain structure will change dramatically, for example, and the implications of that change have to be clarified. NT 5.0 also will let administrators delegate a wide range of specific management tasks to sub-administrators. "What are you going to delegate?" King asked. "What will I let these guys do? It's a much longer cycle than simply waiting for Microsoft to fix the bugs and then rolling out NT 5.0."