NT 5.0 Management Initiatives
SMS 2.0 is an impressive product, but it's not a complete systems management solution. For years, Microsoft marketed SMS as a management solution, even though it was an administration tool. SMS 2.0 includes more management features, but systems management demands much more than SMS delivers.
NT 5.0 and the Zero Administration for Windows (ZAW) initiative demonstrate that Microsoft is beginning to understand that manageability is a critical operating system (OS) feature. ZAW consists of numerous elements that fit into three basic areas: SMS's management tools, Windows' management infrastructure, and NT 5.0's out-of-the-box management tools.
The Windows management infrastructure includes plumbing technologies such as MMC, WBEM, CIM, Windows Management Interface (WMI), and Windows Scripting Host (WSH). MMC provides the frame for snap-ins that offer management functionality and make up the UI. WBEM, CIM, and WMI provide standard methods of accessing management information in an NT environment. WSH provides a programmatic method for executing procedures that use management data.
NT 5.0's management tools include completely new features, such as IntelliMirror, Microsoft Installer (MSI), group policy templates (GPTs), and the Directory Service (DS). IntelliMirror helps administrators preserve users' machine state. If a user's computer crashes, an administrator can install a replacement machine on the network, then completely restore the user's work environment using information from the Intelli-Mirror server. MSI provides a standard method for installing applications on NT. This standard installation procedure reduces users' confusion and makes application setup consistent and reliable. GPTs are templates that let administrators manage policies in groups rather than individually. The DS lets directory-enabled users find and load applications that administrators advertise and publish on the network.
SMS 2.0's and NT 5.0's management components overlap, but for the most part the two products' features are complementary. For example, although SMS and MSI both provide standard methods of distributing and installing applications and SMS can distribute MSI packages, SMS targets the administrator need for enterprisewide distribution, and MSI installs applications on an end-user basis.
ZAW is Microsoft's attempt to make NT easier to manage and administer. Microsoft's ultimate goal is to make NT the most manageable OS on the market with the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). The combination of NT 5.0 and ZAW will make progress toward that goal.
A Bigger World
NT management technologies are shaping up. Some of these technologies are still immature, but they won't stay immature for long. By blending products from Microsoft and independent software vendors (ISVs) that take advantage of WBEM, you can create powerful management solutions for NT. These solutions will not only let you monitor Performance Monitor counters, but also help you predict failures, model performance, and correlate events.
In a recent meeting I attended, Jeff Raikes, group vice president of sales for Microsoft, articulated three key requirements for new Microsoft products: simplicity, scalability, and manageability. SMS 2.0 meets these requirements, and NT 5.0 will take them a step further. None of the management technologies I've mentioned addresses management of platforms outside the Windows world. But if Microsoft delivers the management technologies it's promised, those technologies will enable powerful systems management for NT.
Keep your eye on Microsoft. It will not sit still in the management arena but will bring its expertise to this burgeoning segment of the software market. Over the next year, especially after NT 5.0 ships, I expect Microsoft to pay more attention to systems management problems. With that in mind, I challenge you to start thinking in larger terms than the point solutions that pervade the NT market. You have the choice of many technologies, and you must pick products that provide the solutions you need to run your business. Microsoft's management technologies are valuable, and they play key roles in the management of Windows machines, but these technologies don't satisfy all systems management requirements. Use Microsoft technologies to their fullest, and blend them with ISV management tools when you need to.