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Operating System Evaluation
3/27/2001
I. Name of Software and version
Windows 2000 Professional (desktop version)
II. New features available
• Greater stability resulting in fewer system crashes.
• Added security features available on individual workstations with NTFS file
system.
• Symmetric Multi Processor support.
• When installed as part of a Windows 2000 Workgroups Domain:
• Added Security/Encryption when on a Workgroups Domain and with
the use of the NTFS file system.
• Ability to view end users’ usage including Internet activity, machine
contents, etc. when on a Windows 2000 Domain and using Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Ability to control end user’s computer including remote sessions, which allows faculty or staff with proper access to watch end users on a virtual desktop.
III. Bugs reported
The most serious bugs are related to security issues. Patches have been developed for most of these and new patches are still being released.
Patches can be deployed automatically using a Domain system or individual workstations can be setup to automatically receive notification of security patches.
IV.
Feature comparison with older version or currently supported
software
• Windows 2000 is an upgrade to Windows NT which is currently only installed
on a few servers at SEU. Windows XP, which will be released later this year, is an upgrade to both Windows 9x and Windows 2000.
• All features mirror other versions Windows 9X with added stability.
• Desktop view is virtually identical to Windows 98, with the exception of a few
renamed features:
o Network Neighborhood is now My Network Places
o Find is now Search
o Dialup Networking has moved from My Computer to Network and
Dialup Connections
• Security advantages when on a Windows 2000 domain.
• Problems with running DOS based programs on Windows 2000.
V.
Impact on services
A. Computer Services
• CARS
- Possible conflicts with Edvanta, scanning software.
• Numerous security issues including over 100+ issues concerning things such as Denial Of Service Attacks, Java Script Hacks, etc. These numbers come from ntBugTrack.
• Windows File Sharing should not be turned on. As long as it is
enabled any user can access files through a known security bug. • Novell
• No known issues.
B. Technical Support
• Minimum Hardware Requirements
Microsoft states that Windows 2000 Professional will run on a Pentium 133 MHz processor with 128 MB of RAM. For optimal performance IT PC Tech Services is recommending a PIII processor with 128 MB RAM.
• Number of computers to be upgraded if a campus-wide migration were undertaken:
• 677 Total faculty and staff computers
• Number of those computers not meeting hardware requirements:
• 620
• Estimated cost to upgrade hardware: Processor/
Memory Faculty Staff Total Cost toUpgrade
PIII / 128 MB 20 37 57
PIII/64 MB 14 44 58 $2,900
PII 51 166 217 $260,400
Pentium 73 272 345 $414,000
TOTAL
upgrade cost $677,300
• Only 57 computers currently meet hardware requirements.
Other PIII’s could be brought up to requirements by upgrading memory at $50 per computer. Other computers on campus would need to be replaced as part of a yearly obsolescence plan before upgrading the operating system.
• Migration issues -- how easy/hard is the upgrade from a previous version of Windows:
4-8 hours of dedicated technician time. Migration could include backup, upgrading hardware, and software installation and testing. • Support issues:
• End user training
• If an upgrade to an existing Windows 9x operating system is
undertaken, migration to the NTFS file system on the desktop level could cause incompatibilities when migrating
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• Conflicts with currently supported applications/OS:
• DOS applications do not make direct hardware calls and
should not be run.
• There may be a possible application conflict with Edvanta,
which is used by some departments to enable a GUI
interface for CARS. There may also be conflicts with scanning software used by departments in conjunction with CARS.
• All software currently supported by the Help Desk, including
Microsoft Office, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe PageMaker, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Fireworks, Novell Netware Client, Netscape 4.x +, CRT, WS_FTP, Eudora, and Norton Antivirus (using version for Windows 2000) have been tested by the Help Desk and do not have conflicts with Windows 2000.
• Estimated time to install new software:
If retrofitting an older machine for Windows 2000 it could be very time consuming for a complete migration. Estimated time down time for end user per machine including burn in and testing is 4-8 hours.
C. Labs & Computer Classrooms
Number of computers to be upgraded: Processor/
Memory Labs Classrooms Total Cost toUpgrade
PIII / 128 MB 11 0
PIII/64 MB 10
(Ragsdale) (MH 206)16 26 $1,300
PII 2 0 2 $2,400
Pentium 33 41
(MH126/301) 74 $88,800
TOTAL to be upgraded
102 $92,500
Note that MH 126 is scheduled for an upgrade Summer 2001. • Conflicts with currently supported applications/OS:
There are a few DOS programs that faculty still use. Evergreen (a grammar placement test) is one and a business simulation
program. There is a Windows version of Evergreen, but in test trials it ran painfully slower than the DOS version. If faculty had to buy more expensive Windows programs to replace these DOS ones, it would impact current software costs.
D. Help Desk and Training
• Training:
Since the Windows 2000 interface is so similar to Windows 98, only a small percentage (5%) of existing PC users may desire training. Existing documentation can be updated with new screen shots and
an additional training can be added to address new features of Windows 2000.
• Computer Competency:
The Windows OS printed documentation, web tutorials, and test would have to be changed to include Windows 2000 features. This project could be completed in a week with student assistance. • Help Desk:
The Help Desk does not see a significant impact on support if Windows 2000 is installed in limited areas. Training and documentation on the feature differences would need to be supplied to faculty and students using the system, but for the classroom user, the change would be minimal. If migration should include upgrading desktop computers for faculty and staff who are not experienced Windows users, the impact would be much
greater.
E. Faculty Resource Center
Training would need to be supplied to faculty who are using a
classroom with Windows 2000. Classroom computer should be setup so that the interface difference is minimal. Faculty accessing Windows 2000 computers in the FRC should notice little difference.
F. Media Services
There should be no impact on classroom support.
VI.
Impact on University Community
A. Staff
Staff departments that are heavily dependent on CARS would need to evaluate Edvanta and scanning software to determine if Windows 2000 was compatible with these applications.
B. Faculty
If Windows 2000 is used only in the classroom there should be little impact on faculty as the interface is very similar to Windows 98 and all Windows 98 applications will run on Windows 2000 with the exception of DOS applications.
C. Students
Students who use Windows 9x at home or work and then Windows 2000 in a classroom or lab setting will not experience any compatibility issues.
VII.
Budget Implications
A. Cost for software: $0 -- covered under ICUT Campus Agreement with
Microsoft.
B. Estimated cost to upgrade hardware (combined from Tech Services and
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A complete migration across campus would cost $769,800 for hardware upgrades only. This does not account for
considerable staff time (4-8 hours) per migration. For a full campus migration staff time could be as high as 5,776 hours (8 hours x 722 computers to be upgraded).
• Limited migration with first year installation in one computer
classroom, some lab computers and a few faculty and a few IT staff No hardware upgrades would be needed as only new computers or currently installed computers, which meet the minimum hardware requirements, would have Windows 2000 installed. Staff labor costs would be minimized, as there would be very few upgrades from existing Windows operating systems.
VIII. Implementation/Migration Strategy
Instructional Technology and Computer Services is not recommending a total campus migration to Windows 2000. Total campus migration would include installing a Windows 2000 Advanced Server using a DNS domain to gain the advantage of centralized management, pushing applications, maintenance, and complete end user control. Full migration take would take 15 Months with 9 months of that time spent planning strategies. Older machines would be retrofitted and upgraded. Machines below our recommended hardware specs would need to be replaced at considerable cost to the university. Instructional Technology’s and Computer Services’ recommended migration strategy would be a limited release for the 2001/2002 fiscal year:
• In one computer classroom only (Moody Hall 126 which is
scheduled for new computers during the Spring/Summer intercession)
• A few lab computers in Moody Hall 212
• A few computers in the FRC
• A few faculty with existing or new computers that would support
Windows 2000 and who could justify a move to Windows 2000 because of application or classroom support needs. Windows File Sharing should not be turned on.
• IT staff owning current computer architecture that would support
Windows 2000.
• Staff computers would be upgraded to Windows 2000 only if their
computer’s architecture supported it and they could justify their need because of faculty support issues.
This strategy would minimize the impact on the budget and on support services during the first year, while allowing IT staff to become more experienced with the operating system and prepare for a more
widespread migration (to either Windows 2000 or Windows XP which will be the upgrade path from both Windows 2000 and Windows 95/98) the following year. This migration strategy would give the community the opportunity to fully evaluate Windows 2000 in the current environment and do more extensive planning.
