1. Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed
to work with either uni-processor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next
release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to
manufacturing on 31 July 1996. It is a 32-bit Windows system available in both workstation and
server editions with a graphical environment similar to that of Windows 95. The "NT"
designation in the product's title initially stood for "New Technology" according to Microsoft's
then-CEO Bill Gates, but now no longer has any specific meaning. Windows NT 4.0 was
succeeded by Windows 2000 in February 2000.
Introduction to Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal
computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Released on 17 February 2000, it was the
successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the
"Windows NT" designation.
Windows 2000 is the latest update in the Microsoft Windows family of products. It is a
combination of features designed in the Windows 98 and NT 4.0. Like previous versions of
Windows, it uses a Graphical User Interface (GUI) format, Plug-and-Play compatibility, and
USB support. What make Windows 2000 significantly different are the formats it is available
in. There are 4 products that compose the Windows 2000 family.
2. Basic Fundamental of Windows 2000 Family
Four editions of Windows 2000 was released:
• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advance Server
• Windows 2000 Data Center
All versions of the operating system support the Windows NT file system, NTFS 3.0, the
Encrypting File System, as well as basic and dynamic disk storage. The Windows 2000 Server
family has additional features, including the ability to provide Active Directory services (a
hierarchical framework of resources), Distributed File System (a file system that supports
sharing of files) and fault-redundant storage volumes.
Windows2000Professional
Windows 2000 Professional was designed as the desktop operating system for businesses and
power users. Used as a workstation or client computer and it is the replacement for Windows NT
Workstation. It is the client version of Windows 2000. It offers greater security and stability
than many of the previous Windows desktop operating systems. It supports up to two processors,
and can address up to 4 GB of RAM. The system requirements are a Pentium processor of
133 MHz or greater, at least 32 MB of RAM, 650 MB of hard drive space, and a CD-ROM drive
(recommended: Pentium II, 128 MB of RAM, 2 GB of hard drive space, and CD-ROM drive).
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000 Server is a network-enhanced version of Windows 2000 Professional. It contains
all the same aspects as Windows 2000 Pro, but adds network serving ability, enhanced file and
print sharing services, application server technology, and Web-Server utilities. It is designed to
allow small-to-medium-sized businesses network their systems efficiently at a lower cost then
traditional NT 4.0 methods by stripping out un-used tools. . It is used for web, application, print
and file servers.
Windows 2000 integrates Active Directory Services into several existing services such as
Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Control Service (DHCP), and WINS (Windows
Internet Name Service) allowing central control over management of users, groups, security, and
network resources. It supports single-processor systems as well as four-way symmetric
multiprocessing (SMP) systems. Furthermore, Windows 2000 introduced a Domain Name
Server which allows dynamic registration of IP addresses. Windows 2000 Server supports up to
4 processors, requires 128 MB of RAM and 1 GB hard disk space, however requirements may be
higher depending on installed components.
Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Advanced server is essentially the same as Windows 2000 Server with enhanced scalability and
advanced high availability required for larger enterprise servers and departmental solutions. It
focuses more on application and departmental networking, with support for eight-way symmetric
3. multiprocessing and two-way clustering. It also integrates Intel's Physical Address Extensions
(PAEs) technology to allow for support for larger physical memory quantities. It is meant for
larger businesses with database-intensive requirements. It is used in an enterprise network and
very useful as an SQL server. It supports TCP/IP load balancing and enhanced two-node server
clusters based on the Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) in Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise
Edition.[82] Limited number of copies of an IA-64 version, called Windows 2000 Advanced
Server, Limited Edition was made available via OEMs. System requirements are similar to those
of Windows 2000 Server; however they may need to be higher to scale to larger infrastructure.
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Datacenter is a highly specialized version of Windows 2000 designed for large-scale enterprise
solutions. It integrates technologies optimized for large data warehouses, econometric analysis,
large-scale simulations in science and engineering, online transaction processing (OLTP) and
server consolidation projects. It is used in an enterprise network to support extremely large
databases and real time processing. It adds elements to enhance Internet Service Provider (ISP)
support and Web Hosting services. It supports 4-way clustering, and sixteen-way Symmetric
multiprocessing (Upgradeable to 32-way SMP)
Max Max
System Microprocessor Supports RAM Supports HD Requirements
Processor RAM
Windows 2000 2 4GB 650 MB free (2 G
Pentium 133 64Mb
Professional recommended)
Windows 2000 4 128Mb (256Mb 4GB 1 GB free (2 G
Pentium 133
Server Recommended) recommended)
Windows 2000 8 8GB 1 GB free (2 G
Pentium 133 256Mb
Advanced Server recommended)
Windows 2000 32 64GB 1 GB free (2 G
Pentium 133 256Mb
Datacenter Server recommended)
4. Comparison of Windows Server with Others OS
1. Windows 2000 Professional v/s Windows3.1
Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal
computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a
successor to Windows 3.0. Further editions were released between 1992 and 1994 until the series
was superseded by Windows 95.It came under three editions:
Base Version: Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed Janus, of which two betas were
published), released in April 1992, includes a TrueType font system (and a set of highly legible
fonts already installed), which effectively made Windows a serious desktop publishing platform
for the first time. Similar functionality was available for Windows 3.0 through the Adobe Type
Manager (ATM) font system from Adobe.
Versions with special font support: Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support
for the Japanese language.
Windows 3.11: On 31 December 1993, Microsoft released an update for Windows 3.1
that (aside from installing new files) changes the Windows version displayed in "About" dialog
boxes to 3.11. Thus, Windows 3.11 is not a standalone version of Windows, but rather a software
update from Windows 3.1, much like modern Windows service packs. For those who did not
own Windows 3.1, full disk sets of Windows 3.11 were available at the time.
2. Windows 2000 Professional v/s Windows NT workstation 4
Windows NT (Windows New Technology) is a 32-bit operating system pioneered by Microsoft
for Intel x86 CPUs. NT has become the base of technology for Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
The Windows NT server version as well as the client version did not support Plug and Play, a
feature which was fulfilled in Windows 2000 and also in XP. The Windows NT Server,
Enterprise Edition aids in clustering and can recover itself well in case of system failure.
Launched in early 2000, Win2k or Windows 2000 was a major upgrade to Windows NT. It is
available in 3 server versions and one client version. Of course, it supports Plug and Play. With
an interface resembling Win95/98, the Win 2000 had added features, options and dialogs.
Windows 2000 has Active Directory which replaces NT's domain system and simplifies network
administration. Windows 2000 is found to be more stable than its predecessor Window NT and is
specialized to remove incorrect copies of DLL files when applications are installed. The
Windows 2000 Advanced Server is quite like the Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition,
designed to support clustering and mechanical failover in case of a system failure. However the
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is a top server offering with enhanced clustering features.
Windows Server 2003, a server operating system introduced by Microsoft on March 28th, 2003
as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, is acknowledged by the company to be the hallmark
5. of their Windows Server System line of business server products. It incorporates the compatible
features of Windows XP. Though it is regarded as a follow-up of Windows 2000 Server,
Windows Server 2003's default installation has none of the server components enabled, to
minimize the attack surface of new machines. Further the Windows Server 2003 has
compatibility features to permit even obsolete application to run with stability. Upgrading a
Window NT 4.0 domain to Windows 2000 was a time consuming task, especially when it came
to dealing with the Active Directory. Thankfully, Windows Server 2003 brought in enhanced
Active Directory compatibility, and enhanced operational support for easy transition.
9x(95, 98 & 98SE) and ME NT, 2000 & XP
1.98 & ME are build from 95 1. 2000 & XP are build from NT
2.Windows 95 supports Fat 16 2. Windows 2000 supports FAT16, FAT32, &
Windows 95 OSR2 was the first Microsoft OS to NTFS
support Fat32
3. Windows 9x/ME do not offer system security3. Windows NT, 2000 & XP offers security
4. Boot with IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS & 4. Boot with NTLDR, BOOT.INI &
COMMAND.COM NTDETECT.COM
5. For clean install for 9x/ME run SETUP 5. For 2000/XP run either WINNT or
WINNT32
6. 9x/NT uses Network Neighborhood 6. 2000/ME/XP uses My Network Places
7. Command Line for 9x/ME is called MS-DOS 7. Command Line for 2000/XP is called
prompt Command Prompt
8. To find IP address with 9x/ME is WINIPCFG 8. To find IP address with NT/2000/XP is
IPCONFIG
6. Name Release Based on Supported Editions OS type FAT16 FAT N
date (kernel) architectur 32 T
es F
S
Windows 2000-0 NT 5.0 x86-32, Professional, Desktop, Yes No Y
2000 2-17 IA-64 Server, Workstation, e
Professional Advanced Server s
Server,
Datacenter
Server
Windows3.1 1993-0 NT 3.1 x86-32, Workstation, Workstation, Yes No Y
7-27 DEC Alpha, Advanced Server e
MIPS Server s
Windows 95 1995-0 Monolithic Hybrid Retail, Desktop Yes Yes Y
8-24 kernel 16/32-bit OSR2.5 e
OSR1, s
OSR2,
OSR2.1
Windows 98 1998-0 Monolithic Hybrid First edition, Desktop Yes Yes Y
6-25 kernel 16/32-bit Second e
Edition s
Windows 1996-0 NT 4.0 x86-32, Workstation, Workstation, Yes Yes Y
NT 4.0 8-24 DEC Alpha, Server, Server, e
MIPS, Server Embedded s
PowerPC Enterprise
Edition,
Terminal
Server,
Embedded
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
Minimum/recommended system requirements (for x86 processors)
9x Kernel-based
Free disk Video adapter and
Name CPU RAM Drives Devices
space monitor
Windows 95 386 4 MB 120 MB
486 DX2 16
Windows 98 300 MB
66 MHz MB
Windows Me Pentium 32 400 MB
7. (Millennium Edition) 150 MHz MB
NT Kernel-based
Video
Free disk
Name CPU RAM adapter and Drives Devices
space
monitor
Windows NT
386,
Workstation 8 MB 90 MB
25 MHz
3.51
Windows NT 486,
12 MB 110 MB
4.0 Workstation 33 MHz
Windows 2000 Pentium,
32 MB 650 MB
Professional 133 MHz
Super VGA CD-
Pentium
(800 x 600) ROM or Keyboard
Windows XP MMX, 64 MB 1.5 GB
or higher DVD- and mouse
233 MHz
resolution ROM
Windows
Pentium,
Fundamentals 64 MB 500 MB
233 MHz
for Legacy PCs
15 GB (may Super VGA
Pentium 512 MB/1 GB or
be installed (800 x 600) DVD-
Windows Vista III, higher
with as few or higher ROM
800 MHz recommended
as 7GB) resolution
1 GHz 512 MB RAM Super VGA
Windows Server (x86) or (may limit (800 x 600) DVD- Keyboard
10 GB
2008 1.4 GHz performance and or higher ROM and mouse
(x64) some features) resolution
1 GB or higher
16 GB
1 GHz recommended (2 128MB DVD-
Windows 7 (installs in 7
(x86/64) GB or Higher for (Aero) ROM
GB)
x64)