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Whatever level is selected, it is helpful to check whether the organizations representative systems appear on Microsofts Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List. Many major vendor systems intended for business use do appear on the list, although not all. While many systems that have not been certified by Microsoft will run Windows NT successfully, Microsoft will not support these configurations. If a company owns systems that do not appear on the Hardware Compatibility List, IS will have to decide whether to take full responsibility for supporting these workstations running NT. If these systems cannot be replaced, the organization may wish to identify third-party or vendor resources that can assist in maintaining them.
Before beginning testing, make sure the version of Windows NT selected reflects the latest Service Packs introduced by Microsoft. To check for the latest Service Pack and to download it visit:
www.microsoft.com/NTServerSupport/Content/ServicePacks/Default.htm.It is not enough to test Windows NT on stand-alone systems. IS needs to set up a test network that is as representative of the planned network as is practical.
An organization does not need to test software carefully before deploying it widely on Windows NT systems. The following sections describe some of the issues to take into account.
Older 16-bit Windows applications will run in the new Windows 4.0 16-bit subsystem, a Windows 3.x emulator sometimes called Windows on Windows or WOWEXEC. IS will need to test both the reliability and the performance of applications running on this emulator. IS may also have to determine whether to run these applications in their own memory space (the default setting) or in a shared memory space with other Win16 applications (potentially faster, but one failed Win16 application can crash all Win16 applications running at the same time).
Many people have discovered that DOS programs will not run in Windows NT because they must address hardware directly. Many other DOS applications will work via Windows NT Workstations DOS emulator. If the company still depends on DOS applications, they should be tested carefully. IS may also have to experiment with settings in each DOS applications Properties dialog box to maximize performance especially settings in the Memory tab that control the amount of conventional, expanded, extended, and MS-DOS protected mode memory available to an application.
Even if all the applications are 32-bit Windows applications that utilize the Win32 API, there are a few gotchas, including:
Many companies depend on custom applications originally written for 16-bit Windows 3.x environments. For performance and compatibility reasons, organizations will usually want to port these applications to the Win32 API rather than running them in the Windows on Windows emulator.
This is, as programmers say, a nontrivial task. There are significant differences between Win16 and Win32 applications. In the Visual Basic environment, these include differences in naming, treatment of integers, and string routines; deserialized input; changes due to preemptive multitasking; and changes to DLLs. The bottom line: if the company wants to roll out revised Win32 custom applications when it rolls out Windows NT, IS should start updating those programs now.
In addition to the PC hardware itself, IS will need to systematically identify all the peripherals and other devices the organization expects to use with NT Workstation or NT Server. Once this is done, IS should review Microsofts Hardware Compatibility Web Page for Windows NT (http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/hwtest.htm) to determine whether these devices have NT 4.0 compatible drivers. If in doubt, visit the vendors Web site. IS should consider each of the following:
If IS is deploying NT throughout the entire organization, then the availability of final-release (not beta) NT drivers should be considered as a prerequisite for future purchases. NT drivers should be tested carefully especially video drivers that now run in the Windows NT kernel, where they can potentially impact Windows NTs stability.
If an organization has an installed base of Macintoshes that it does not intend to replace with Wintel systems, its testing needs to encompass Windows NT Server Services for Macintosh. Services for Macintosh, a standard component of Windows NT Server, makes it possible to:
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