W2Knews[tm] (the original NTools E-News) Electronic Newsletter
Vol. 5, #55- November 27, 2000 - Issue #230
Published by sunbelt-software.com since 1996 - ISSN: 1527-3407
'Immediate Notification Of Important Windows NT/2000 Events'
*******************over 600,000 Readers******************************
This Issue of W2Knews contains:
1. EDITORS CORNER:
* New Cool Stuff
2. TECH BRIEFING:
* The Relationship between W2K, .NET and ASP
3. NT/2000 RELATED NEWS:
* W2K2 Will Have 'Snapshot' Built-In.
* Lots Of Cool Stuff -- Nothing To Do With Windows ;-)
* Enhancing Windows 2000 Disk Subsystem Performance
4. NT/2000 THIRD PARTY NEWS:
* Own Your Own Domain Name For Just 15(!) bucks.
* NEW: RepairDisk Manager - Fast Recovery From System Crashes
* NEW: Service Explorer - Plug That Security Loophole
5. W2Knews 'FAVE' LINKS:
* This week's three Fave Links from Sunbelt.
6. BOOK OF THE WEEK:
* "XML By Example".
7. HOW TO USE THE MAILING LIST
Instructions on how to subscribe, sign off or change your address.
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**************************What Is W2Knews?***************************
Sunbelt W2Knews is the World's first and largest e-zine designed
for NT/2000 System Admins and Power Users that need to keep these
platform up & running. Every week we get you pragmatic, from-the-
trenches news regarding NT/2000 and 3-rd party System Management
Tools. W2Knews will help you to better understand NT/2000 and pass
your Certification Exams. You will get breaking news like new
tools, service packs, sites, or killer viruses via W2KNewsFlashes.
Sunbelt Software is THE NT/2000 e-business tools site. At the end
of this message are links to all indexed and searchable back issues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "EDITORS CORNER"
Hi NT/W2K-ers,
Hope all of you had a good last week. The USA had a holiday so it
was a 'short' week over here. However, there's a whole bunch of
New Cool Stuff out there, and this time I'd like you have a look
at some gadgets that I have found recently and show us which ones
you like best. We are also introducing TWO new products that you
should have a look at. They are in the NT/2000 THIRD PARTY NEWS
section. Last but not least, I found a 100% NT-based site that
allows you to lock in your own domain name for just 15 bucks and
then do some nifty stuff like forwarding. Check it out below.
Warm regards,
Stu.
(email me with feedback: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
************************SPONSOR: Binary Research*********************
AT&T, WorldCom and Office Depot rely on REMOTELYANYWHERE everyday
for their remote administration needs. Why? Because RA gives
them secure Telnet, remote control, file transfer and more. They
manage processes, services, users, & files. All from a browser,
without any special client software. Try it FREE for 30-days:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700BinRes
*********************************************************************
2. TECH BRIEFING:
* The Relationship between W2K, .NET and ASP
Your job is going to significantly change in the coming 5-10 years.
How? Well, very likely you will no longer work for just one company
but for hundreds at the same time. Huh? Yup. Take the exterior
viewpoint for a moment (helicopter view). Technology is not getting
any simpler. See the massive increase in lines of code in W2K as an
example. However, high-tech will penetrate deeper in business with
greater speed every year. The lack of trained IT people now claimed
to be 300,000 just in the USA will get bigger and bigger.
So, what will most companies do? Better yet, what will most companies
be *forced* to do? Outsource their IT department. That is what it
is called from the viewpoint of the business. From the viewpoint
of the IT vendors, the same thing is called becoming an Application
Service Provider (ASP). Essentially, an ASP is the outsourced IT
department of dozens or hundreds of companies. They will provide
all the software the company needs via a fat pipe. Think 'softtone'
instead of dialtone or webtone. Forget installing and managing
your own apps and the inevitable resulting upgradathons.
And why is Microsoft investing billions into .NET? Well, that is
the software infrastructure they want the ASP's to use on top of
W2K to provide these software services to their customers. XML is
the glue that will hold all of this stuff together. Simple, right?
Perhaps. The ASP model has not been proven yet, but hundreds of
millions of VC-dollars are being sunk in this model that is
expected to become profitable in a year or so.
The Fortune 1000 will likely be too complex to have 'everything IT'
outsourced like this, but the 8.5 million other companies are a
good prospect for ASP's for sure. There are a few snags though that
need to be handled. Security is one, and the fact that the corporate
data will sit some where else than in your own building and managed
by your ASP. A little scary, but if this will be dressed in ironclad
contracts companies might be willing/forced to live with it.
You also have to look at the mass consumer markets like music. Due
to the fact we have broadband penetrating at a high clip, people
no longer download but go for streaming. Software could be used
in a similar fashion: 'streaming' it and only pay for what you use.
ASP's allow this. They leverage their tech talent (us) to service
a variety of customers which means apps are up & running faster.
And when ASP's start to provide software that is easier to get,
faster and cheaper, the economies of scale kick in and it starts
to pay off for all parties involved.
So, what does this mean for us techies? ASP's are going to recruit
the very savvy IT people first, and pay them very well. They will
create the infrastructure. Next they need people to run all this
stuff. Guess who will get calls from headhunters? Right. Better
have some XML experience on your resume. Here is a little help -
The XML book at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/bookclub/
*********************************************************************
3. NT/2000 RELATED NEWS:
* W2K2 Will Have 'Snapshot' Built-In.
ENT has an interesting article about Snapshot technology. Here are
three paragraphs, and at the end if a link to the full article.
"Backup and recovery is an essential function for mission critical
systems, so it is ironic that backup and recovery software is
difficult to certify for Microsoft's platform for mission critical
systems, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Microsoft intends to address
this issue in its next release of the Windows operating system,
Whistler.
Whistler will have native functionality that enables administrators
to take "snapshots," a copy of system settings and information at
a single moment in time, then send the snapshots to third-party back
up and recovery software for storage on tape or other backup media.
Snapshots provide a point in time view of a machine, to simplify
and accelerate backup and recovery. The snapshot routine briefly
freezes the I/O of a machine, flushes the memory, then "takes a
picture" of the system's status at that moment. A third-party writer
can then begin to back up the system based on the snapshot. Snapshots
allows administrators to backup machines without taking them offline
and can improve the reliability of backups.
http://entmag.com/displayarticle.asp?ID=11220071811AM
----------------------
* Lots Of Cool Stuff -- Nothing To Do With Windows ;-)
OK, once a year I pick the 10 cool gadgets that I personally like
the best. I'm reading tons of IT magazines and then a bunch of other
mags so I decided to get you the 10 goodies that I think might be
fun for all of you. Here are my faves, and their links. (which we
redirect so we can count which ones you like best). Why? That is for
the moment a mystery that I'll explain later but you just might
benefit from it. Don't ask just yet! [grin]
1) New digital camera from Hitachi that replaced the tape with
an editable DVD of an hour. You can edit right on the camera, and
the disks play on many (not all) home DVD boxes. The camera is the
DZ-MV100. Cost is around $2,000. Link to Hitachi Website & specs:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey01
2) It's a phone. It's an MP3 player. Plus a whole lot more. The
Samsung Uproar is a dual-band Sprint PCS Phone that has a built-
in MP3 player with 64 MB of memory. That's enough for over an hour's
worth of music. SRP is $399. Check out all the features:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey02
3) It's a phone *and* a PDA integrated into one device. The TP3000
is a phone with a built-in speakerphone, synchs with Outlook, Web
access, and voice activated dialing. The flip-up PDA has all the
stuff you'd expect in any PDA. SRP is same as above: $399.
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey03
4) The nomad jukebox looks like a portable CD-player but in reality
has a 6-Gig hard drive that holds about 100 hours (about 150 albums)
of MP3. Something else than these small flash-memory based players!
Suggested Retail Price for this puppy: $499.99. Press Release here:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey04
5) The Fuji FinePix beats the $#!+ out of other much more expensive
digital still cameras with a whopping 3.4 megapixels, and is an MP3
player / voice recorder at the same time. Cost? only $699. Release:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey05
6) Live small? Here's a "MicroPlex" for you. The Panasonic mini DVD
theater gives you a player, TV receiver and 15.2 inch flatscreen. You
can even hook up cable so can zap channels to your heart's delight.
Cost: a round 2 grand. This is so new the Panasonic website is not
up to date yet, here are its smaller sisters and brothers to give you
the idea: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey06
7) Your own Quiet Zone. Travel a lot? Here's a BOSE noise canceling
headphone set that of course also plays music. It's got a microphone
that picks up ambient noise and cancels it. Great for flights as it
fits in the jacks of your airplane seat. Suggested Retail: $299
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey07
8) Casio has a cool new watch that has a camera in it. I ran into
this cutie when I was in the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and
needed to kill some time. It's always ready to capture events when
they occur. You can transfer shots to your PC so you can email them.
This Christmas present for yourself is just $229.95. Specs & video:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700surveu08
9) No chance getting lost with the Geode Module on your Visor PDA.
You can download city maps and this GPS unit tracks where you are.
There are even local events and an entertainment guide that tells
you what's goin' on around the corner. Suggested Retail Price: $249
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey09
10) By far the most esthetic computer speakers and subwoofer. The
HK Soundsticks are head and shoulders over any other audio gear from
a visual perspective. The transparent ones are only for Apple but
the PC ones are the next best alternative. SRP: $199. Specs at:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700survey10
--------------------
* Enhancing Windows 2000 Disk Subsystem Performance
Super Speed RAM Disk
No matter how well you sized and tuned your Windows 2000 disk
subsystem, the disk subsystem is still composed of physical
devices that are slow when compared to RAM. So what can you
do if you need really fast I/O or want to remove a specific
hot disk bottleneck? Consider using a RAM disk. A RAM disk can
be configured using the Super Speed software, which enables you
to configure part of Windows 2000's memory subsystem to appear
as a disk drive to your applications.
How much performance improvement might you expect when using RAM
disk technology? To address this question, a series of benchmarks
were run to see what performance gains (or not) were possible on
a Compaq 6400R with Dual 550MHz CPUs and a size disk RAID 5 array.
Performance improvements provided by the RAM disk are dramatic!
Ok, not a big surprise, but what is more important than the
specific throughput values reported are the relative performance
differences between using the RAM disk and a traditional a six RAID
5 disk array. For the sequential read intensive environment, the
RAM disk provides over 2 times the performance of a six disk RAID
5 array (53Mb/sec), over 8 times the performance in the random
read environment (40Mb/sec), and over 7 times the performance in
a write intensive environment (80Mb/sec). You can make your own
decision of whether the additional cost of the extra RAM for use
as a RAM disk is justified by the increase in performance.
Using a RAM disk to improve disk subsystem performance is not a
replacement for utilizing sound availability, tuning and sizing
techniques for the rest of your disk subsystem. It does, however,
provide a strong ally to add to your arsenal of tuning techniques.
This is an extract from a book by Curt Aubley, Author of
Tuning And Sizing Windows 2000 for Maximum Performance,
Prentice Hall-Dec. 2000 http://www.TuningAndSizingNT.com
To try a RAM disk on your own system, download from here:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/product.cfm?id=490
*********************************************************************
4. NT/2000 THIRD PARTY NEWS:
* Own Your Own Domain Name For Just 15(!) bucks.
Everybody knows that getting your own '.COM' cost $70, right? Not
true anymore. A couple of local guys I know hooked up 5 beefy NT
servers and came out with a super low cost alternative to that
'seventy bucks for two years'. It is now possible to register
domains for MUCH less. I tried it out for myself and it works just
great.
The site is called Free Name Registry (OK, it does not look like a
million bucks but so what, it gets the job done) and is registering
domains for $15 per year until the end of December! This means you
can register that name that you have been thinking about getting
and not have to worry about the large expense or the fear you might
never use it. Or businesses that already own their .COM can grab
the equivalent .NET and .ORG to make sure nobody else runs away
with these names and causes confusion or losses.
Free Name Registry will even put up a "Under Construction" webpage
until you do decide to use the site. This service is called 'parking'.
Here is where the site got its name, because you can 'park' for free.
It all starts with owning your own domain name, and after you do
there is other cool stuff possible, like forwarding. What is that?
For instance, when 1) you own 'yourlastname.com' and 2) next you
add the $25/yr forwarding service, you can have your friends send
email to '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' which then gets forwarded instantly
to your tired old ISP's 'RealAddress@Jack'sEmailService.net'. That
has the benefit that you can change ISP's at any time you want and
not have to change email address.
The last cool thing that is possible is forwarding of websites.
Wazzat? Well, suppose you have a free 10Meg website at your ISP.
It's something like http://www.yourISP.com/members/usa/john01.htm
Looks pretty ugly, right? Well, with website forwarding you can now
have everyone go to 'www.yourlastname.com' which will push them
transparently and instantly right back to the space at your ISP.
Pretty nifty. You can think of all the possibilities yourself.
Anyway, I like this site, and am using it myself. It's dirt cheap and
it works. You should tell your friends about it too. Cut & Paste this
article and send it to them. They will like it too! Now, get your own
domain at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700freename
------------------
* NEW: RepairDisk Manager-Fast Recovery From System Crashes
Microsoft recommends to create a emergency repair disk whenever you
make a significant change to the hardware or software in a Windows
NT/2000 system. Sure, like we have time to do that. In reality these
disks are rarely made because it is a manual process and extremely
time consuming.
It requires Microsoft's RDISK (for Windows NT) or Backup (for W2K)
utilities to be run on each computer, and a separate disk used and
maintained for each computer. We have something better to do, however
if you *don't* do it, one day it will bite you in the butt.
RepairDisk Manager automates the process of creating your emergency
repair disks. RepairDisk Manager provides an extremely easy-to-use
graphical interface that allows you to quickly schedule repair disk
runs throughout your enterprise - daily, weekly, or monthly - on a
regular basis. This ensures the disks get created, significantly
improving your recovery time when a system crashes. More interesting
data about this tool (incl. price indication), and 30-day eval here:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/product.cfm?id=240
------------------
* NEW: Service Explorer-Plug That Security Loophole!
Service Explorer allows you to manage multiple services across
multiple servers simultaneously. Ever come across the familiar
loophole of unchanged service accounts that have Domain privileges?
Service Explorer fixes this by allowing you to change passwords
on hundreds of services located across your network, all in one
single operation.
Multiple service management - Target multiple services on multiple
systems in one operation. For example, you can now change the
password on hundreds of services spread across your network.
Remote Service Management - Control any service on any server
in your network easily with Service Explorer. Easy to use GUI
allows you to stop, start, restart, and change any property of
services on any system on your network.
No agents required - Service Explorer requires no agents to be
installed on managed systems.
Remotely Install / Remove Services - Easily install and remove
Windows 2000/NT services. You can choose to remove a single
service on a single system, or remove ten services on a hundreds
systems in one simple operation.
Using Windows 2000? Service Explorer fully supports Windows 2000's
services as well as Windows NT.
Product Benefits: Service Explorer makes it easy to completely
manage Services and Service Account Passwords on thousands of
Windows 2000/NT systems in a single operation. If your company
uses agent-based and other software that relies on 2000/NT
Services (such as SMS and many virus-scanning programs), you
will benefit from enhanced security, improved uptime for service-
based software and reduced administrative costs. More over, the
pricing is only $499 for a 10-systems pack! Try it out at:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/product.cfm?id=786
*********************************************************************
5. W2Knews 'FAVE' LINKS:
===
How do ISP's do? Uptime? Speed? Here they all are, rated objectively.
http://ratings.miq.net/compare-by-REACHABILITY-All.html
===
Want to find out your bandwidth speed without downloading big files?
http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest500.asp
===
Lock in your own Domain Name for just 15 bucks. Dirt Cheap!
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700freename
===
OK, it's not a link but still useful. Did you know what that Windows
key+M does? Minimizes all apps and brings you back to the desktop.
===
*********************************************************************
6. BOOK OF THE WEEK: "XML by Example"
You know that the new MS .NET initiative revolves completely
around XML. You need to know what this is, and get your wits
wrapped around it quickly. That is why we have a new title in
the Sunbelt BookClub about XML
XML by Example teaches Web developers to make the most of XML
with short, self-contained examples every step of the way.
The book presumes knowledge of HTML, the Web, Web scripting,
and covers such topics as: Document Type Definitions, Namespaces,
Parser Debugging, XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language), and DOM
and SAX APIs. At the end, developers will review the concepts
taught in the book by building a full, real-world e-commerce
application. Suggested Retail: 24.99 But the Sunbelt Bookclub
gets it to you for: $14.49. Buy it online at:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/bookclub/
*********************************************************************
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sign off or change your email address
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*********************************************************************
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*********************************************************************
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