Choosing a Workstation OS: Windows 95/Windows NT Workstation

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51

SUMMARY

Both Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation 3.51 are designed to deliver a common set of capabilities - great application support, ease of use, connectivity, and manageability. Both products provide a platform for a new generation of Win32-based applications that provide new features and greater performance and reliability than today's Win16-based applications.

When choosing the right operating system to deploy for your corporation, consider the needs of the users:

• Users doing mobile computing should use Windows 95 for the plug & play, power management, and the Windows 95 Briefcase feature.
• Developers, engineers, and other technical computer users, should choose Windows NT Workstation.

You can plan for the future by making all new hardware purchases compatible with Windows NT Workstation.

MORE INFORMATION

Mobile Users

Mobile computer users need integrated features, such as electronic mail, fax, and remote networking, which ease information access from whatever location. They need a high level of compatibility with their current devices and applications, and an operating system which places moderate demands on the system (RAM, disk space, battery power) and provides Plug and Play device configuration capabilities. These users should use Windows 95.

Developers and Technical Users

Developers, engineers, scientific researchers, statisticians, and other technical users often run processing-intensive applications, while also using business productivity applications. Today, many of these users must have both a UNIX-based workstation and a PC on their desk to get their job done. Windows NT Workstation can save costs by meeting their demands for greater processing power while also running Windows-based personal and business productivity applications on the same system. Windows NT Workstation provides the performance of a leading-edge workstation or mini- computer at a fraction of the cost, with its support for symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and its portability to different high-performance platforms like those based on Alpha AXP, PowerPC, or MIPS-based CPUs.

Business Desktop

For the business desktop, examine the business problem you're trying to solve. To determine if Windows NT Workstation is compatible with your existing hardware and software, answer the following three questions:

   Do your current systems have the resources (minimum 12 MB RAM, 90 MB
   hard drive space) required to run Windows NT Workstation? If not, do
   you have the budget to upgrade these systems to run Windows NT
   Workstation? You should weight this cost against the extra reliability
   and protection features you get with Windows NT Workstation. If you can
   not afford to upgrade your systems today, you should deploy Windows 95.

   Are there Windows NT Workstation drivers for the devices you have in
   place, including video cards, drive controllers, proprietary 3270
   devices, and network interface cards? The Windows NT Hardware
   Compatibility List can be used to determine if drivers are available for
   these devices.

   Are your applications compatible with Windows NT Workstation? Are you
   running applications that require an MS-DOS or Windows device driver or
   SR, and have these been ported to Windows NT Workstation?

Do you need the additional application and system protection features offered by Windows NT Workstation?

In some situations, the business cost from a disruption in service caused by an application bringing down another application or the system can be very high. Windows NT Workstation can help minimize these costs by running Win16 applications in separate address space (often referred to as separate virtual machines) so that if one Win16 application fails, all of the other applications will continue to run. Win32-based applications running on both platforms provide greater reliability through use of separate memory address areas, multiple asynchronous message queues, and structured exception handling. Windows NT provides an additional level of protection for the system by completely separating operating system and application code. Windows NT Workstation can also be configured to automatically restart if the system goes down. If the value of these additional protection features offered by Windows NT Workstation is greater than the value of the higher level of compatibility offered by Windows 95, choose Windows NT Workstation.

Do you require the data security features offered by Windows NT Workstation?

Both Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation can help prevent naive users from damaging their system configuration. Beyond this, the Windows NT File System (NTFS) can be configured to restrict access to systems and data. This prevents malicious users from deleting system files or damaging line- of-business applications. With these features, a Windows NT desktop system can even be shared by multiple users and still maintain security for all files on the system. In addition, Windows NT Workstation is currently in the evaluation phase for the government C2 level security specification. If the value of these additional security features offered by Windows NT Workstation is greater than the value of the higher level of compatibility offered by Windows 95, choose Windows NT Workstation.

Overall, Windows 95 is the best choice where you need to leverage your investment in your existing infrastructure by using your existing applications and devices as you make a steady transition to Win32-based applications and more capable hardware. In other cases where the highest levels of protection for applications, system and data are required to meet your business needs, Windows NT Workstation is the best choice.

Similarities of Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95

The following table summarizes features that the products share. Feature differences that exist today, but will be resolved in the future, are noted as "Future Release".

                                                           Windows NT
Product Feature                               Windows 95   Workstation

• Win32 API for application development, OLE Yes Yes for linking data across applications
• Preemptive multitasking of Win32 Yes Yes applications
• Runs the majority of Win16 applications Yes Yes
• Multimedia APIs (DibEngine, Direct Draw, Yes Future

     DirectSound, Direct Input, Reality Lab 3D                  Release
     graphics libraries)
  

• OpenGL graphics libraries for 3D graphics Future Yes

                                                    Release
  
  

• Auto-detection and configuration of Yes Yes hardware during installation
• Next-generation Windows User Interface Yes Future

                                                                Release
  

• Plug and Play technology that lets you add Yes Future

     hardware automatically and dynamically                     Release
     reconfigure the system
  
  

• LAN connectivity and peer-to-peer Yes Yes networking, with all popular protocols including TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, DLC and NetBEUI
• Open networking architecture provides Yes Yes choice of clients, transports and drivers and extensibility for support of third party networking applications
• Built-in Remote Access services Yes Yes
• Built-in universal inbox providing Yes Future

     email and fax                                              Release
  

• Built-in MSN online service Yes Future

     client software                                            Release
  
  

• Open system management architecture Yes Yes provides infrastructure for third party system management solutions
• Supports existing and emerging system Yes Yes management standards (SNMP, DMI)
• System Policies to provide centralized Yes Future

     control over desktop configuration                         Release
  

• User profiles to provide consistent Yes Yes configuration for roving users or different users sharing a single system
• Remote monitoring of system performance Yes Yes

• Fully exploits 386DX, 486, and Pentium Yes Yes platforms
• Disk compression Yes Yes

                                                    (VFAT)      (NTFS)
  

• Dynamic PCMCIA support (you don't have Yes Static today,

     to reboot system to add a device)                          Yes in Future
                                                                Release
  
  

• Quick Fix Engineering teams to solve Yes Yes critical problems at specific sites
• Regular Service Pack releases to Yes Yes provide new drivers, component updates, and problem fixes

Differences between Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95

The following table summarizes differences between the two products that will continue over time.

Product Feature                              Windows 95    Windows NT
                                                           Workstation

Application Support

• System Resource Capacity Greatly Unlimited

                                                  expanded
  

• Runs MS-DOS applications Yes Most (see

                                                             note below)
  

• Runs IBM Presentation Manager No Yes (through 1.3) & POSIX 1003.1 applications

• Preemptive multitasking for Win16 No Yes applications
• System completely protected from No Yes errant Win16 and Win32 applications
• NTFS file system provides complete No Yes protection of files on a stand-alone system (Files, folders, and applications can be made "invisible" to specific users)
• Has automatic recovery from a system No Yes failure

• Runs MS-DOS device drivers Yes No
• Runs Win16 device drivers Yes No
• Minimum recommended RAM 8 MB 12 MB
• Typical disk space requirement 40 MB 90 MB
• Runs on PowerPC, MIPS, and DEC Alpha No Yes AXP-based RISC systems
• Supports multi-processor configurations No Yes for scaleable performance without changing operating system or applications