The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
SUMMARY
This article discusses the roles for which Windows NT Workstation and
Windows NT Server are optimized.
MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft optimized both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server to
better serve their intended purposes. Windows NT Workstation is a great
corporate client for users who need the power, scalability, fault
tolerance, or security it offers. Windows NT Server is a powerful server
environment for customers who want to leverage its application server,
file and print services, or remote access capabilities. The following
optimizations were made in Windows NT version 3.5:
- The write-throttling mechanism (the point at which dirty data is flushed
to disk) is implemented differently for the Windows NT Server and
Windows NT Workstation. This allows the server to handle server-like
loads and the workstation to handle desktop-like tasks.
- The internal code that provides the Windows NT Server server
functionality (SRV.SYS) is less pagable. This leads to better response
times under heavy server-type loads.
- Under Windows NT Workstation, the Windows NT Virtual DOS Machine (VDM)
is pre-loaded for improved application startup times. Windows NT Server
does not pre-load the VDM, but instead optimizes server file operations.
- Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server use a different number of
system worker threads and threads for blocking operations. Windows NT
Server is optimized for fast server type I/O operations and Windows NT
Workstation is optimized for desktop applications.
- Windows NT Server can be optimized for file and print server performance
or application server performance, allowing you to tune it for maximum
throughput depending on the type of server usage. Windows NT Workstation
does not have this feature. Internal testing has also shown that
Windows NT Workstation performs about the same as Windows NT Server up
to approximately 10 different, simultaneous inbound user connections.
This enables Windows NT Workstation to function well in a small peer
environment. Windows NT Server is the correct choice if you want to
deploy a server in a larger environment or want to scale your network in
the future.
These optimizations changed the performance of Windows NT Workstation when
used as a server. As a result, peer networking is still supported for basic
connectivity between users on a network. You can still make unlimited
outbound connections to server resources. However, Windows NT Workstation
now supports a maximum of 10 simultaneous inbound connections. Our research
has shown that systems with this many connections are almost always being
used as dedicated file, print and/or application servers.
While Windows NT Server can certainly provide excellent file and print
services, it can also be used extensively as an application server platform
for database and other services. The Windows NT Server file and print
capabilities can be selectively implemented.
Windows NT Server includes the following capabilities not available on
Windows NT Workstation:
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server service
(Both Windows NT Workstation and Server have DHCP Protocol)
- Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
- Single network logon
- Data protection features (disk striping, RAID 5, disk mirroring)
- Remote Access Server service can handle 255 concurrent incoming calls
(Windows NT Workstation limited to one incoming call)
- Gateway Services for NetWare(GSNW)
- Gateway to NetWare file and print resources for MS network clients
- Services for Macintosh (allows Macintosh clients to access file and
print resources on the Windows NT Server, and allows Microsoft network
and Macintosh clients to access AppleTalk-based printers)
- Netlogon request authentication (for running logon scripts)
- Account lockout security
- Network Client Administrator
- Administrative tools (Server Manager, User Manager for Domains)
- Support for remote boot of diskless workstations (RPL)
Because Windows NT Server is optimized as a server platform, it is required
to run Microsoft BackOffice products (Systems Management Server, SNA
Server, SQL Server, and the upcoming Exchange Server).
Microsoft recommends Windows NT Workstation as a desktop operating system
and Windows NT Server as a server operating system for server applications.
This provides you an environment that is architecturally very clean, since
both the desktop and server are running the same operating system, and have
the same APIs, etc.