An original design goal of Windows NT was to eliminate the many parameters that characterized earlier systems. Adaptive algorithms were incorporated in Windows NT so that correct values are determined by the system as it runs. The 32-bit address space removed many limitations on memory and the need for users to manually adjust parameters to partition memory.
Windows NT has fundamentally changed how computers will be managed in the future. The task of optimizing Windows NT is not the art of manually adjusting many conflicting parameters. Optimizing Windows NT is a process of determining what hardware resource is experiencing the greatest demand and then adjusting the operation to relieve that demand.
Windows NT did not achieve the goal of automatic tuning in every case. A few parameters remain, mainly because it is not possible to know precisely how every computer is used. Default values for all parameters are set for a broad range of normal system use, and they rarely need to be altered. But special circumstances sometimes call for changes. In this book we will be sure to mention the few tuning parameters that remain in Windows NT and indicate when it is appropriate to change them from their default values.