What you'll need
Before installing the Option Pack, you'll need to make sure your system meets the minimum requirements and that you've installed the required patches. The system requirements established by Microsoft are as follows:
1. For Intel and compatible systems:
4. VGA, Super VGA, or video graphics adapter compatible with Windows NT Server 4.0
5. Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
You'll also need to install Windows NT Service Pack 3 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 before installing the Option Pack.
Where to get it
You can download the package directly from Microsoft, but you must register with them before they will let you have the software. The Option pack is 27.0MB, so it may take a while for it to download. You can find the service pack by going to the NT Server Home page at www.microsoft.com/ntserver/default.asp. From here, select Downloads from the menu bar, on the left of the page, to go to the Windows Downloads page. Leave the Select Products Or Features dropdown list on Windows NT Server and change the Select A Category dropdown list to Service Packs & Updates; then, click Go. In the resulting list, select Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.
If you haven't registered with Microsoft before, you'll need to take a few moments to fill out the required forms. And, fortunately, there isn't a fee involved. When you've completed the registration, you'll be presented with two options for downloading the package.
If you're working on a Windows system, select Option 1. Follow the instructions to retrieve the Download Wizard. Once you've successfully acquired and run the wizard, you'll see the dialog box shown in Figure A.
![[ Figure A ]](ewn98b1a.gif)
Figure A: It's smart to download the Option Pack setup files.
You can either choose to install the package directly, or download the install files. It's a good idea to download the files. If you do, you'll be able to install the Option Pack on another NT Server system, or re-install it if you have problems.
Continue through the rest of the Download Wizard until you've downloaded all of the setup files. Once the download is finished (slower connections may take a while), you're ready to install the Option Pack.
Installing the Option Pack
From the NTOptionPackSetupFiles directory created during download, execute setup.exe. Working through the setup wizard, you can select which components of the Option Pack you wish to install. If you choose the Typical install, you'll be installing the services shown in Table A. These components provide the basic functionality to deploy Web sites, as well as basic documentation and some additional components.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| FrontPage 98 Server Extensions | Enables use of remote web authoring and administration tools, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Visual InterDev. |
| Internet Information Server 4.0 | Latest version of Microsoft's suite of web services. |
| Microsoft Data Access Components 1.5 | Components used for database integration and access. Contains the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), as well as the OLE DB and ODBC files. |
| Microsoft Index Server | Components that enable full text search of your Web site. |
| Microsoft Management Console | Microsoft's latest management tool. Provides framework for individual service administration. |
| Microsoft Script Debugger | Provides a comprehensive debugging environment for finding and fixing errors in Web document scripts. |
| NT Option Pack Common Files | Programs and DLL files used by several of the Option Pack services. |
| Transaction Server | DCOM based transaction server used to create and maintain transactional components. |
| Windows Scripting Host | Enables simple, powerful, and flexible scripting in the 32-bit Windows environment. |
Table A: Recommended Option Pack components
Unless you're certain that you'll need any of the components not configured during a Typical install, you can select it. The components that aren't installed during a Typical install are shown in Table B. You can always go back and add any of the other components later using the NT Option Pack setup utility.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Certificate Server | Allows for creation or request of digital authentication certificates. |
| Internet Connection Service for RAS | Provides tools for management of dial-up connections and RAS phone books. |
| Microsoft Message Queue | Provides loosely coupled and reliable network communications based on a message queue model. |
| Microsoft Site Server Express 2.0 | Provides tools for Web site analysis, usage analysis, and Web publishing. |
| Visual InterDev RAD Remote Deployment Support | Enables the remote deployment of Visual InterDev applications on your Web server. |
Table B: Additional components available in the Option Pack
Once you've selected the components you want to install, the rest of the setup is easy. Follow the instructions provided by the wizard to complete the setup of the Option Pack. Next, we'll take a closer look at some of the components you may have installed.
Internet Information Server 4.0
With the release of Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0, NT Server has made huge strides into the once UNIX server dominated world of Web servers. Not only can NT host a solid, scalable Web site, but in many cases it's more powerful and easier to administer than UNIX based solutions. In addition, IIS 4.0 comes with a number of Internet services beyond a simple Web server. FTP, NNTP, and SMTP servers are all included with the NT 4.0 Option Pack. Next, we'll take a look at some of the features of IIS 4.0 that make it a powerful Internet presence solution. One of the hardest parts of administering a Web site in the UNIX world was the simple problem of file access. Webmasters had to learn how to use FTP or UNIX shell commands to modify their Web pages. With the FrontPage 98 Server Extensions, creating and accessing Web content can be done with programs like FrontPage and Visual InterDev. This allows Web developers to work in an environment like Windows 98 or NT, instead of the UNIX command line.
IIS 4.0 has also improved administration by creating the Internet Service Manager--a plug-in for the Microsoft Management Console. Using this standardized interface, administering Web sites, ftp sites, news, and mail servers is a snap. Let's take a closer look at this new service management tool.
The Microsoft Management Console
One of the powerful tools distributed in the NT 4.0 Option Pack is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). By itself, the MMC provides a framework for service administration programs. These programs, called plug-ins, will all run from a consistent, integrated interface. Figure B shows the MMC with the IIS node partially expanded.
![[ Figure B ]](ewn98b1b.gif)
Figure B: The Microsoft Management Console brings your network's services to you.
The MMC eases administration by bringing all of the services into one tool. In addition, you can connect to other NT 4.0 Servers and administer their services remotely. Figure C shows the MMC after a remote server is added.
![[ Figure C ]](ewn98b1c.gif)
Figure C: Administering all of your systems from one interface is just one of the many features of MMC.
By bringing all systems and services under one program, the MMC simplifies the administrator's job. Microsoft has stated that all new versions of NT and BackOffice will come with MMC plug-ins. They're also encouraging third part vendors to ship MMC plug-ins with their software. Another service that has an MMC plug-in is the new Microsoft Transaction Server.
Microsoft Transaction Server
Originally named Viper, the Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) is a component-based transaction manager. MTS allows you to build, deploy, and manage Internet and Intranet server applications. Microsoft initially planned on selling MTS as a separate product, but realized it should be part of their core operating system. MTS will be fully integrated into NT with the release of NT 5.0. IIS 4.0 relies heavily on the transaction management provided by MTS for much of its power and scalability. MTS provides resource dispensers, which allow IIS to handle more traffic using fewer resources. One of the ways MTS increases scalability is by using an ODBC resource dispenser that maintains connections to ODBC compatible data source, so the transaction can reclaim and re-use the connection without the expense of opening and closing. Another technique used by MTS is thread pooling, which allows a process to re-use threads it has created.
MTS comes with its own graphical administration tool called the Transaction Server Explorer, as shown in Figure D.
![[ Figure D ]](ewn98b1d.gif)
Figure D: The Transaction Server Explorer lets you turn DCOM based components into packages.
As you probably guessed, this tool is simply a plug-in for the MMC. Get used to seeing it, for it's the shape of administration tools to come.
One other goody...
Apart from the Network based services and tools, NT 4.0 Option Pack comes with the Windows Scripting Host. This powerful tool allows you to run Visual Basic Scripting Edition and JScript within the base Operating System. This means that there is now an option to using batch files for scripting. Using the Windows Scripting Host and a scripting language like JScript or VBScript, you can create powerful scripts that can do things such as change the registry, create desktop shortcuts, and display network connections. See the article A Sample Windows Script" for an example.
Conclusion
The NT 4.0 Option Pack is a remarkable software package. The tools, services, add-ons, and updates it provides, at no cost, are simply astounding. Even if you've no intention of deploying a Web site, it's worth the download just to be able to use a full featured scripting language instead of DOS batch files.
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