Sunbelt Windows NTools[tm] Electronic Newsletter
Vol. 2, #24 - December 15, 1997
--- http://www.sunbelt-software.com ---

***************************************************************
Sunbelt Windows NTools E-News is the world's first and largest 
E-Newsletter designed for NT System Managers that have the job of 
getting and keeping NT up & running in a production environment.
Sunbelt launched this electronic newsletter so that we could keep
members of the Windows NT community informed and aware of what is
happening with 3-rd party NT System Management Tools, and to
provide hints and tips that will enable you to better understand
and utilize Windows NT. You'll find general Windows NT related
and third party news, technical information, and 3-rd party beta
and release information. By subscribing to NTools E-News[tm], you 
are also a charter member of the Sunbelt Field Test Bonus Program.
Sunbelt Software is the first and largest distributor worldwide
of Third Party System Management Tools for Windows NT with
subsidiaries in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Holland and Italy.
****************************************************************

This issue of Windows NTools E-News contains:

1. "EDITORS CORNER" WOW, THIS MARKET _MOVES_!

2. "TECH BRIEFING"
* HOW AN OCTOPUS OUTRUNS A WOLFPACK

3. "NT RELATED NEWS"
* FINAL RELEASE OF INTERNET INFORMATION SERVER 4.0
* MOVE UNIX TO NT AT SUPER LOW COST 

4. "THIRD PARTY NEWS"
* FREE NTSID NOW REPAIRED
* A NEW PRINT QUOTA MANAGER
* LAN LICENSER 3 GETS A FIX
* NEW PHOENIX(TM) DOMAIN RECONFIGURATION TOOL
* BREAK THROUGH YOUR NETWORK I/O BOTTLENECK
* BOEING MAKES FORTRESS OUT OF NT

5. "HINTS AND TIPS - TIME SAVERS AND OTHER GOODIES...
* ANOTHER MCSE ON THE LOOSE
* PASSWORD SYNCHRONIZATION SOLUTIONS 
* MORE ABOUT MEMORY LEAKS
* SOFTWARE FIX FOR INTEL PENTIUM BUG
* MCSE BRAIN DUMP HEAVEN

6. "NEW: THE NT STOCK WATCH"

7. "HOW TO USE THE MAILING LIST"
NEW Instructions on how to subscribe, sign off
and change addresses.

*****************************************************************

1. "Editor's Corner" WOW, THIS MARKET _MOVES_ !

IntelliQuest reported last week that 56 percent of organizations 
building Web applications on their corporate intranets plan to 
deploy Windows NT Server 4.0. This figure compares with only 8 
percent of organizations that plan to deploy Web applications on
UNIX. According to the latest sales report from International 
Data Corp, the shipments of Windows NT Server have more than 
doubled in the first half of 1997 compared to the first half of 1996.

Industry support for the Web services in Windows NT Server 4.0 has
also increased dramatically in the past six months. At the Fall 
Professional Developers Conference, more than 4,500 developers 
indicated they are building applications with IIS, Microsoft 
Transaction Server and Microsoft Message Queue Server. It is just 
easier to use than anything else doing application development.

According to the December report from Netcraft, a U.K.-based 
consultancy (http://www.netcraft.com/), the number of Web sites 
running Windows NT Server with IIS has grown to more than 360,000 -- 
more than twice the total number of sites running Netscape Web 
server software. More than 6,000 Web sites are already running 
NT 4.0 with IIS 4.0, which was released only a week ago. Some 
of the large Web sites migrating to this new solution include ABCNEWS, 
Comcast QVC, ESPN SportsZone, and the official sites for the NASCAR, 
NBA, NFL and WNBA.

And Dec 9-th, at Fall Internet World '97, BackOffice Server 4.0 was
announced. This makes it easy to build, manage and deploy powerful 
Web and line-of-business applications. This new release includes the 
latest versions of the server apps and now adds Microsoft Site Server 
and Seagate Crystal Info for the first time. BackOffice Server 4.0 
also delivers new suite-level features like integrated setup and an 
intranet starter site.

With all this activity moving into business-critical servers, it
becomes more and more important to build in real clustering for web
servers. We are happy to announce we have found a great solution
for this particular target market. We'll soon start distributing
a leading edge IP based clustering solution. You'll be able to simply 
create a virtual IP address and have 2 to 32 machines integrated 
into one cluster. Take one system offline and the traffic gets load 
balanced to the others. It's a killer tool for scaling your websites up,
and a great add-on to any machine that already runs Octopus. I have
had a live demo in our offices from the developers, very impressive.
More on this later, we'll do a separate announcement before end '97.

This is an exciting marketplace to be in my friends...

Warm regards,

Stu Sjouwerman


***************************************************************** 
2. "TECH BRIEFING"

* HOW AN OCTOPUS OUTRUNS A WOLFPACK

Well first of all it's got more legs.... In our last issue I 
explained that Octopus was our No. 1 best selling product this year. 
Now let me go into some technical detail and explain from an 
engineering viewpoint why Octopus stays ahead of Wolfpack. 

There are some significant limitations in Wolfpack. First of all 
it is only a 2-node cluster. No possibilities of one-to-many, and 
a limited distance of about six feet between the two nodes. That 
means no disaster recovery because you cannot get out of the 
building and replicate off-site.

Wolfpack only runs on Intel, Alpha is not supported. The vulnerability 
of the raid controller is also an important single point of failure. 
Microsoft has only a very small hardware compatibility list for 
Wolfpack. A large part of existing hardware is simply not supported. 
A good example is the Compaq Proliant, there are tens of thousands 
of those around that will not be able to run Wolfpack because you 
need a dual ported raid array.

Applications need to be "cluster aware" to be able to fail over, 
and there are only one or two around at the moment. Applications 
need to major changes to their DLLs to make them Wolfpack ready. 

As a Wolfpack cluster shares data from a raid array, backups are 
made of live data, and some open files might not get picked up. 
And Wolfpack is part of NT enterprise edition which costs about 
four grand so it is not for free. Wolves without teeth have a
hard time trying to eat an Octopus ;-).

Basically Octopus does not have all these limitations. Octopus 
allows not only one-to-one but also one-to-many, many-to-many and 
many-to-one type failover configurations. Octopus works well over 
a WAN and allows you to set up disaster recovery. Octopus supports 
many more hardware configurations then Wolfpack does. Octopus does 
not require additional hardware, and will run for instance on 
existing Proliants, but also all others like HP, DEC, Dell, NCR,
and Unisys to name a few.

Octopus does not need changes to _any_ DLL to make failovers work.
With Octopus you can pause the updates to your target server, and 
make a backup of the replicated data without a performance impact 
on your source server or suffering from a shrinking backup window.

Last but not least, Octopus has over 15,000 licenses in the market 
as we speak and is by far market leader in this area. And a little 
birdie whispered in my ear that Octopus will very shortly be able 
to do some very exciting things that were not possible up to now,
using the existing version Octopus HA+ 3.0. If you have _any_ NT 
servers that are business critical, you want to get your hands on 
Octopus before the end of the year. Here is where you get your 30-
day eval: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/octo_ha.htm
---------------------------

*****************************************************************
3. "NT RELATED NEWS"

* FINAL RELEASE OF INTERNET INFORMATION SERVER 4.0

With the final release of IIS 4.0, Windows NT Server becomes the only
operating system with integrated web and application services built in.
You can download IIS 4.0 (included in the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 
Option Pack) and make your NT Server a "web application server".
http://www.microsoft.com/iis/go/402/
---------------------------

* MOVE UNIX TO NT AT SUPER LOW COST 

ICL Software Technologies' Centrivex Swift provides more than 45 
commonly used Unix workstation utilities on Windows NT, which lets 
systems administrators integrate Unix and NT systems and share data 
between the two platforms. A free evaluation version is available on 
ICL's Web site; upgrading to the full version costs $159.
ICL:714-855-5505, http://www.iclsofttech.com
---------------------------

*****************************************************************
4. "THIRD PARTY NEWS"

* FREE NTSID NOW REPAIRED

As I mentioned before, it pays off to wait a bit to get bugs
flushed out of new software. The free NTSID is no exception.
In one or two percent of the cases after running NTSID it was
not possible to log on anymore. Some parts of the registry were 
not being copied correctly when creating the new SID, and this
is now fixed. But before you retry, make an ER-disk and have a
backup. A new comment was added to the page: "Note that while we 
have thoroughly tested NTSID, you must use it at your own risk. 
As with any software that changes file and Registry settings, it 
is highly recommended that you completely back-up your computer 
before running NTSID. It is not anticipated that changing a 
computer SID will cause problems when upgrading to NT 5.0's 
Active Directory, but we take no responsibility if it does."
The new version: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/emt4nt.htm
-----------------------

* A NEW PRINT QUOTA MANAGER

In the flurry of new announcements you may have missed an 
interesting new utility that might save you a lot of hassle.
It's a print quota manager! Print Manager Plus allows centralized 
tracking and management of all printing activity on a Windows NT 
network. This product allows you to set and enforce print quotas 
per user. Once a user has exceeded their quota a pop-up message 
gets sent, and you can automatically schedule quota updates. Print 
Manager Plus supports unlimited users on a Windows NT domain. You 
can use the product to simplify print management, bill your users, 
track usage patterns and cut down on wasted printing. Here's more:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/printmgr.htm
------------------------

* LAN LICENSER 3 GETS A FIX

We just announced this product last month, and one nasty installation 
bug is now fixed. LL3 is ready for the big time now: an 18Meg eval!
ABC Lan Licenser 3 is the most comprehensive software metering tool 
available. Designed for maximum performance and scalability across 
any sized corporate network, ABC Lan Licenser 3 helps keep networks 
legally compliant within all manufacturer's software agreements and 
reduces the total cost of ownership by allowing organizations to 
only purchase the software they need. The three tier Client / Server 
architecture maximizes response times and reduces network traffic to 
an absolute minimum while providing central administration capabilities. 

Features include auto call back, mobile user metering, auto shutdown 
of unattended apps, access control to specific applications, etc. 
Lan Licenser's historical trend analysis and dynamic load balancing 
assure optimum license deployment on a world-wide basis. It is the 
only product compatible with Microsoft Select and Advantage Plus 
licensing agreements. Servers: NT, AIX, DEC-Alpha, and Netware Bindery 
Clients: Windows 3.X, 95, WFW, and NT workstations. 

Companies that respond before December 31 will receive complimentary
support loading and testing their evaluation copy of Lan Licenser. 45 
minutes on the phone and you will be up and running!
Here is your eval: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/lanlic.htm
-------------------------

* NEW PHOENIX(TM) DOMAIN RECONFIGURATION TOOL

FastLane Technologies introduced the Phoenix Domain Reconfiguration
Tool (DRT) for Windows NT networks. Phoenix makes enterprise-wide 
network transitions for Windows NT networks possible, practical and 
highly cost-effective by managing common domain reconfig problems.

Companies using Windows NT and those moving to Microsoft Exchange 
often must consolidate numerous network domains to a single master 
domain or multiple master domain model. Performing this task manually, 
computer by computer, could take weeks or months. Phoenix DRT 
automates the entire domain reconfiguration process and reduces the task 
to days or even hours.

If domain reconfiguration is planned in preparation for a division or
corporate merger, a network software migration or just ongoing 
maintenance, Phoenix DRT is used to:
- migrate users
- migrate global groups
- update local groups
- adjust resource and user access control lists
- change user rights
- move computer accounts to the target domain.

Phoenix DRT is powered by FINAL(TM), FastLane Technologies' scripting 
language for mass enterprise management.

"Phoenix DRT is a required product for any significant migration to
Windows NT or Microsoft Exchange," said Dave Seguin, FastLane CEO.
"Phoenix DRT can pay for itself on its first use - it truly lowers the
barrier to entry to large scale Windows NT implementation."
FastLane can be reached at http://www.fastlanetech.com
----------------------------

* BREAK THROUGH YOUR NETWORK I/O BOTTLENECK

Our first customers that have bought Balance Suite are thrilled!

Balance Suite dramatically improves server I/O performance and
reliability. By combining multiple Network Interface Cards (NICs) 
into a single, high speed virtual NIC, Balance Suite improves server 
I/O bandwidth. Balance Suite improves server reliability by monitoring 
the performance of NICs, cables and ports and automatically rerouting 
data around failed components. Unlike other port aggregation or 
trunking products, Balance Suite is the only product on the market 
to provide all these features:

-- Dynamic balancing of outbound packets -- Outbound packets are
distributed among all balanced cards, assuring even use of available
bandwidth.
-- Adaptive balancing of incoming connections -- Incoming connections 
are distributed among the balanced NICs, and connections are reassigned
as needed to maintain balanced traffic.
-- Hardware independence -- Balance Suite supports a broad selection of
popular NICs.
-- Seamless fault tolerance -- NIC, cable or switch port failures do not
interrupt user connections.
-- Self-healing -- When hardware faults are repaired, the components are
automatically reactivated.
-- Full use of available NICs -- Balance does not require idle "standby"
NICs to achieve fault tolerance, all NICs are actively used to increase
bandwidth. Here is the 30-day eval:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/balance.htm
-------------------------

* BOEING MAKES FORTRESS OUT OF NT

If you are deploying NT in a secure environment, like Defense,
Banks, or Insurance companies one of the requirements is workstation
security enforcement. Boeing is one of the latest customers of
Fortress-NT along with the US Coast Guard and Lockheed.

The Fortress-NT customizations requested by Boeing have now been
incorporated into the official Fortress-NT product. These include:

* End-user/administrator can now customize the bitmap/logo displayed 
by the Idle-Logout Screen Saver.

* The Idle-Logout Screen Saver now secures the workstation instantly 
-- it can not be closed until it has been running for at least five 
seconds, after which NT requires password entry.

* If the Idle-Logout Screen Saver is stopped by mouse or keyboard 
activity but the workstation is not subsequently unlocked, the 
Idle-Logout downcount will continue where it left off instead of 
starting over.

* More events are now logged to the NT Event Log.
Get your eval at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/fortress.htm
-------------------------

*****************************************************************
5. "HINTS AND TIPS - TIME SAVERS AND OTHER GOODIES...

* ANOTHER MCSE ON THE LOOSE

A Very Well Done to Brian Evans, MCSE. He wrote:

"Well, I passed my last test for the MCSE Friday night. 959/1000 on
Internet Information Server/Index Server 1.1. Just thought I'd let 
you folks know, and express my appreciation, since you were all 
instrumental in helping me get the instruction, material, expertise, 
and motivation I needed to get the job done. Thanks so much!" 
Get your own kit at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/mcse.htm
-------------------------

* PASSWORD SYNCHRONIZATION SOLUTIONS

Several people sent me their solutions for "synching up" different
passwords. I'm including a short write-up on each proposed idea"
Thanks to everyone that contributed!
--- 
"INTernet SetPass was written to allow users to change their passwords
on Windows NT servers through the internet. This is especially made
for ISP's using Internet Information Server who want to provide com-
plete account maintenance for users. It uses the Win32 API, so it
is compatible with Windows NT 3.51 or Windows 4.0. There are
really two components to the application, an HTML user interface and
the CGI-Win executable. " http://www.mtgroup.com
---
"I found this product in Canada about 4 months ago. It's from Mercury
Information Technologies. I was looking for something to Sync all
passwords across a number of platforms including UNIX. My work took me 
away from researching and testing it. It did however claim to do what 
you are describing. Their site is at 
http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/psynch/index.html "
---
"By installing the IntraNetware Client from Novell, you can keep
your passwords synchronized between both systems. When hitting 
ctl-alt-del to change your password, it lists both the NT domain 
and the Netware server, and changes your password on both.
The IntraNetware client is available from Novell for free. I am
using version 4.10 , and it works a treat".
---
"If you use workstation manager from novell. The problem is solved".
---
"Tool for NDS and Windows NT password synchronization. NDS for NT.
Excellent product from Novell that will perform many functions so that
both worlds are properly in synch with each other." 
---
"Novell has two solutions:
* Novell Administrator for Windows NT
Synchronizes user and group objects from NDS to NT domains.
Has 3 components:
- NDS Event Monitor, a NDSDM.NLM process that runs
on Netware servers. Needs to run on at least the master
of each partition of the NDS tree (partition = subset of NDS
database, or branch of tree)
- NDS Object Replication Service, a Windows NT service
that makes changes to the SAM database in NT domains.
Ie. creates, deletes users etc. and sets group membership.
Needs to run on the PDC of a domain,and also be installed
on BDC (laying dormant until you need to promote a BDC
to PDC)

- IntranetWare client for Windows NT
This client makes sure any password changes are also
done on the NT domain that the user is a member of.

You can now use Novell's NWAdmin for administering users, reset 
passwords etc. If you have amount of users (more than 5000) it is 
best to sync different parts of the NDS tree with different NT 
domains. If you already have a large NT domain (say,a single master 
domain), things get tricky. This is because Novell recommends having 
fewer than 3-5000 user objects in a single container. NT domains 
occur as containers in the NDS tree, so a domain with 10000 users will 
become a container with 10000 objects (doubling Novell's recommended 
maximum).

BTW, a common misconception with Novell Administrator for Windows NT 
is that passwords are synchronized as attributes, ie. changes in NDS 
passwords are sent to the PDC. This is not true. Instead, passwords 
are changed simultaneously in both NDS and the NT domain. In fact, it 
is the NWAdmin program that makes the changes in the two environments.
The point is two passwords do exist, and they *can* get unsynched. 
I found out when I wrote a program that changed passwords for thousands 
of users. I had to make two calls - one to NDS and one to the PDC. 
Installation is easy. During tests the most unstable part seemed to be the
ORS service that runs on the PDC. It seemed to stop during heavy loads...

* The other product that Novell has is NDS for Windows NT. 
This can be thought of as a gateway that redirects calls to the SAM 
to NDS. It works by replacing the SAMMGR.DLL service.
It then intercepts all RPC based calls to the SAM, and redirects them to
NDS using the IntranetWare Client functionality. You need to have the
product installed on PDC's and BDCs. 

As far as NT applications know, they're talking to the Security 
Accounts Manager. They do their RPC calls as usual, and they get 
a reply back. The fact that Novell's SAM replacement makes calls to 
NDS is not known to them. NDS for NT seems a better solution because 
now you only have a single user account - that which is in the NDS. 
Also, it is compatible with Exchange, SQL server and other applications 
that use SAM. 

There's been some concern that Microsoft could change the SAM and 
thus render NDS for NT incompatible. This is improbable because 
Novell's SAMMGR.DLL replacement simply intercepts standard, 
documented RPC calls. Changing the RPC calls would mean that MS 
products like Exchange, SQL server etc. also wouldn't be able 
to talk to the new SAM. I haven't tested NDS for NT myself yet.

Finally, as you probably know, Novell is working on NDS *on* 
Windows NT, which will be a full implementation of NDS. Ie. you 
can place NDS replicas on NT servers, and they can participate in 
normal NDS synchronization.
http://www.novell.com/intranetware/ntint/appnote3.html

---
NetVision delivers solutions that provide multi-vendor directory 
services integration. The Synchronicity product family provides 
a single point of administration by integrating Novell Directory 
Services (NetWare 4) with: Win NT, Notes, Netware 3 bindery.
http://www.xmission.com/~netvisn/
---

----------------------
* MORE ABOUT MEMORY LEAKS

"Hi folks! First of all, I really enjoy the newsletter. I find it 
very informative and educational; keep up the good work! I would like 
to comment on the tip from the last newsletter. I agree with you that 
the Committed Bytes key is very important, as it can tell you if you 
have a memory bottleneck or not. Generally speaking, you should try to
have at least as much physical memory as you do Committed Bytes. But, 
a better way to identify a memory leak is to check the Process/Private 
Bytes key. It will tell you how much memory each individual process 
running on your server (or workstation) is using. If that number grows 
steadily over time, you have a leak. If find it best to log the perfmon 
data for a day or two, then chart the results of all processes running.
Hope this helps!" Regards, Damon J. Small, MCSE
---------------------

* SOFTWARE FIX FOR INTEL PENTIUM BUG

"I thought this might be of interest to people on the list. A software
based fix for the intel pentium f00f bug for windows nt and 95 is 
available at http://www.windows.to (yes this IS the correct URL) The site
is hosted by James Finnegan, Contr. Editor of Microsoft Systems Journal.
Some people have told me they were waiting for Microsoft to write one, 
but Microsoft's position has been made clear at 
http://support.intel.com/support/processors/pentium/ppiie/software.htm
and it appears they will not have one forthcoming".
Rob Rothberg - NEC Computer Systems
---------------------

* MCSE BRAIN DUMP HEAVEN

There is a web site at www.bnla.baynet.de/bnla01/members/robsch19
named MCSE Brain Dump Heaven which gives feedback on all (most) 
MCSE exams. Plus many links to other sites. Highly recommended.
Post your experiences there after you have passed!
----------------------

*****************************************************************
6. "NEW: THE NT STOCK WATCH"


52 WK 52 WK P/E WEEK
SECURITY CLOSE HIGH LOW RATIO CHNG
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dell Computer Corp....... 88 1/4 103 7/8 24 15/16 38 -5.8%
Digital Eqpmt. Corp...... 38 7/8 53 13/16 25 31 -12.0%
Intergraph Corporation... 9 3/8 14 3/16 6 1/4 -13.2%
Microsoft Corporation.... 136 3/4 150 3/4 76 3/8 51 -4.4%
Networks Associates Inc.. 45 1/4 78 1/2 36 1/2 29 -5.2%
Novell Inc............... 7 27/32 13 6 17/64 -9.0%
Oracle Corporation....... 22 3/4 42 1/8 21 3/4 32 -27.0%
Qualcomm Inc............. 50 11/16 71 15/16 38 1/2 40 -24.3%
Qualix Group Inc......... 3 11/32 9 3/4 3 7/16 11 -16.4%
Seagate Technologies Inc. 19 5/8 56 1/4 19 1/4 17 -11.5%
Sun Microsystems Inc..... 35 11/16 53 5/16 25 1/2 19 -14.1%
Sybase Inc............... 12 23 5/8 12 1/8 48 -11.5%
Symantec Corporation..... 24 7/16 27 3/4 12 23 -9.4%
Dow Jones 30 Industrials. 7,838.30 -3.8%


**************************************************************
7. "HOW TO USE THE MAILING LIST"
Instructions on how to subscribe, sign off
and change addresses

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIST

Go to: 
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/scripts/lyris.pl?join=nt-list
and fill out the form, simple & easy: 1 minute work.
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TO QUIT THE LIST

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choose the NT-List, use your email address that is at the
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2) Simply forward any newsletter you get to this email address:
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_____________________________________________________

TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS

First unsubscribe and then resubscribe as per the
procedure above.

*************************************************

FOR MORE INFORMATION

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**************************************************

Legal Stuff:
This document is provided for informational purposes only. 
The information contained in this document represents the
current view of Sunbelt Software Distribution on the issues
discussed as of the date of publication. Because Sunbelt
must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not
be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Sunbelt
and Sunbelt cannot guarantee the accuracy of any
information presented after the date of publication.

INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS
IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR 
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED 
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR 
PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT.

The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the
use of this document. This document may be copied and
distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text
must be copied without modification and all pages must be
included; 2) All copies must contain Sunbelt's copyright
notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This
document may not be distributed for profit. All trademarks
acknowledged. Copyright Sunbelt Software Distribution,Inc 1997.

(email me with feedback: [email protected])