Microsoft(R) WinNT News Electronic Newsletter Vol.2 , #6, March 15 1996 ############################################################ By subscribing to WinNT News, you are also automatically enrolled as a member of the Windows NT Champs program. There are currently over 65,000 subscribers to WinNTNews. POWERED BY WINDOWS NT SERVER 3.51, SQL SERVER 6.5! WINDOWS NT 4.0 BETA UPDATE: Beta 2 of Windows NT Worsktation and Server version 4.0 is coming soon. It will include exciting features like Network OLE, Direct Sound and Direct Draw support and Windows 95-compatible System Policies. As always, the HCL (Hardware Compatibility List) will continue to expand with Beta 2. To ensure you receive your own personal copy of Beta 2, subscribe today to MSDN. As with Beta 1, which was sent out in February, MSDN will be creating a special "premium release" CD outside its regular quarterly CD just for the Windows NT 4.0 Beta 2 release as soon as the beta code is actually cut. So if you absolutely must have it, MSDN is the absolute best way to get it. See below for telephone information. CORRECTION: We published the wrong phone number for MSDN in the last issue. The correct phone number is (800) 759-5474, fax is (510) 275-0762. Postal mail address for MSDN is PO Box 5549 Pleasanton, CA 94566-1549. THIS ISSUE OF WINNT NEWS CONTAINS: 1. HINTS AND TIPS The little things that make life easier, faster, and more fun! This week's Hints and Tips sponsored by Windows NT Magazine 2. WINDOWS NT 4.0 BETA HINTS AND TIPS Some hints and tips to get you going in the new environment 3. USER GROUP NEWS 4. THIRD PARTY NEWS TELPEHONY INDUSTRY EMBRACES WINDOWS NT SERVER BANYAN ANNOUNCES STREETTALK FOR WINDOWS NT HEWLETT PACKARD CUTS NETSERVER SERIES PRICES BY UP TO 21% 5. MICROSOFT NEWS WINDOWS NT WORKSTATION 4.0 ON MSTV WINDOWS NT NOW A REGISTERED TRADEMARK MICROSOFT FRONTPAGE FREE TRIAL OFFER MICROSOFT RESTRUCTURES PRODUCT SUPPORT OFFERINGS AND ALSO REDUCES FEES 6. HOW TO USE THE MAILING LIST Full instructions on how to subscribe, unsubscribe and change addresses. EDITORIAL COMMENT We will be changing and updating the format of this newsletter in response to your requests. In particular, we solicit your input for our HINTS AND TIPS section, so that we may enhance your use of Windows NT. We would also like to have input from you for our CASE STUDIES section, in order that we may bring to you how others do their job, so please send your case study ideas, INCLUDING CONTACT INFORMATION, to: winntnews-feedback@microsoft.bhs.com We will not be able to respond to individual feedback in all cases, but please take it to heart that we will pay close attention to the input that we receive. Win NT News Editor ############################################################ ############################################################ 1. HINTS AND TIPS: Peridoically, we will rotate in some Hints and Tips from two excellent non-Microsoftsources of information on Windows NT: Windows NT Magazine, published by Duke Communications, and Developing for Windows NT, published by the Cobb Group. TIPS ON CONFIGURING A TCP/IP NETWORK Question: I am trying to configure a TCP/IP network into defined segments while maintaining shared resources. Of importance here, I do want to restrict traffic between groups. Naturally a limiting factor in all this is money. Can this be done with a single server and network card? Answer: This is a good question because it addresses an aspect of Microsoft TCP/IP that is not well understood. In a nutshell, Windows NT supports IP routing in networks comprised of multiple network adapters in separate physical networks (this is called a multihomed environment). In addition, you can assign different IP addresses, subnets and gateways to a single network card (actually up to 25). The latter is in fact what you want to use. In the control panel network applet, highlight the TCP/IP protocol and choose the Configure button. Select the Advanced button to display the Advanced Configuration dialog box. Be certain to pick the appropriate network card in the adapter box. All changes made will be reflected only for that card. In the IP Address and SubnetMask boxes, type the new IP addresses and Subnet mask and select the Add button to move the addresses into the right hand box. You can add up to 5 additional IP/Subnet addresses as you wish to do. In addition, you can add up to 5 additional default Gateways. If you are using DNS, WINS or LMHOSTS methods for Netbios name resolution, you will need to configure the appropriate file or utility. (On this topic, the LMHOSTS.sam file supplied is a sample file; the final file will be called LMHOSTS.) The order of checking name resolution is WINS, LMHOSTS and finally DNS. You can add IP addresses, Subnet Masks and Gateways in the registry. For an NE2000 card, go to the following: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Services\ NE20001\Parameters\TCPIP you will find the following (all REG_MULTI.SZ values): Default Gateway IPAddress SubnetMask Double clicking on any of the above gives you a dialog box into which you can type values for all three. If you wish to route across the IP values, you can enable IP Routing. By and large, leave the Scope ID blank. If you do enable it, remember that all computers can only access computers on that same scope. When finished click on OK and reboot the computer. Each month "Windows NT Magazine" features Tricks & Traps by Bob Chronister, from which the above article was excerpted. For information on how you can get a trial copy of Windows NT Magazine, set your Web browser to: http://www.winntmag.com or call (800)621-1544 or email to: subs@winntmag.com. ############################################################ 2. WINDOWS NT 4.0 BETA HINTS AND TIPS REMINDER: PLEASE SUBMIT BUG REPORTS TO ntbug@microsoft.com. PLEASE DO NOT CALL MICROSOFT. PORTING APPLICATIONS FROM WIN95 TO WINDOWS NT 4.0 Those of you who want to port your applications from Windows 95 to Windows NT 4.0 should check out "To SUR, With Love: Important Stuff To Know About the Windows NT Shell Update Release" by Nancy Cluts to find out more about dealing with a couple of gotchas that have surfaced during early beta testing. The article can be found online in the Developer Network News at http://www.microsoft.com/devnews/ntsur.htm THE WINDOWS NT DIAGNOSTICS (WINMSD) TOOL Updated with the 4.0 release of Windows NT, WinMSD (WINMSD.EXE) is a diagnostic tool that provides a graphical interface to view computer hardware and operating system information stored in the Registry. The tool also provides printed reports detailing system information. Configuration information cannot be modified using WinMSD. WinMSD is the best tool to use when viewing system information. To get to WinMSD using the START menu, choose Programs, Administrative Tools, and then Windows NT Diagnostics. The following information can be accessed graphically and easily using WinMSD: Version: Contains operating system information with version numbers, such as the build and service pack information, the registered owner, and the serial number. System: Contains ROM BIOS and CPU information, including the CPU type, the number of CPUs in the computer and the type of HALbeing used. Display: Contains video BIOS, adapter and driver information including driver version and current video settings. Drives: Lists all available drives and their types, including removable (floppy disk or optical), nonremovable (hard disk), and remote (network connections). Memory: Contains information about physical and virtual memory. Specifics bout the pagefile location, total memory and available are displayed. Services: All services listed in the CurrentControlSet are listed, along with a state or status of running or stopped. Resources: Lists all active devices and provides details about each one, including interrupt (IRQ) status, I/O Port use, direct memory access (DMA), memory, and device name information. Environment: All environment variables for both the system and the local user are shown. This includes processor information and paths. Network: Shows configuration information for the installed network components including transport data, configuration settings and statistics of network use and performance. ############################################################ 3. USER GROUP NEWS In this section, we will highlight one or two Windows NT User Groups (and their events and activities) per issue. We welcome submissions from all Windows NT User Groups, but can only select the one or two most relevant and interesting that have been submitted, and that fall into that issue's time frame. If you are a member of a user group, and would like to advertise yourselves, please send email to winntnews-feedback@microsoft.bhs.com If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to form a new group, or helpful hints on running an existing one, please let us know! Send your announcements, suggestions and ideas to the above address. Your submissions, if accepted, may be edited to fit our space constraints. ************************************************************ THE WINDOWS NT 4.0 TOUR 96! For an up-to-date listing of the 20 cities Microsoft is visiting during its Windows NT 4.0 User Group Tour, please see http://www.microsoft.com/NTWorkstation/ugtour.htm. The Tour passed the half-way mark this week with three successful events in Canada, and we feel confident from the glowing reports back from the User Group leaders that the Tour has been a useful source of information on the upcoming release of Windows NT 4.0. For those of you who have attended and filled out a beta coupon, you will receive your beta packages with Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (not Server) within 4-6 weeks of the event. ************************************************************ 1400 FANATICS PREVIEW WINDOWS NT 4.0 IN WASH., DC [The following is excerpted from the ASUG March 1996 Electronic Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 6, March 1996. The ASUG saw a huge jump in membership in January (127 new members), February (189 new members), and from the Windows NT 4.0 Tour '96 (875 new members). Its primary means of communication is the electronic newsletter and the ASUG Web Site http://cpcug.org/user/ckelly/new_asug.html.] Our Feb. 22 meeting attracted over 1,400 die-hard Windows NT fanatics to the Renaissance Hotel for the first local preview of Windows NT 4.0. Those who attended were treated to a really great demo of Version 4.0's exciting new features by Jose Ward, Architectural Engineer, Microsoft Corporation. The demo included a live multiple-RAS connection (via a single modem) to both Microsoft and the Internet. The interest level was very high and a spirited Q&A session featured many questions on Hardware Compatibility, Device Driver Support, CAPI, and Plug and Play. Everyone we've talked to was very impressed with the product, with the size & excitement of the crowd, and with the scope and diversity of the user group. There was a drawing for 3 copies of Windows NT 3.51 Server, 3 Windows NT Resource Kits, 10 snazzy T-shirts with Windows NT Workstation embroidered on them, and golf tees, golf balls, & golf hats & 2 one-year subscriptions to Windows NT Magazine. All who attended received a Windows NT Magazine, a concert-style T-shirt, and a coupon for a free beta copy of NT 4.0 that will be mailed to them. ############################################################ 4. THIRD PARTY NEWS TELEPHONY INDUSTRY EMBRACES WINDOWS NT SERVER More than 40 developers announced new products based on Windows NT Server at the Computer Telephony Conference on March 12th. The telephony application programming interface (TAPI), currently included in Windows 95, will be included in the forthcoming release of Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 as TAPI version 2.0. This represents the first time computer telephony capabilities have been integrated into a mainstream server operating system. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/press/1996/mar96/tapipr.htm) BANYAN ANNOUNCES STREETTALK FOR WINDOWS NT Banyan Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BNYN) has extended the capabilities its StreetTalk network directory services to include Windows NT platforms with StreetTalk Access for Windows NT File and Print software. "StreetTalk Access for Windows NT File and Print enables Banyan users to leverage the strengths of other computing environments without sacrificing the unparalleled case of locating, using and managing information resources with Banyan's StreetTalk enterprise directory software," said Mike Wixon, Banyan's director of product marketing. "We are giving our users the best of both worlds." StreetTalk Access lets users choose either VINES IPor TCP/IP as their network communications protocol. This eliminates the need to manage Windows NT domains and install a new Microsoft redirector and protocol stack on each client. StreetTalk Access for Windows NT File and Print offers location-independent resources so network administrators can relocate Windows NT file and print services without having to alter user profiles. StreetTalk Access is available to users using VINES 5.5 or higher or ENS for UNIX and Windows NT Workstations 3.51 or Windows NT Server 3.51. It will be available March 22, 1996 and costs $1,495 per server plus $40 per user. HEWLETT PACKARD CUTS NETSERVER SERIES PRICES BY UP TO 21% This month Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP) introduced the 133-megahertz Pentium HP OmniBook 5500 Notebook PC, which includes Intel Corp.'s (INTC) new 133-megahertz Mobile Pentium processor, a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, a 12.1-inch viewable-image color display and a new four-megabit-per-second infrared port. Volume shipments of the HP OmniBook 5500 CT 5/133 notebook PC Model 1350 will begin early May. Pricing will be announced in mid-April. The company also said it cut prices on its HP NetServer Series servers and family of disk drives by as much as 21% and 15%, respectively. The HP NetServer 5/133 LS was reduced by 21% to $12,778 from a street price of $16,091. Pricing for the 1-gigbyte Fast SCSI-2 was reduced to $476 from $557. Hewlett-Packard also said it cut pricing on the HP OfficeJet printer-fax-copier product by $100. The company expects a street price of about $499. All price cuts were effective March 1. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com. ############################################################ 5. MICROSOFT NEWS WINDOWS NT WORKSTATION 4.0 ON MSTV Microsoft will be airing a series of television specials on Windows NT Workstation 4.0 in the months of April through June, 1996. These shows are designed to provide both technical and business-value information for IS professionals. The first 1-hr television special on Windows NT Workstation 4.0 will air on April 9th and April 11th, 1996. This show will introduce IS managers and business users to the specific benefits afforded by this new operating system. It will include case studies that investigate the different ways business users are taking advantage of Windows NT Workstation, and discuss Microsoft's desktop strategy for Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation. For more information on how to view this series, consult the MSTV home page at http://www.microsoft.com/mstv or call the Microsoft TV information line at (800) 597-3200. WINDOWS NT NOW A REGISTERED TRADEMARK Windows NT is now a registered trademark. For those of you creating materials that use the Windows NT trademark, general usage guidelines for all the Windows trademarks can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/MSDN/LIBRARY/TECHNOTE/Win95Log/kit/DODONT.HTM. In any published material, the first instance of "Windows NT" collateral should now be trademarked as follows: Windows NT (R) Server Windows NT (R) Workstation The Windows NT (R) platform GEEK NOTE: Shortcut for the (R) is Ctrl-Alt-r in Word or Exchange, or you can hold the alt key down and type 0174. MICROSOFT FRONT PAGE FREE TRIAL OFFER Visit the Microsoft FrontPage Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/frontpage/free.htm to learn about how you can receive a free trial copy of Microsoft FrontPage, our newest Web development tool. See for yourself how FrontPage streamlines the creation and management of your own Web site. This trial offer is available for a limited time and product support is not be provided. ************************************************************ MICROSOFT RESTRUCTURES PRODUCT SUPPORT OFFERINGS AND ALSO REDUCES FEES In recent weeks, Microsoft has announced several important changes to its support programs for Windows NT. We thought we would provide a recap for you. First, beginning Jan. 22, 1996, customers who call 900 numbers for technical support will be charged a per-incident fee instead of a per-minute fee. Per-incident fees for 900 numbers will be consistent with per-incident fees for 800 numbers, which vary by product. Customers still have two ways to pay for support: charges for 800 number calls will be billed to the customer's credit card and charges for 900 number calls will appear on the customer's phone bill. This change applies only to fee-based, per-incident, around-the-clock support and does not affect Microsoft's standard, no-charge support lines. Secondly, Microsoft is decreasing the per-incident price of support for the Windows NT Workstation operating system, from $150 to $95. Finally, on February 27, 1996 Microsoft announced a comprehensive portfolio of services for enterprise customers known as the Microsoft Service Advantage. The Microsoft Service Advantage offers large organizations several new and enhanced services, including preventive support options for mission-critical IT maintenance, new consultative migration and planning services, and a single contract for all Microsoft direct services worldwide. For more information, see http://internet/supportnet/AnswerPoint/ ############################################################ 6. 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The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft and Microsoft 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. 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