Windows NT vs. Unix

1. Windows NT vs. Unix COSC513 Operating Systems 6/3/2000 Tao Peng

2. Unix • Unix was originated at Bell Labs in 1969 • OS of choice for science, engineering, research, and higher education • A family of operating systems which includes AIX, BSDI, Digital Unix, FreeBSD, HP-UX, IRIX, Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Pyramid, SCO, Solaris, SunOS, etc. • Is a mature, technically superior group of operating systems with a proven record for performance, reliability, and security in a server environment.

3. Unix • The de facto choice for delivering services that are not file and print-related • Its strong preemptive multitasking and protected memory support make it well-architectured as an application server • Standard for building large-scale application servers such as Internet services, enterprise messaging systems, database management systems and transaction processing systems for a simple reason: Unix solutions are capable of handling the load. • Success was confined to expensive high-margin hardware

4. Windows NT • Introduced in 1997, proprietary product. • Actually two products: Microsoft NT Workstation and Microsoft NT Server. • The Workstation: is designed for users, especially business users, who need faster performance and a system a little more fail-safe than Windows 95 and Windows 98). • The NT Server: The Server is designed for business machines that need to provide services for LAN-attached computers. Is probably the second most installed network server operating system.

5. MS claimed NT benefits • NOS of all trades--a single OS to support all client/server solutions—from file and print services to network infrastructure and management to application services. • GUI-style management--Its slew of GUI-based management applications simplify server administration—reducing support costs. • Runs all the popular software in a familiar environment • MS promotion: with ever-reducing prices of PC processing power, NT will eventually be able to match the performance of high-priced Unix RISC workstations and servers at a much lower price

6. NT will not take over Unix NT and Unix each has its specific strengths and weaknesses. Technically, Unix is superior to NT.

7. Unix Strengths • Scalability:used on various hardware platforms, from workstations to supercomputers • Management: managed at a very low level through a character-based interface, making it easy to access all administrative functions remotely. X windows is network-enabled, letting any GUI utilities be accessed remotely. • Large Scale directory services: Lacks a standard directory service, but products like NIS and DCE directory services integrate closely with the OS and offer Unix-specific schemas by default

8. Unix Weaknesses • Not standardized: incompatible versions of Unix--applications written to one environment must be ported to another. Most portable Unix applications are not multithreaded • Cost--capital: scalable, high performance RISC solutions are very expensive compared to PC hardware • cost--management: complex OS requires experienced administrators. Most versions have simplified installation processes and each vendor offers different management utilities

9. NT strengths • Low cost: primary market for NT is the PC platform • Standardization: controlled by a single vendor--all versions of NT share the same APIs and system calls; most NT applications are multithreaded • Multiplatform support: available on multiple platforms(x86 and Alpha); standardized APIs mean that porting to another NT version means a simple recompilation • Strong ISV support: software vendors strongly support NT, resulting in a large software library • Cost--administration: driven by relatively easy-to-use GUI utilities • Client/Sever: offers both a NOS and application server solution out of box

10. NT weaknesses • Scalability: tied to PC platform. Available for Digital Alpha, but most applications focus on the dominant PC market. Scalability is largely driven by the Intel architecture • Scripting: lack of solid scripting utilities and character-based applications • Remote management: managing an NT server remotely requires specialized GUI utilities. Severely restricted functionality, if limited to a character-based interface • Directory services: Limited to NT domains, which don’t tie into non-NT networking

11. Functionality(1) Multi-user aspect • Once a user is logged on to the NT network, all he/she can do is access files and printers, the NT user can only run special applications that have been written in two pieces, i.e. client/server applications • When a user logs into a Unix server, he/she can then run any applications (provided being authorized), thus taking the processing load off his/her workstation. This also includes graphics-based applications since X-server software is standard issue on all Unix operating systems.

12. Functionality(2) Email Programs • With NT, users have to buy a separate software package in order to set up an email server • Unix comes with built in Sendmail program Scripting Languages • Unix is equipped with scripting languages (Bourne Shell, Korn Shell, C Shell, etc) and a cron facility for scheduling jobs to run at fixed intervals • NT only has limited cmd.exe scripting environment

13. System Management(1) Administration of the Sever • Users can run any Unix application and even manage the Unix server from any of the following clients: Any of a variety of character mode terminals, most typically ANSI or VT100 series Any PC with an operating system that includes a Telnet client Any X terminal Any PC running X server software Any workstation running any version of Unix that supports X11R6, including anything from an UltraSPARC running Solaris to a 386 PC running FreeBSD • Users can not manage an NT server from the same Software to manage NT server will only work with a MS OS capable of understanding them

14. System Management(2) GUI vs. CLI • Unix does not require a GUI to function. NT does. And graphics require incredible amounts of disk space and memory • With Unix, you can run GUI tools over the network-enabled X Window System, and now through Java versions of system control tools

15. System Management(3) Configuration Changes • Any Unix with loadable module support is by nature more appropriate for a server environment because almost all configuration changes do not require system restarts. • Even insignificant changes to a Windows NT configuration require a shutdown and reboot in order to make the changes take effect. e.g. changing the IP address of your default gateway or changing the type of modem you use for a dial-up PPP connection. None of these limitations exist in Unix.

16. Directory Structure--Unix organized standard set of directories • / root directory • /dev direct access to devices • /bin system executable files • /sbin system administration executable files • /lib some shared libraries • /usr/bin standard executables not needed at boot • /usr/sbin system administration executables not needed at boot • /usr/lib shared library files • /usr/include shared header files • /usr/local miscellaneous programs you install • /usr/X11R6 the starting point for the X directory tree • /etc configuration files

17. Directory Structure--NT Having to maintain compatibility with its roots in DOS and Windows 3.1 • \ boot files, some boot configuration files • C:\temp temporary installation files • C:\winnt NT system files, boot and program configuration files, user configuration files and access control, commonly used applet programs • C:\winnt\system NT system files, driver files, shared libraries, configuration files • C:\winnt\system32 system files, shared libraries, program files, configuration files • C:\winnt\system32\drivers more drivers • C:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc more configuration files

18. Future of Contention • Successful marketing can often distract customers from considering their need for functionality.NT is often chosen for budget reasons in small-to-medium-scale application server environments since many customers are not willing to pay for the more expensive hardware required by most commercial flavors of Unix. • Unix is increasing in popularity, due to its economy, scalability, stability, technical superiority and, in some cases, freely available open source. This presents a direct threat to NT market penetration in the enterprise-server space. • Environments where performance or scalability is the primary concern will most likely continue to support Unix.