Win 2k or .Net?

By Christopher Burry

December 23, 2002 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - As the clock runs down on the final 12 months of Microsoft Corp.'s support for Windows NT 4.0, many IT professionals must make a critical decision: Should they migrate systems to Microsoft Windows 2000 or to Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft .Net Server? Each choice has benefits and drawbacks.
Windows 2000 is a mature platform that offers proven functionality and low cost of ownership, stability and ubiquity, in terms of third-party support and application compatibility. On the other hand, .Net Server hasn't yet shipped but offers numerous enhancements such as:

Improved support for Web services (integration with UDDI, GXA and Microsoft .Net Passport).

Better scalability and replication in Active Directory.

Domain name server improvements.

Transitive trusts between Active Directory forests.

Stronger "out-of-the-box" security.

Conventional wisdom would have it that Microsoft's .Net platform is simply too new, so organizations should deploy Windows 2000 instead. In reality, however, the decision is more complex. While Windows 2000 was a massive upgrade from Windows NT 4.0, .Net Server is more of an incremental change from Windows 2000, and the path from Windows 2000 to .Net Server is relatively simple. In addition, Windows 2000 Server is nearing the midpoint of its lifetime, in Microsoft's five- to six-year life cycle for most of its products. With mainstream support for Windows 2000 scheduled to end in early 2005, do CIOs who will finish deployments in late 2003 want to conduct another upgrade cycle -- from Windows 2000 to .Net Server -- in 2005?
There is no obvious "right" answer to the question, but IT professionals should take into account the entire IT environment (including product life cycles for all hardware and applications), major business functions it supports, the organization's tolerance for risk and current migration plans (or lack thereof). Following are some real scenarios I have heard from companies, and my advice.
Migration to Windows 2000 Already Under Way
"We started planning and testing migration from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000, and we're well into our project. Do we need to drop everything and start over with .Net Server?"
Many companies already invested time and resources in migration, and returns are within reach. In these cases, it's probably not worth scrapping careful planning, and best to complete the process. However, CIOs may want to consider how to "slip-stream" .Net Server into the project, since Windows 2000 Server doesn't present significant differences from .Net Server. They also should take this opportunity to reduce overall maintenance and management costs, through tactics such as server consolidation.
Just Beginning
"For the last two years, we

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