Network Operating Systems

Dr.Moneeb Gohar

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 Windows NT Server
 Windows NT Server was first introduced in the mid-90s
and is capable of managing workgroups just like Windows
for Workgroups/95.
 Windows NT Server has all of the advantages mentioned
for the other Windows operating systems, plus, it contains
several other features making it more robust.

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 Windows NT Server
 Features:
1. It is a client/server NOS that uses routable protocols,
making it a true Internetworking Operating System
enabling network administrators to connect LANs to
WANs.
2. Windows NT Server also provides services for Novell
NetWare clients
3. It is able to run on various microprocessors such as Intel
Pentium etc. PC based systems.

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 Windows NT Server
 Features:
4. The security on Windows NT allows a network
administrator to not only provide passwords for resources
but also to individuals or groups.
5. This operating system does require the use of a more
powerful server computer whose sole function is to act as
administrator of the NOS program.
6. Having a server where all access data is stored makes
managing Windows NT Server Operating Systems
efficient.

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 Security in Windows NT Server
 Windows NT Server has more than one level of security
beyond access/no access. This NOS offers:
 no access.
 access that restricts the user to read only capabilities.
 access that allows read and write usage.
 access that allows you to change access permissions for
network users.
 Each user who wishes to access services on the network
must have a password and a user account set up within
the domain.

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 Security in Windows NT Server
 Domain:
 A domain is a security model where the database of user
accounts is stored on one or more computers known as
domain controllers.
 Important for the centralize control of the network.
 The network administrator creates, deletes, and manages
these accounts and passwords using the User Manager for
Domains program that comes with Windows NT Server.

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 Security in Windows NT Server
 For security reasons, companies often have two servers capable of
authenticating passwords:
 one that acts as the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and
 the other as the Backup Domain Controller (BDC).
 PDC:
 The PDC is a computer on the network that maintains a database of
users and security policies for the domain. This database contains
the names of users and the resources they may access. User access
may be defined for individual files or for entire directories.
 Note that although the PDC is often a server computer, this is not
necessary. Network services can be implemented on one computer
and the PDC functions on another

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 Security in Windows NT Server
 BDC (Backup Domain model) :
 A BDC maintains a copy of the PDC database. This backup
database prevents network disruption in the event of failure of
the PDC.
 If a failure occurs, the backup domain controller can be easily
switched to the PDC.
 With Windows NT Server networks can connect to other
domains.

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 Novell NetWare Operating Systems
 Novell NetWare Operating Systems, also a client/server
based NOS, is not domain based but binary based.
 It has evolved over time from NetWare 2.X, now obsolete,
which was designed for small workgroup environments to
NetWare 5.X that is aimed at global enterprise network
environments.
 NetWare is optimized for managing, sharing, translating,
and synchronizing information throughout the network-
computing environment

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 Features of Novell NetWare
 Novell NetWare 4.X features NetWare Directory Services
(NDS), which allows a user to logon from anywhere on the
network and access the same resources regardless of where
the user logs on.
 This product has become Novell’s migration strategy for
the future.
 Novell NetWare does not actually provide a computer
operating system for client workstations; it supplies an
operating system for a dedicated server computer, and
networking support to existing client workstation operating
systems.
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UNIX/LINUX
 UNIX is the oldest network operating system still being
widely used today.
 It can be used on either peer-to-peer or client/server
networks.
 LINUX is basically a free version of UNIX, which is
developed cooperatively by a community of expert
programmers.
 Various computer manufacturers have released proprietary
versions of UNIX which run on their particular hardware
platforms.

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UNIX/LINUX
 Because of differences in processor hardware and
variations from UNIX standards, each company’s
operating system has its own “flavor”.
 End user applications for UNIX must be individually
compiled for each different hardware platform and
operating system variant.
 The networking components in UNIX have been under
development for many years, and are based on the
collaborative efforts of many developers.
 Consequently, UNIX networking is extremely reliable.

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UNIX/LINUX
 Because of UNIX security, many companies use UNIX to
provide their primary networking services and interface to the
Internet.
 In spite of the rise in popularity of Web and Internet services
deployed on Windows NT, for security and reliability UNIX is
a popular choice in commercial and university environments.
 Networking under UNIX is based on the TCP/IP protocol,
which has only been integrated into the Microsoft Windows
NOSs in recent years.
 The early work, which established the Internet, was based on UNIX
platforms. Most of the TCP/IP services used in UNIX are also
commonly used on.

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UNIX vs. Microsoft Windows OS
 Microsoft Windows operating systems, with a few
exceptions:
1- Network File System (NFS)—
 NFS provides hard disk sharing over TCP/IP networks.
 It is the primary file and directory sharing protocol used in
UNIX.
 NSF clients are available for Microsoft Windows
operating systems, but are generally used for
interoperation with UNIX hosts.

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UNIX vs. Microsoft Windows OS
 2- Remote login services (RLOGIN and TELNET)—UNIX
has always been a truly multi-user multi-session operating
system.
 Multitasking of applications and processes is extremely robust;
much more so than under Windows NT.
 In addition many users can run private sessions simultaneously
under UNIX, by logging in to a host using a character-based
terminal or emulated terminal over a serial or network
connection.
 RLOGIN and TELNET protocols support logging in over
network connections.

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 UNIX vs. Microsoft Windows OS
 Graphical user interface windowing system (X Windows)—
 X-Windows is a completely distributed graphical user interface system.
 Using X-Windows, a user can execute an application on one computer,
and let that application interact with a user on a different computer,
using a network connection.
 X Windows allows computers to share their video displays, keyboards
and pointing devices with applications running on other computers.
 There is no requirement that the application execution and display hosts
even have the same type of hardware or run the same operating system,
as long as the client application and the display server support the X
Windows protocol.

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 UNIX vs. Microsoft Windows OS
 Graphical user interface windowing system (X Windows)—
 Windows NT has recently included support for graphical session-based
terminal servers that offer some similar functionality to X Windows,
but with much less flexibility.
 In addition, X Windows server software is available for Microsoft
Windows operating systems, allowing applications running on UNIX
hosts to be displayed on computers running Microsoft Windows
operating systems.

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Interoperability
 With the vast diversity of client operating systems out
there, any network operating system must be able to
provide services to multiple clients
 One of the coolest interoperability tools for Windows is
Windows Services for Unix (SFU), which provides a
framework for UNIX scripts as well as UNIX services like
NFS to run on Windows

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Gateway Services for NetWare (GSNW)

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