Is NT a real multi-user OS?
Daniel Citron
the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a printer.
If so which version the workstation or only the server?
And how is this done if possible?
It is amazing with all the literature out there that I can't get a straight answer
on this.
Thanks in advance,
Daniel Citron
C.S. dept
Hebrew U. of Jerusalem
cit...@cs.huji.ac.il
75707...@compuserve.com
person can be logged on at a time to the box. Many people can
connect via the network.
James McGovern, CPD, MCSE
ATG, Systems Architect
Command Systems
mcg...@commandsys.com
phil
>Is it possible for more than 1 user to be logged onto an NT based machine at
>the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a printer.
NT (out-of-the-box) supports single users only. This is not unusual since it
is designed to work with a single monitor, keyboard, and mouse combo.
I have heard that someone has written a telnet server for NT such that you can
telnet into an NT machine and thus possibly have multiple telnet connections into
the same machine. I am not sure if this is actually done though.
>If so which version the workstation or only the server?
If it was supported, it would be the "server" but it isn't supported.
>And how is this done if possible?
Answer not applicable.
>It is amazing with all the literature out there that I can't get a straight answer
>on this.
Not amazing at all, it is not a clear question since Windows NT is similar but
not the same as a multi-user operating system like Unix. For the most part,
you do not need to be multi-user on NT. In this day when most person to
computer connections is made through a workstation anyway (typical unix
scenario), consider the reasons for supporting multi-user:
...timesharing? No, with multiple machines, timesharing is
natural!
...Remote Processing? Such as running an application on another
machine. Actually, this can be done with NT but
not in exactly the same way as a typical X/Unix
configuration. With the NT solution, the client
is truely the program that runs on the workstation
and the server part of the program runs somewhere
else. Kind of reverse of the typical X/Unix
terminology.
...Query? That is, logging into another machine to find out
something like (ls, ps, who, or whatever). This
can all be done with NT without the need for
multi-user support. Virtually all resource management
utilities that come as part of NT support network
wide connections. As an example, I can (and do)
set up a performance monitor script that measures
the cpu load of all NT workstations in our domain.
With the NT performance monitor, I display the
results as a vertical bar chart. Really nice.
...Remote Program Load/Execute? This can be done with NT without
the need to have multi-user.
Well, I could go on but am running out of time. Multi-user just isn't needed
that much anymore, I guess that is the answer. If your organization needs
multi-user then you need to stick with an older operating system that can
support that old style of operating.
phil
muzo
>I have heard that someone has written a telnet server for NT such that you can
>telnet into an NT machine and thus possibly have multiple telnet connections into
>the same machine. I am not sure if this is actually done though.
I can vouch for the fact that you can telnet into an NT machine and use it as
someone else is using it. Especially with 3.51, all the small complaints I had
disappeared wrt multiple consoles. NT is a multi-user OS but it doesn't
support dumb terminals.
muzo
standard disclaimer
Sangria
>Is it possible for more than 1 user to be logged onto an NT based machine at
>the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a printer.
>If so which version the workstation or only the server?
>And how is this done if possible?
>It is amazing with all the literature out there that I can't get a straight answer
>on this.
Yes.
The only big draw back is that you can have only one person
logged in at the console, but you can certainly have multiple
people telnet in and run processes on the machine.
The catch: Practically every major application under NT makes
use of the GUI. Kinda hard to do GUI based application over a
VT100 telnet session. CLI apps, you should have no problems
with.
-- Sang.
*************************************************************
* Sang K. Choe san...@inlink.com *
* http://www.inlink.com/~sangria/index.html *
*************************************************************
Bruce Cook
cit...@huha.cs.huji.ac.il (Daniel Citron) wrote:
>Is it possible for more than 1 user to be logged onto an NT based machine at
>the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a printer.
... consider the reasons for supporting multi-user:
...timesharing? No, with multiple machines, timesharing is
...
...Remote Processing? Such as running an application on another
...
...Query? That is, logging into another machine to
...
...Remote Program Load/Execute? This can be done with NT without
...
phil
Actually you missed the two uses most on my mind:
Administration:
There are some things it's just too hard to do by
fiddling with registries. This occurs because of
packages that need to be installed particular ways
and may need specialized fiddling to be installed on
an NT system, or for multiple users.
(Try installing Eudora in a common group for multiple
users, without touching the target machine's keyboard)
Diagnosis:
There are always problems that are machine and/or
installation related. If the problem isn't easily
found or re-produced on another machine, you are going
to have to have a look at the installation that the
user is having problems with. This can be done by
'logging into' that machine as that user, and using
his exact installation, or buying a return plane
ticket into some remote spot and sitting down at his
machine. (The last time I did that cost the company
$1300)
--
.BRU
Bruce Cook
84 kintail Rd, Applecross AUSstep Consultants
6153, W.A. Australia 3 Ord St West Perth,
EMail:zcoo...@curtin.edu.au 6005 W.A. Australia
ste...@firepower.com
> Is it possible for more than 1 user to be logged onto an NT based
machine at
> the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a printer.
> And how is this done if possible?
> It is amazing with all the literature out there that I can't get a
straight answer
> on this.
can share files and someone can log in to the local machine, but anything
else is a kludge at best. There are a lot of telnet, rlogin and FTP
daemons out there, but there are enough nits with those to make them
kludges at best (security holes dealing with starting a GUI app, the
locally logged in user will see the windows, current users' mount points,
etc). I believe NT 3.5 added support for multiple GUI applications
running, but what they did was make an additional display device
(invisible) so the applications open on it [the invisible one].
The NT adventure has been so dynamic that things change almost daily... so
.. take the above as "what I've experienced and found out as of today".
--
Steven Heacock / NeXT Mail - MIME Mail - OK
Network Manager /
FirePower Systems, Inc. / "Human history becomes more and more a race
190 Independence Drive / between education and catastrophe." --
Menlo Park, CA 94025 / H.G. WELLS 1866-1946
(415) 462-3024 /
Michail Brzitwa
ste...@FirePower.COM, aka wrote:
> In article <42v8e6$o...@pretzel.cs.huji.ac.il> writes:
> > Is it possible for more than 1 user to be logged onto an NT based
> > machine at
> > the same time? And I mean sharing the processor not files or a
> > printer. If so which version the workstation or only the server?
> > And how is this done if possible?
> > It is amazing with all the literature out there that I can't get a
> > straight answer on this.
> > Thanks in advance,
> >
> > Daniel Citron
> > C.S. dept
> > Hebrew U. of Jerusalem
> > cit...@cs.huji.ac.il
> >
> NT (both server and workstation) are not multi-user in a UNIX sense.
They come nearer.
> [....]
>
> The NT adventure has been so dynamic that things change almost
> daily... so .. take the above as "what I've experienced and found out
> as of today".
Exactly. I have got an icon on my desktop saying 'Administrator-Shell'.
When started, I am prompted for the Administrators passwd and then get a
cmd.exe with admin rights whilst I am logged in as a normal user. I think
this is getting near to 'multi-user in a Unix sense', though there still
is a big difference.
Just get the 'susrv' free source and intel binary from
http://www.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~skrause/sunt.html
which implements the 'su' command by means of a service. It seems to be
still under construction as many things simply fail, but it's sort of a
start.
Michail
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Michail Brzitwa <m...@icem.de> +49-511-343215
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Giuseppe Mura
75707...@CompuServe.COM says...
>
>Windows NT does not support terminal like functions. So only one
>person can be logged on at a time to the box. Many people can
>connect via the network.
That is true. But There are extensions to NT, like WinDD from Tektronix
that enhances NT giving it full multiuser capabilities;
The I/O is redirected to any X display on the network and that way more than
one user can be logged in at any one time.
In our office with use a dual 66Mhz Pentium to support between 5 and 10 users,
all of them running MSOffice, Access, etc on it.
All you need is is a few X-terminals and a Unix Workstations and there you
go...
Ciao,
Pepi
David Charles Leblanc
I've been thinking about this - I'm not sure I see any reason one
couldn't redirect a serial port to support a dumb terminal under NT -
not really an inherent problem, just no one has really wanted to yet.
--
David Charles LeBlanc
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
Internet: gt6...@acme.gatech.edu