|
|
|
By Joseph C. Panettieri and John J. Yacono
Even with the release of version 4.0, Windows NT has an Achilles' heel: a substandard directory service that pales in comparison to NetWare 4.x's NetWare Directory Service (NDS). The question is, will Microsoft assuage NT users by developing-or acquiring-the technology needed to match NDS? The question is taking on even more importance as Novell races to port NDS to NT.
Publicly, Microsoft says NT 5.0, code-named Cairo, will topple NDS. But privately, the soft-ware giant is said to be eyeing Banyan Systems, whose respected but struggling StreetTalk directory already runs on NT. StreetTalk offers a distributed object-oriented file system that could improve NT Server's ability to support apps scattered around the Internet.
The $130 million Banyan is considered ripe for the picking. The Westboro, Mass., vendor has reported anemic profits and flat revenue in recent quarters, and suffered a whopping $21 million loss in 1995. And Microsoft is no stranger to the strategy of buying technology.
While Microsoft officially denies any interest in buying Banyan, an independent developer close to the situation says Microsoft has approached Banyan at least once about buying directory technology but has been rebuffed.
The point may soon be moot. In the past month, both Microsoft and Novell unveiled tools that allow users of Banyan's Vines network operating system to migrate to NT and NetWare, respectively.
Microsoft is also forging ahead with Cairo. After a two-year delay, it's expected to enter limited beta before year's end. And the team working on it already knows a little about enterprise directories: Cairo gurus Jim Allchin and David Straube are Banyan alumni. That's another reason why talk of Banyan probably won't stop until Cairo and the NT Object File System (NTOFS) ship.
|
|
|