12/96 News: How to Tell NT-W from NT-S
By John D. Ruley
What's the difference between Windows NT Workstation and NT Server-besides
$500? Not much, some critics are charging.
Technically, NT Workstation and NT Server use the same kernel
and many of the same components; how the system functions is controlled
by certain NT Registry settings. In Workstation mode, the NT kernel
is optimized for foreground application performance and enforces
some limits. In Server mode, the kernel relaxes those limits,
optimizing itself for best network response. NT Server has an
array of additional features-domain management, network monitoring
and so forth. And it has multiprocessor Hardware Abstraction Layer
(HAL) components that handle up to four processors; Workstation
HALs are limited to two.
This issue surfaced last year, when Microsoft added Internet Information
Server (IIS) to NT 3.51 Server. Some NT 3.51 Workstation users
found they could run IIS if they changed a Registry entry to reflect
NT Server as the product type. Now, the change involves three
Registry entries and a way around a new "watchdog" function.
With fixes like that, the issue isn't likely to go away any time
soon.