Windows NT Internet and Intranet Development
To learn more about author Sanjaya Hettihewa, please visit the author's homepage.
To learn more about author Sanjaya Hettihewa, please visit the author's homepage.
The Internet offers many Windows NT resources that are freely available to anyone. Even though you can call Microsoft for questions related to Windows NT, you might first want to find out if anyone else on the Internet has come across the same problem and learn what was done to solve it, possibly saving you some time and money. Another advantage of posting questions on the Internet is that they are read by a diverse group of people. Therefore, responses you get will be greatly varied and will include a wide range of experiences. You can take advantage of this by sifting through the responses and selecting the solution that best suits your needs.
With a few exceptions, the Internet is generally a friendly place where people go out of their way to help others. If you are supporting Windows NT, consider joining one or more Windows NT Internet mailing lists. In the next section, you will learn about Windows NT mailing lists and get directions for joining them. You can also browse Windows NT newsgroups and participate in discussions; these options enable you to keep abreast of new information and learn from the experiences of others. Be sure to browse the Windows NT-related Web pages discussed in the section titled "Windows NT Resources on the World Wide Web."
Windows NT mailing lists are a rich source of information. Most people who subscribe to these mailing lists use Windows NT every day and are quite helpful when someone has a problem. Before you join a mailing list, be aware that some of them generate quite a few e-mail messages each day. If you don't want to receive dozens of e-mail messages daily, it's better not to subscribe to a mailing list. In my opinion, however, the knowledge you can gain from being on mailing lists is well worth the extra e-mail. By joining a mailing list, you not only find solutions to questions, but you are able to discuss topics related to Windows NT with other NT users. By sharing your experiences with others and by learning from the experiences of others, you will be able to find innovative ways of accomplishing your objectives. It's a safe bet that you'll see me occasionally in some of the following Windows NT mailing lists.
Tip: If your e-mail application supports rules, use them to divert all e-mail from mailing lists to a folder. This will make sure the dozens of messages you get from mailing lists do not distract you from your personal and business e-mail. It's a good idea to use a different folder for each mailing list. That way, you can open a folder and read all the messages at one time.
To join any of the following Windows NT mailing lists, send an e-mail message to the address listed. Be sure the body of your message contains the appropriate text. It usually takes a few hours to start receiving messages directed to the list to which you subscribed.
Tip: When your subscription request is processed, you will receive a welcome message that contains information about the mailing list. Be sure to save this message; it also contains information about how to unsubscribe from the mailing list should you change your mind. Some list members are not very friendly when unsubscribe messages are sent to the main list!
For discussions related to Windows NT-based WWW servers, try the following:
For general discussions related to Windows NT, try the following:
There are many useful Windows NT Web sites on the Internet. The following WWW sites are devoted solely to Windows NT. You might want to add some of these sites to your favorite Web browser's bookmark list. Visit them now and then to keep abreast of information related to Windows NT and to find solutions for various problems.
http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/hwtest/hsearchn4.idc
Visit this URL to determine whether a peripheral in question is compatible with Windows NT. If you don't see an item in the hardware compatibility list, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's not compatible with Windows NT. In such a case, contact the hardware manufacturer for information about Windows NT compatibility.
http://www.microsoft.com/BackOffice/reading/nt4unix.htm
This paper provides a technical overview of Windows NT for the information-technology professional with a strong background in UNIX. It approaches the subject from the UNIX point of view and relates the concepts of Windows NT to corresponding ones in UNIX. The paper begins with a technical comparison of the two operating systems and moves on to cover how the two can coexist in a heterogeneous environment. The paper finishes with a brief section describing some of the tools available to help developers create applications for both platforms.
http://www.nentug.org/unix-to-nt/
If you're interested in learning about NT versions of UNIX and TCP/IP utilities, visit this URL. This site also contains a list of frequently asked questions about how to port UNIX applications to Microsoft's Windows NT. This site is particularly informative to anyone who intends to port UNIX applications to Windows NT, and is typically updated about once a month.
This site contains many resources about using Windows NT to host a Web site and to set up other Internet information-distribution applications.
EMWAC acts as a focus for activities and events that support the use of Windows NT. This is a very useful Web site for finding Internet tools and services for Windows NT. Be sure to browse the Internet Tool Chest for Windows NT at this site for NT Internet applications such as Finger Server, Gopher Server, HTTP Server, Internet Mail Server, WAIS Server, and WAIS Toolkit.
http://www.windowsnt.digital.com/
This URL leads you to the Windows NT resources page at Digital; this page contains many Windows NT information resources. If you're hosting your Web server on an Alpha, you'll find this Web site particularly useful.
The Beverly Hills Software Windows NT Resource Center is an excellent source for Windows NT resources and information. Beverly Hills Software is an Internet consulting and presence firm that specializes in the design, installation, and implementation of Microsoft Windows NT-based Internet servers.
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver
This site contains many Windows NT server resources as well as information about creating Web sites using Windows NT. I recommend that you monitor this Web page regularly because it is maintained by Microsoft. This Web page is frequently updated with the latest Windows NT information, including new versions of Windows NT components such as Internet Information Server and bug fixes in the form of Service Packs and "hot fixes."
http://COBA.SHSU.edu/messages/nt-list.htm
This site contains hundreds of Windows NT resources that are self reported. If you set up your own Windows NT resources page, add it to the list found at this Web page.
http://www.fbsolutions.com/sdwntug
The mission of SDWNTUG is to promote the use of Windows NT Server and Workstation and to act as a conduit for the discussion and free exchange of information of NT-related issues. The Web site hosted by SDWNTUG contains numerous Windows NT resources for the deployment of Internet information systems.
http://www.telemark.net/~randallg/ntsecure.htm
Visit this site to learn how to make your NT Web server more secure.
http://mfginfo.com/htm/website.htm
This site contains a comprehensive list of Windows NT software and resources for hosting a Windows NT-based Web site.
This site contains numerous Windows NT links about NT download sites, user groups and associations, newsgroups, mailing lists, and so forth. Visit this Web site to keep up-to-date with new developments of the Windows NT community.
http://infotech.kumc.edu/winnt/
This Web site contains many Windows NT resources, including information about Remote Access Server and Windows NT file archives as well as other Windows NT resources on the Web.
This Web site, maintained by yours truly, contains numerous Windows NT information resources. It contains information about hosting a Windows NT-based Web site and setting up various Internet information systems on the Internet. It also contains information about various NT applications and other Windows NT resources on the Internet. The www.NetInnovation.com Web site is frequently updated with new information.
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Operating_Systems/Microsoft_Windows/Windows_NT/
Yahoo! has put together a Windows NT resources Web page with many links to Windows NT resources on the Internet.
There are many Web sites on the Internet that distribute Windows NT software. You'll be able to efficiently accomplish certain tasks by using the utilities and applications found in the Web sites listed next. You'll also find applications that provide solutions for the limitations of NT (such as NT's lack of a disk-quota management).
Internet Shopper is a company dedicated to the promotion of Windows NT on all platforms. At the Internet Shopper Web site, you'll find a number of Internet services for Windows NT. Internet applications found at this Web site include mail server, mailing list server, NNTP news server, and domain name service.
http://coyote.csusm.edu/cwis/winworld/nt.html
This site contains a very extensive collection of Windows NT shareware applications as well as device drivers and Windows NT ports of useful UNIX utilities.
Obtain the latest version of NT PERL free of charge from this FTP site. PERL is a very powerful programming language commonly used to develop Web CGI programs.
http://www.telemark.net/~randallg/ntdns.htm
This link is very useful if you need to set up a domain name service (DNS) server on a Windows NT machine. This link provides you with a free Windows NT port of UNIX Bind.
http://www.ccsi.com:80/pragma/
Pragma Systems has a Telnet server for Windows NT that can be used to connect to a Windows NT Internet server via Telnet. You can download an evaluation version of the InterAccess Telnet Server for Windows NT from this Web page.
http://www.ntsoftdist.com/ntsoftdist/
At the Sunbelt International Web site, you'll find numerous Windows NT disk-management utilities, such as a utility to check disk fragmentation.
http://www.fbsolutions.com/ntav
Carmel Anti-Virus is a Windows NT virus-detection and eradication utility.
Newsgroups are a valuable source of information on the Internet. You should get into the habit of checking Windows NT newsgroups on the Internet to learn about new developments in the Windows NT community. Refer to Chapter 4, "Microsoft Internet News," to learn how to browse Internet newsgroups and post messages. Also, be sure to visit Microsoft's Internet news server at msnews.microsoft.com.
Listed are a few Internet newsgroups that discuss issues relating to Web-site development. To keep abreast of new technologies and learn innovative ways of distributing information on the Internet, it's a good idea to occasionally visit the following newsgroups:
comp.infosystems.www.servers.ms-windows
comp.infosystems.www.servers.misc
comp.infosystems.www.browsers.ms-windows
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc
A number of newsgroups have been set up on the Internet for discussions related to Windows NT. To participate in these discussions, check out some of the following newsgroups:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.pre-release
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup.misc
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup.hardware
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.networking
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.misc
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.backoffice
© Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.