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Office systems roadmap

Introduction

This document covers major future desktop technology and OSG's plans for building an infrastructure to support these technologies. The document first looks at future technology such as the coming of the Merced 64-bit processor and the Windows 64-bit operating system. It then goes into detail on the activities OSG will be conducting over the next year to position itself to take advantage of these evolving technologies.

Desktop Intel-based future technology

The following are major PC trends, which will occur over the next two to three years. OSG will be migrating them into the current production environment.

Merced 64-bit processor and Windows 64-bit OS

One of the biggest breakthroughs in PC history will arrive in mid 2000. This represents a key milestone for both Intel and Microsoft of complete IA-64 architecture solutions. Intel is close to releasing its new Merced processor. The new chip incorporates extensive multiprocessing scalability, new high-availability features, powerful floating-point extensions, and multimedia-specific instructions. Combined with the advanced scalability, high availability, and large-memory support of 64-bit Windows, these solutions will address features such as data mining, memory intensive high-end graphics, complex mathematics and high performance multimedia applications.

Intel and Microsoft have been testing the new OS with the Merced processor with amazing results. Microsoft's 64-bit windows operating system should maintain backward compatibility with current applications since both the 32-bit Windows and 64-bit Windows use a common source base and share-programming model. There will be compatibility issues with some 32-bit apps. OSG will set up testbeds to determine which software products used by the division will be affected.

Independent software vendors are already prepared to take advantage of 64-bit Windows and Intel's IA-64 architecture by using the Windows 2000 Software Developer Kit and Windows 2000 Device Driver Kit, which are available now. Applications written with current versions of the SDK (Software Developer Kit) and DDK (Device Driver Kit) can easily be recompiled to run in the 64-bit Windows environment since both products share common source code. Microsoft is committed to releasing a beta version of 64-bit Windows in the first half of 2000, and expects to release 64-bit Windows, production developer tools, and key Back Office applications with the commercial Merced systems that will be available later this year. The Merced processor remains on track for production in mid-2000. With this new advance in technology, the Wintel desktop will be capable of running climate models, Visualization Laboratory 3D models, and much more.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB is a new technology that OSG thinks has serious possibilities for use on the desktop. This new technology was developed by a group of seven companies (Compaq, Digital, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, and Northern Telecom). The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a specification for a high-speed (12-Mbps) bus with a provision for guaranteed on-time delivery of data from host to function.

USB offers plug-and-play computer peripherals outside the box, eliminating the need to install cards into dedicated computer slots and reconfigure the system. Personal computers equipped with USB would allow computer peripherals to be automatically configured as soon as they are physically attached without the need to reboot or run setup. USB also allows multiple devices (up to 127) to run simultaneously on a computer, with peripherals such as monitors and keyboards acting as additional plug-in sites, or hubs. Almost all vendors are designing USB-capable components (modems, keyboards, mice, cd roms, scanners, printers etc..) USB's 12-Mbps data rate also accommodates a new generation of peripherals such as MPEG-2 video-based products and digitizers. Also since computer-telephony integration is expected to be a big growth area for PCs, USB can provide an interface for Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and digital PBXs. Currently, both Windows 98 and Windows2000 support USB. NT 4.0 and Windows 95 do not support USB.

Gigabit Ethernet

The combination of Internet and Intranet traffic, distributed servers, and the increasing use of multicast applications is changing network traffic patterns. In the past, approximately 80 percent of network traffic was local, while 20 percent was routed over the backbone. These changing traffic patterns are driving the need for a higher-speed communication technology.

OSG will start testing Gigabit Ethernet PCI-based network cards. Once NETS has UCAR's Gigabit Ethernet backbone in place, the new Gigabit PC network cards can be installed and tested. We intend to obtain much higher speeds for data transfers and Internet access. The majority of desktop-computer network connections today are 10Base-T with 100Base-T becoming more common at the desktop level. OSG will move Wintel desktop machines to 100Base-T while testing the new Gigabit technology.

Gigabit Ethernet provides a means to scale these existing networks to higher speeds, particularly at the backbone, but Ethernet and fast Ethernet will continue to be widely used for enterprise-network desktop connections in the foreseeable future. However, this migration is highly dependent on running Gigabit Ethernet over Cat5 UTP copper cable.

Other emerging technologies

Many new products are released on the market each year. OSG will spend time evaluating new products such as these interesting new technologies:

OSG future projects

To establish a solid Intel-based desktop infrastructure for SCD, the following activities will be taking place. This will position OSG to build a solid foundation and capitalize on future technology.

Over the next year, OSG will continue on a very aggressive path toward keeping Wintel machines standardized and hardware and software up to date. There are many projects the group will focus on in the year 2000. These projects will consist of both hardware and software upgrades. This will enable SCD to stay abreast of current technology in the desktop computing industry. Some of the projects have already started and will continue through the next year. By November 1, 1999, OSG will have upgraded and made Year-2000 compliant all corporation-owned desktops and laptops within SCD and the NCAR Director's Office. This section describes the current and future projects that OSG will be focusing on.

Windows 2000

OSG plans to migrate SCD and the NCAR Director's Office desktop systems to Windows 2000 by mid-year 2000. Microsoft will not release Windows 2000 until late February 2000. NT 4.0 service pack 6 has been a very solid and stable operating system. OSG will not install Windows 2000 until it has conducted extensive testing to ensure that it will perform as reliably as Windows NT 4.0. OSG has copies of release candidate 2 of Windows 2000 and will start testing this new software after the first of the year. OSG will set up a testbed with both server and workstations for Windows 2000. If the testbed shows positive results, then OSG will install copies of Windows 2000 on some friendly-user desktops.

OSG has great interest in the new 64-bit OS that should arrive by mid-2000. As soon as OSG can obtain test copies of the 64-bit OS, we will begin testing it. It will require purchasing some new Merced processor hardware. OSG feels that the 64-bit OS will be on all 64-bit Wintel desktops by the end of year 2000.

Office Pro 2000 migration

OSG has 5 or 6 copies of Office Pro 2000 running within SCD. Dell Computer Corporation will give us free upgrades of Office Pro 2000 if the Dell machines were ordered with Office Pro 97 originally. There are some minor compatibility issues. Microsoft says that some documents created with 2000 cannot be read or changed using 97 and vise versa. Another problem with Office Pro 2000 is Access 2000. If a database is created in Access 97 and opened with Access 2000, it corrupts it.

There will be a service pack 1 fix for compatibility issues and the Access corruption problem. There is no set date for the release of service pack 1. OSG will order as many free upgrades as possible and then have individual sections purchase their own copies as needed. We will move to Office Pro 2000 as soon as service pack 1 can be installed. New machines are already shipping with Office Pro 2000.

Training

To stay abreast of the ever-changing technology in both the hardware and software fields, OSG staff will continue furthering their training and education. Each year there are many classes, conferences, and seminars that OSG staff will attend.

OSG will focus on two areas during the next year. The first is the migration from NT 4.0 to Windows 2000. It's extremely important to pinpoint the major differences between the two operating systems and the impact on OSG and their users. The second area will be the migration from Windows' 32-bit operating system to the 64-bit OS and its underlying Merced 64-bit processor. Moving SCD to these new operating systems will require expertise in both. OSG members will attend training classes from companies such as Executrain, Knowledge Alliance, and Microsoft.

Outlook Express e-mail plans

As of October 1st, 1999, there are 50 SCD users converted to Outlook Express. OSG plans to convert the NCAR Director's Office from meeker to King. SCD and the NCAR Director's Office currently have 90 users on the Wintel platform. Our intentions are to convert as many users as possible to Outlook Express. This will be an ongoing process. All new staff members using Wintel machines will read mail from Outlook Express.

DHCP for all

OSG has been testing DHCP for some SCD machines and using DHCP for the NCAR Director's Office to initialize network connections such as IPs, WINS, and DNS. Our plan is to move all SCD Wintel machines to this protocol. It will make laptop connectivity much easier. Another useful feature of DHCP involves conference rooms and visitors. Once the SCD Wintel desktops are moved to the 10 subnet and converted to DHCP, it will free up a lot of IP addresses on both the 8 and 108 subnets. The expected completion date for this change is March 2000.

Backups

Wintel machines are currently backed up using tape units built into the machines. The backup and restore functions work very well, but the tape units require a lot of maintenance. Machines that have no tape drives are not currently backed up.

SCD purchased backup software for OSG from Ultra Bac. This software has the capability to remotely schedule backups to tape drives, disks, and maybe even the MSS. OSG has been testing this new software. As soon as OSG is comfortable with network backup using Ultra Bac, it will be implemented on all SCD and NCAR Director's Office Wintel machines. Until that time, backups will continue using the current method. OSG has scheduled the move to the new backup software for January 2000.

Meeting Maker

SCD has been using Synchronize for more than two years. DSAC made a UCAR-wide decision to standardize on Meeting Maker for calendaring software. When the Meeting Maker site license is in place, OSG will start installing it on all Wintel machines. OSG has been supporting Meeting Maker for the NCAR Director's Office for three years. OSG will install the new Meeting Maker software on all SCD Wintel machines within two months after the site license is available.

Upgrade or replace older machines

As machines start to get older or short of disk space, OSG will recommend replacement of these machines. Processor speeds have doubled over the last year. The basic requirements for memory and processor speed needed to run newer software are at least twice that available in some of SCD's older machines. The older machines that are replaced can still be used for remote access or home machines. The same situation applies to laptops. Many of the older laptops don't have the CPU speed or memory to run some of the latest software. OSG will evaluate each machine on a case-by-case basis.

OSG has already started upgrading some of the older machines; anything that does not have at least a 233 Pentium processor should be replaced. When new machines are purchased, OSG will recommend the minimum configuration specified in the next section. Many of the older machines were configured with 2 or 4-GB hard disks and 64 MB of memory. If the machine is at least a 233 Pentium, OSG will start upgrading it to 128 MB of memory and add an extra hard disk, or replace the smaller disk drive with one having at least 9 GB.

OSG-recommended desktop configuration

UCAR has entered into an agreement with Dell Computer Corporation that allows major discounts and extended warranty on all Dell hardware purchased by OSG. OSG is taking advantage of discount pricing provided by Dell and purchasing Dell Dimension desktop systems.

This is the recommended hardware configuration currently supported by OSG:

OSG-standard software packages

OSG will install this standard suite of software on all newly purchased systems. This will guarantee that all systems installed by OSG have the same set of applications available.

Preventive maintenance

To keep our Wintel fleet of machines running smoothly, OSG will schedule preventive maintenance every six months. Machines will be scheduled for the twice-a-year maintenance in the electronic database. This will entail defragmenting disks, vacuuming the inside of machines, oiling fans, and running a diagnostic program such as Norton utilities. Norton has the capabilities to check memory, hard disks, motherboards, tape backup units, and many other internal components. This should help minimize downtime.

Installation cookbook

OSG has composed a new machine installation cookbook. This document establishes a standard for the setup and installation process used by OSG when new machines arrive and need to be set up. We will also be composing more documentation to be used when machines are upgraded or standardized. This will be an ongoing process.

Upgrade storage space in NT servers

Since the transition from standard UNIX mail to Outlook Express, OSG will be adding more storage space on its NT servers. A 400-GB RAID storage array has been ordered for the NT server King. This RAID will be used for e-mail accounts (files, folders, current mail, etc). When this unit arrives, OSG will install the RAID on King and set up mail storage partitions for users. Grand-NT will also need more storage space. This will not require as large a RAID. OSG will install two 18-GB SCSI hard disks into Grand-NT. The purpose of these disks will be for file sharing, storage of personal server based folders, and swap space for data. The RAID should arrive in October or November 1999. OSG plans to have both servers upgraded by January 1, 2000.

Backup mail server

Since OSG is now in the mail business, we need a plan for a high-availability mail server. Both Grand-NT and King are backed up nightly. To minimize downtime, OSG will investigate the purchase of a spare server configured exactly like King. Both King and Grand back each other up, but the problem is that one server cannot replace the other and all its functions. Grand controls authentication and printing, while King controls e-mail. User machines are configured in the DNS to use these services from one or both servers.

Retiring old printers

OSG has been maintaining printers for SCD since OSG's origin. OSG will be investigating the cost of complete printer maintenance for SCD and the NCAR Director's Office. There are some older printers that need to be replaced with new technologies. SCD needs to invest in some faster and larger-capacity printers. SCD needs to purchase a new network color printer to replace the old one in room 24. There are also some Laser 3s still in operation; these should be decommissioned. The time OSG staff spends maintaining these printers is exceeding their value. With more modern printers, we could eliminate a lot of repair time and parts costs, plus speed up printing time for all documents, especially large ones. SCD currently has no printers capable of holding more paper than 500 sheets. The only printers that hold 500 sheets are starting to require a lot of maintenance. OSG will compose a "wish list" for the purchase of some newer printers.

Consulting

Since the origin of OSG, the group has completely supported and maintained all aspects of the Wintel machines. OSG has no hardware or software support from outside vendors. All repairs are done in-house. OSG has no user application consulting support. Not only does OSG set up and repair all Wintel machines both software and hardware, but OSG has to educate and train end users on the use of their machine, and the software installed on it. OSG would like to see TCG (Technical Consulting Group) assist staff members when technical questions arise. Also OSG would like to consider a maintenance contract for the repair of hardware that OSG is currently supporting.

Tech Net and Microsoft help desk

From time to time, problems occur in which OSG staff members need assistance troubleshooting hardware and software. OSG would like to subscribe to Tech Tools and Microsoft help desk. OSG spends a lot of its staff's time searching the web for answers to Microsoft OS problems. If we subscribed to these companies' services, OSG staff will be able to discuss current problems with real people. This will minimize downtime for the division and enable OSG to better serve the SCD and NCAR Director's Office staff. This would cost $600.00 per year for Tech Net, and Microsoft is priced on a per-call basis.
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