Operating systems provide the platform for application software, management of users, network services, and a large array of other facilities that bring computing to life. Choice of operating system is arguably the greatest technology decision.
Windows XP :
Microsoft's latest operating system is designed with the Internet in mind. XP is a member of the Windows NT/2000 family and marks Microsoft's move from software as a product to software as a service.
To wit, XP has new facilities such as Internet umbilicals for remote computer management and e-commerce.
Windows 2000 Server :
A scalable multitasking operating system that includes advanced component services (COM+), Internet services (IIS, ASP), asynchronous messaging services (MSMQ), and roll-based security.
This is the preferred platform for many server-based products such as SQL Server, Exchange, and many more. Windows 2000 is an excellent platform for custom applications developed in Visual Studio 6. When updated with .Net services, this operating system can host .Net applications developed in C# and Visual Basic .Net. Windows 2000 also works well as a traditional file and print server.
Windows DNA - Microsoft Windows Distributed internet Architecture (DNA) is a suite of technologies that allow the creation of high-performance enterprise processing systems. The DNA framework is an n-tier distributed architecture. DNA covers everything from Internet browsers to backend data systems.
Windows 2000 Professional :
For most purposes, Windows 2000 Pro the single user version of Windows 2000 server. Will not host some server applications.
Windows NT 4 Server :
When combined with the Windows NT option pack and other updates, Windows NT4 Server provides scalable component services (MTS), Internet services (IIS, ASP), and asynchronous messaging services (MSMQ), plus it works as a host for many server applications.
A good platform for applications created with Visual Studio 6
Windows NT4 Workstation :
For most purposes, Windows NT4 WS the single user version of Windows NT 4 server. Will not host some server applications
