Microsoft: Networking King? - Routing and Remote Access Service for Windows NT bridge/router software - Product Announcement

In its inexorable march toward total enterprise domination, Microsoft has again managed to work its way into yet another corner of your corporate network with the release of a new version of Routing and Remote Access Service for Windows NT V4.0, previously code-named Steelhead.

Steelhead is an enhancement of the former Remote Access Services and Multiprotocol Router Services of the past. With this new release, Microsoft is displaying its seriousness in convincing you that Windows NT can supply every function you can and will ever need to perform on your corporate network.

Previously, if you did any serious routing in your network, you typically relied on one of the big three internetwork companies: Cisco Systems Inc., Bay Networks Inc. or 3Com Corp. to provide the solution. These vendors' products included all the bells and whistles you needed: multiprotocol support, multiple routing protocols, SNMP management, and so on, in one neat package. As with choosing any other piece of computing equipment, you "simply" had to pick which box fit your needs.

Has Microsoft introduced a serious competitor in the routing arena to challenge the bigiron routing vendors?

Actually, server-based routing is nothing new. Novell Inc. has been doing this for a long time. Before that, if anyone cares to remember back that far, Digital's OpenVMS operating system included robust DECnet routing capabilities. Microsoft is simply following Digital and Novell's lead.

We downloaded the beta code from Microsoft's Web site and played with Steelhead for a while. I have to say, we were fairly impressed, even for hard-core Bay Networks bigots. The service was easy to get running. Configuration did not pose a lot of serious problems, even for a beta release.

There were a couple of kludgy items with the interface. For example, it would be nice if the router statistics screen would update in real-time. Also, for some reason, you have to use the commandline interface to delete a routing protocol. However, these are more minor annoyances than major headaches, probably things that will be fixed in future releases.

The new service supports the two major IP routing protocols: RIP and OSPF. It also runs IPX RIP and can act as a BOOTP/DHCP relay agent. If you run AppleTalk or DECnet, you're out of luck. (But then again, we're all forging ahead to implement totally IP-based networks anyway, aren't we?)

There is something simultaneously appealing and disturbing about Microsoft's efforts to get into your network. On the plus side, there's a certain sense of unity that comes with realizing that practically your entire network can be managed from a single platform point of view. You still might need separate network and system administrators, but both can use Windows NT administration tools to do their jobs. Third-party networking equipment invariably required learning another operating system -- typically a UNIX variant -- and another management interface. Administration was typically left to the "network guys," and most system administrators were happy to leave the networking chores to them.

You also can't argue against the cost savings companies could realize by routing on a Windows NT server that can also be used for other tasks. While this might not work too well in a large network that has multiple subnets and demanding network requirements, Routing and Remote Access Service for Windows NT V4.0 might just fit the bill for smaller networks. It might be especially useful for connecting smaller remote sites to a central hub.

There are some potential drawbacks, of course. For example, using Bay Networks routers in our company, we're very familiar with the software upgrade game. We are always a dot release or two behind. We just get done upgrading our routers when we have to turn around and start upgrading again. Will Microsoft be as diligent in providing routing software improvements as the big router vendors are?

Also, if your router is another Windows NT box, is the security of your network adversely affected? One of the nice things about third-party routers is that they typically are cryptic enough to be left alone by everyone except the networking staff. While Microsoft cites for-warding performance of more than 30,000 packets per second, what happens when a system administrator decides to stick an Oracle or SQL Server database on your router? Better yet, why not run the 3-D Pipes screen saver on your router and watch communications come to a screeching halt?

The jury is still out on whether Windows NT boxes can handle the load of corporate network traffic. But, you can't beat the trial policy. The code is freely downloadable from Microsoft's Web site. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

--David B. Miller is a network/server engineer for a Fortune 500 information services firm (Purchase, N.Y.). Contact him at millerdb@glinchnet.com.

COPYRIGHT 1997 101 Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group