Editor's Forum
Our enthusiasm for UNIX is further brought into perspective by the fact that an increasing number of Sys Admin readers are also implementing Windows NT systems as part of their computing environment. Some more grudgingly than others, perhaps, but implementing NT nonetheless. Thus, we at Sys Admin feel compelled to occasionally offer our readers a side dish of Windows NT along with the usual UNIX fare. Hence, this month's theme of NT integration. The NT-related articles in this issue continue in our tradition of focusing on aspects of Windows NT integration that are important to system administrators who ply their magic in mixed-operating system environments. You will also find a smattering of NT articles that follow this approach in other issues of Sys Admin during the year. Similar to most Sys Admin themes, NT is too important and time-sensitive for us to cover it only once a year. For those readers who might be concerned that we are abandoning our UNIX roots (pun intended), take heart. Nothing could be further from the truth. UNIX, in all of its diverse (but still interoperable) implementations, remains the central focus of the magazine and will continue to be (until they pry the man pages from my cold, dead fingers). Along with our UNIX coverage, our plan is to provide practical articles that discuss how UNIX-based applications and utilities can be used to help with NT integration problems and perhaps even some things that NT might be better at than UNIX. And, of course, there will be the occasional Redmond-chiding on the editorial side to remind our friends in the Northwest that we live in a heterogeneous world and that interoperability is everyone's responsibility. To keep our NT coverage on track, however, we need to hear from you (#include uncle_sam_pointing_finger.h). Please drop an email to saletter@mfi.com telling us how you are incorporating NT into your system architecture, what services and applications you are placing on NT, and what sort of problems or successes you are having in the process. For example, are you using NT servers to provide file and printer sharing services to PC clients? If so, are you replacing or augmenting existing Novell NetWare servers used for that purpose? Are you putting NT Workstation at the desktop? If so, are you replacing Windows 3.x clients, skipping over Win95? Or, do you have the joy of administering a mix of Windows 3.x, Win95, and Windows NT clients? While we can't replace your official Windows NT technical support, we will make every effort to cover the NT topics that are important to you.
Sincerely yours,
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