Running costs for Windows 2000 Active Directory installation are
set to increase as users experience management issues with the
technology
Earlier this week a number of users voiced concerns over "difficult
management" within Windows networks based on the Active Directory
of Windows 2000.
Consultants have now told CW360.com they plan to charge a premium
for maintaining Active Directory installations. Users have also
been advised to budget for third-party management tools to make the
Active Directory more manageable.
Phil Roberts of Bangor IT services company Owen & Palmer, said
his company would now be charging more for providing management
services to companies running Windows 2000, because of the amount
of time it takes for a third party to solve problems when things go
wrong with Active Directory.
Network management products company Xellirate backed this stance.
Xellirate managing director John Earley said users had to realise
what they were "getting themselves into" when adopting Windows
2000, although he acknowledged there was little choice for most
users.
Tony Lock, senior analyst at Bloor Research, said the problems
faced by users were no surprise as Microsoft still had not
addressed the management problems of Active Directory. He said many
users were unaware of the tools bundled with the operating system
or the third-party software they could buy to simplify
management.
Lock said: "The costs associated with the management of an IT
infrastructure form the bulk of expenditure and users do need to
realise what they're getting themselves into."
Lock has a number of recommendations for any company considering
adopting Active Directory. First, decide who will manage what
aspects of the installation; then decide how to delegate
responsibility. Finally, Lock suggested, users should work out a
change management policy. All these steps, he noted, should be
completed "before taking the [Windows 2000] CD out of the
box".
In a paper on managing the Active Directory analyst firm Giga
Information Group recommends businesses use third-party management
tools for large installations. "It is absolutely essential that
enterprises of 1,000 users or more bolster the capabilities of the
embedded Windows 2000 Server Active Directory Management Toolkit
(ADMT) with the appropriate management and monitoring tools."
Giga has identified a number of suppliers specialising in such
management tools. These include NetIQ, FastLane Technology, Bind
View, Aelita Software, BMC and Full Armor.
In June, Microsoft admitted that Active Directory was hard to
manage. It said the next version of its server operating system,
Windows .net, would tackle this issue. Stuart Kwan, group programme
manager at Microsoft responsible for the Active Directory, said the
new release focuses on making the server easier to administer.
To simplify Windows network management he said, "We have reduced
the size of the Active Directory by gigabytes."