Active Directory: prepare to pay more for Windows 2000 management
Active Directory: prepare to pay more for Windows 2000 management
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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.
