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12 CHAPTER 1 WHY NETWORK?
handling it for you — but I’m assuming throughout this book that you are probably a network
administrator/manager for a network of at least a few computers, and possibly for a tremendous
number of computers.
ABriefHistoryofWindows
Let’s finish this chapter with a look at how NT has grown into Windows Server 2008 today.
Even in the early 1980s, Bill Gates knew that networking was a key to owning the computer
business. So, on April 15, 1985, Microsoft released its first networking product, a tool called
MS-NET, and its companion operating system, DOS 3.10. Most people knew about the new DOS
and were puzzled at its apparent lack of new features. What it contained, however, were architec-
tural changes to DOS that made it a bit friendlier to the idea of networks.
Now, Microsoft wasn’t big enough at that time to create much hoopla about a new network
operating system, so it let others sell it — no matter how high or low you looked, you couldn’t
buy a product called MS-NET. Instead, it sold mainly as an IBM product under the name of the
IBM PC Network Support Program; IBM viewed it as little more than some software to go along
with IBM’s PC Network LAN boards and, later, its Token Ring cards. The server software was
DOS-based, offered minimal security, and, to be honest, performed terribly. (Believe me, I know;I
used to install them for people.) But the software had two main effects on the market.
First, the fact that IBM sold a LAN product legitimized the whole industry. IBM made it pos-
sible for others to make a living selling network products. And that led to the second effect: the
growth of Novell. Once IBM legitimized the idea of a LAN, most companies responded by going
out and getting the LAN operating system that offered the best bang for the buck. That was an
easy decision: NetWare. In the early days of networking, Novell established itself as the perfor-
mance leader. You could effectively serve about twice as many workstations with Novell NetWare
as you could with any of the MS-NET products. So Novell prospered.
As time went on, however, Microsoft got better at building network products. 3Com, wanting
to offer a product that was compatible with the IBM PC Network software, licensed MS-NET and
resold it as their 3+ software. 3Com knew quite a bit about networking, however, and recognized
the limitations of MS-NET. So, 3Com reworked MS-NET to improve its performance, a fact that
didn’t escape Microsoft’s attention.
From 1985 to 1988, Microsoft worked on its second generation of networking software. The
software was based on its OS/2 version 1 operating system. (Remember, Microsoft was the main
driving force behind OS/2 from 1985 through early 1990. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s number-two
guy, promised publicly in 1988 that Microsoft would ‘‘go the distance with OS/2.’’ Hey, the world
changes, and you’ve got to change with it, right?) Seeing the good work that 3Com did with
MS-NET, Microsoft worked as a partner with 3Com to build the next generation of LAN soft-
ware. Called Microsoft LAN Manager, this network server software was built atop the more
powerful OS/2 operating system. As with the earlier MS-NET, Microsoft’s intention was never
to directly market LAN Manager. Instead, Microsoft envisioned IBM, 3Com, Compaq, and others
selling it.
IBM did indeed sell LAN Manager (it still does in the guise of OS/2 LAN Server). 3Com sold
LAN Manager for years as 3+Open but found little profit in it and got out of the software business.
In late 1990, Compaq announced that it would not sell LAN Manager because it was too complex a
product for dealers to explain, sell, and support. Microsoft decided then that if LAN Manager were
to be sold, it would have to do the selling, so on the very same day as the Compaq withdrawal,
Microsoft announced it would begin selling LAN Manager directly.