NT Server with Windows 98 Workstations

[Kenny Graves]

IS it possible to run Nt 4.0 as a server and have 2 windows 98 workstations. I heard it's better to run nt server for the 64 bit instructions. I want to run all y apps off of the server like Frontpage Office, etc and run my games off the work stations. What's the best way to do this?

[ANTONIO E GUERRA]

Hi, Kenny! Nt server works fine with Windows 98 workstations. There should be no conflict. What is the installation that you are planning?

[Kenny Graves]

It's NT 4.0 I plan on using Linksys 10/100 hub and nic cards with cat 5 cabling. If there is something better out there let me know. I just want to be able to have LAN parties and play my friends in games. Any other suggetions?

[ANTONIO E GUERRA]

Hi, Kenny! I won't recommend Nt Server as a Game platform. It was not really designed for that kind of applications. If you network all your computer with windows 98 it will be sufficient.

[ktwebb]

First, NT is a 32 bit OS. No 64 bit support in the near future. This setup sounds ok. Office, and other business apps off the server and games on the individual lan machines.

[800XL]

I'd just ditch the server unless you want to learn about NT. Installing apps to run from a server is a pain. You might as well just install your applications to run locally on your workstations. Having a spare machine to play networked games is probably more fun anyway.

[ktwebb]

I guess some apps may give you a hard time, but I haven't experienced that. Office, Encarta, things of that ilk. No problems at all. Also, learning NT is not going to hurt you at all. Knowledge is power, and no matter how much people bash and slash microsoft, NT is in too many environments to dismiss.

[ktwebb]

No argument here 800XL. With hard drive space as cheap as it is, occupying bandwidth is pointless, although a 3 station LAN would hardly be concerned with traffic.
And while learning Linux will be a great asset in the very near future, a skilled NT administrator or analyst can cash in today. I would try to learn both (I am) if I was Kenny Graves or anyone else for that matter.

[800XL]

Agreed, except that gamers tend to notice every little burp of network congestion even on small LANs, but then who the heck is opening Word or Encarta during a LAN party? :P

On Linux/NT: Managers buy buzzwords. NT is what everyone had, Linux is what everyone is talking about. I would say that a good 60%-75% of managers buy things on 'what is big news' rather than by knowing which is better for themselves.

[800XL]

Installing application software to run from the server is not exactly hard, but unless you are really hurting for hard drive space on workstation machine, there is not really a good reason to do it. In a corporate environment, network bandwidth is usually more important than saving a little space. In a home/gaming environment, perhaps, but I personally think Word takes long enough to load from the hard drive.

Learning NT is the only good reason I can see to install a server in the situation described above. I recommended ditching the server in a largely gaming network because there is really no reason for it to be there. Except as a learning tool, or a point for bragging rights. [img]/forum/wink.gif[/img] Either way, Linux would just as good of a choice. Learn Linux well and you can write your own ticket in the coming years.