Windows NT YesMicrosoftThe "NT" of the network operating system series for workstations, network servers and mainframe computers launched means "New Technology"[3]The first version was officially released on July 27, 1993.This series also supports the pure 32-bit architecture for the first time in Windows history.[4]
Windows NT is divided into Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server.It uses newntfs file system , which can provide secure access control and fault tolerance. On large capacity disks, its efficiency is higher than that of FAT file system.In addition, Windows NT has made innovations in network sharing, user accounts, domain management, workgroups, etc., strengthening the concepts of security management and user rights.[3]
From 1993 to 1996, there were four versions of Windows NT:Windows NT 3.1、Windows NT 3.5、Windows NT 3.51、Windows NT 4.0。In June 2005, Microsoft announced that it would stop its technical support for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, and the activities of Windows NT series in the market were terminated.The technical features of Windows NT are continued in subsequent versions of Windows home systems.[1]
In the early 1980s, Microsoft andIBMThe business cooperation relationship has been gradually established.However, with the growing momentum of Microsoft in the computer software industry, its competition with IBM is becoming more and more obvious.In 1985, Microsoft planned to jointly develop with IBMOS/2System, according to the agreement, the new system developed will be shared by both parties[5]；In October of the same year, Microsoft decided to develop aPOSIXCompatible with and supporting multiprocessing portable operating systems.In November 1989, the two companies began to jointly develop the system and named it "OS/2 3.0" (later called NT OS/2). In order to ensure portability, Microsoft initially developed the Intel i860XR RISC processor, switched to MIPS R3000 at the end of the same year, and finally switched to Intel i386 in 1990.
In May 1990,Windows 3.0After the release and success in the market, Microsoft decided to change the main application programming interface of NT OS/2 that has not yet been released from the extended OS/2 API to the extended Windows API.This decision led to tension between Microsoft and IBM, and the cooperation finally broke down.IBM continues to develop OS/2 independently, while Microsoft has renamed OS/2 3.0 Windows NT.[4]
Release process
Windows NT pre release interface (similar to Win3.0)
The R&D process of Windows NT was influenced by the VMS of the members of the former Digital Equipment Company (DEC) led by Dave Cutler[4]。In August 1991, Microsoft presented Windows NT for the first time at a developer conference, which was called "Windows Advanced Server for LAN Manager".[7]
On September 16, 1991, Microsoft released the first Windows NT Software Development Kit (SDK) for engineers;On October 16, the first pre release version of Windows NT was formed.From the end of 1991 to 1992, Microsoft successively released several updated versions of the Windows NT SDK.[6]
In the spring of 1993, Windows Advanced Server for LAN Manager was launched in Georgia, USAAtlantarelease;On July 27, Microsoft officially released the first version of Windows NT, which later became Windows NT 3.1 Workstation.[7]
On September 21, 1994, Microsoft released Windows NT 3.5[4]。According to follow-up observations, the use rate of this version is extremely low worldwide[2]。On May 30, 1995, Microsoft released Windows NT 3.51.[4]
On July 29, 1996, Windows NT 4.0 was officially released.[12]
Retire
NT 5.0 in Microsoft's plan, later Windows 2000
In 1997, Microsoft announced the development of a new system for Windows NT to replace Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0.But the final version of the system was namedWindows 2000, and is not listed in the Windows NT series.[13-14]
On December 29, 2000, Microsoft stopped its technical support for Windows NT 3.1.On December 30, 2001, technical support for Windows NT 3.5 and 3.51 was stopped.[6]
On December 31, 2004, general support for Windows NT 4.0 Server was stopped;The next day, Microsoft will no longer provide patch upgrade services to Windows NT Server 4.0 customers.In June 2005, Microsoft stopped its technical support for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, and the Windows NT series officially withdrew from the market.[1]
system function
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Portability
One of the main features of Windows NT is the portability of hardware and software.NT series was originally used for various processor architectures IA-32 MIPS and DEC Alpha, as well as PowerPC, Itanium processors, x86-64, and ARM supported in later versions.The original idea was to provide a common code base with a custom hardware abstraction layer (HAL) for each platform, and support multiple API personalization, including Windows API, POSIX and operating system/2API (application programming interface).The last two will be phased out from Windows XP.Some MS-DOS (MS-DOS) and Windows 16 bit compatibility is achieved on IA-32 through the integrated DOS virtual machine, but this feature is not available on other architectures.[4]
Kernel Mode
The core kernel of Windows NT provides a system API running in management mode (0 in x86; "kernel mode" in all versions of Windows NT), as well as a set of user space environments with their own APIs, including the new Win32 environment, OS/2 1.3 text mode environment, and POSIX environment.The fully preemptive multitasking kernel can interrupt running tasks to schedule other tasks without relying on user programs to voluntarily give up control of the CPU.[4]
NTVDM
Windows NT introduced NTVDM, an environment that runs 16 bit applications under a 32-bit operating system.It provides the ability to run Windows 3. x series subsystems in standard (286) mode.Applications that rely on low-level hardware access will not work, and they may not use Windows swap files.Microsoft has said that Windows NT is compatible with all 16 bit applications that follow the official programming guidelines.[7]
Dynamically change video mode
Windows NT can dynamically change the video mode, while Windows 3.1 usually has to rely on its installation program to change the video mode.[8]
ntfs file system
The NTFS self-healing file system first appeared in Windows NT 3.1.It provides several customizable features that affect the performance of NTFS in a given environment.Some of these parameters are global and others are specific to a single NTFS volume.Users can control and adjust several of these parameters, and improve the disk performance of the system by checking specific storage requirements, and then adjusting NTFS volumes accordingly.[10]
Drive model
Windows NT introduced its own driver model, namely Windows NT driver model.It is not compatible with the old driver framework.Later, in Windows 2000, the Windows NT driver model was enhanced to the Windows driver model, which was originally introduced in Windows 98, but was based on the NT driver mode.[4]
System version
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Windows NT has two different forms, Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server, that is, workstation and server.Windows NT Server gives servers more priority processes, uses license agents, and bundles software programs with other servers.Windows NT Workstation provides more priorities for user applications and limits the number of simultaneous network connections to 10 users.[8]
Introduction to Previous Versions of Windows NT
Windows NT 3.1
For workstations and advanced servers, the build number is 528.The first Windows version to use a 32-bit flat virtual memory address on a 32-bit processor[4]。This version uses the NTFS file system for the first time.[10]
For workstations and servers, the build number is 807.The main goal of this version is to improve the speed of the operating system. Its new functions include the new startup screen, and the object linking and embedding functions have been upgraded.[11]
Windows NT 3.5
Windows NT 3.51
For workstations and servers, the build number is 1057.New features introduced include PCMCIA support, NTFS file compression, replaceable WinLogon (GINA), 3D support in OpenGL, permanent IP router when using TCP/IP, automatic display of text descriptions when the mouse pointer is placed on the toolbar button ("Tooltip"), and support for Windows 95 common controls.This version is the last system in the Windows NT family that is compatible with Intel 80386 processors.[9]
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 4.0
For workstations, servers, enterprise servers, terminal servers, and embedded systems, the internal version number is 1381.This version uses a graphical interface similar to Windows 95, bundled with Internet Explorer, and provides an off the shelf web browser.By moving components to kernel mode, the performance and speed are improved at the expense of security and reliability[12]。This version is the last public version of Windows for Alpha, MIPS, and PowerPC architectures.[4]
Note: This entry only records the hardware requirements of Windows NT series products, and does not record the information only based on its technical characteristics (i.e. Windows 2000 and subsequent versions).
system evaluation
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Windows NT is very important to Microsoft.It has successfully expanded Microsoft's desktop business into the server field.(commented by IDC analyst Al Gillen)
Compared with Unix, Windows NT has lower technical requirements for installers.Second, it is very similar to the Windows desktop operating system.However, as the first generation server platform of Microsoft, Windows NT has some problems in reliability, scalability and management.(Fast Technology Review)[1]
Disputed events
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Source code leaked
On May 21, 2020, the source code of Windows NT 3.5 close to the final version was leaked on the Internet.Shortly afterwards, a Microsoft spokesman told The Verge in a statement that he had taken note of these reports and was conducting an investigation.[2]
