A Proposed Windows 2000 Network
to Support Software Development and Engineering



IBM NetFinity Windows 2000 Server

IBM NetVista Windows 2000 Clients

Compaq iPAQ Windows CE 3.x Pocket PCs

by Richard Conn, 6 August 2000

Contents

Requirements

The following table lists the requirements and qualification criteria (which is defines how it will be determined if these requirements are met) for this network. This network is comprised of both a hardware and a software platform. These platforms are a common basis for further customized construction, where this customization is predicated on the needs of a particular project. All software developers and engineers in this culture will work from this common baseline.

Requirement (no particular order) Qualification
Maximize the number of Domains in which the platforms can be applied
  • Check to see that support is provided for all the Microsoft standard languages, including, but not limited to, Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Visual J++ (e.g., we can compile in these languages)
  • Check to see that support is provided for all the Microsoft technologies
  • Check to see that support is provided for all the more common platforms and technologies, particularly Sun, HP, and Silicon Graphics (e.g., we can compile in ANSI C, C++, Java, and Ada); note that this can be done by most of the development being done on the platforms and then copied over to target platforms which were acquired for specific projects
Support common Software Development and Engineering Best Practices, including the Capability Maturity Models
  • Check through each of the Software CMM KPAs to ensure that some element of the target platforms address the needs of each KPA
  • Check for a CMM Level 4 data repository, data collection, and measurement generation capability suitable for collecting data on and generating measurements on both software products and processes
Support a common basis of communication, including file exchange, with other organizations, including our customers
  • Check with customers to verify that they can work with products produced by these platforms as they desire
  • Check with partners, collaborators, and other organizations to ensure they can work with products produced by these platforms as they desire
Support teleconferencing and collaboration, including full-motion video and audio, within our own organization and between our organization and other organizations
  • Check to see that web publishing is supported from each client
  • Check to see that full-motion video and audio communication is supported from each client
  • Check to see that email and web access (reading) are supported from each client and mobile computer
  • Check to see that all this works as needed with collaborators, partners, and customers
Support efficient, convenient mobile computing, where information can be taken to the field (meetings, conferences, etc.) and information can be gathered from the field
  • Check to see that the ability to take data in electronic form to the field is provided
  • Check to see that the ability to take data in electronic form from the field is provided
  • Survey the users to determine their satisfaction with the efficiency and convenience of their mobile computing environment
Minimize the Total Cost of Ownership of the platforms
  • Determine the current Total Cost of Ownership associated with the existing platforms and establish and measure the Total Cost of Ownership of a prototype configuration
  • Measure the Total Cost of Ownership of other available platforms
Provide reliable, dependable platforms with a high degree of uptime
  • Examine third-party and collaboration/partnership reports on reliability of the proposed platforms
  • Establish a set of reliability baseline figures based on our current platforms (such as reboot rate, MTR, MTBF, etc) and track these figures on the prototype using a common yardstick
Provide platforms that can scale from a small number of users to large numbers (over 1,000) of users
  • Check server hardware and software capacities so that the default configuration can support at least three users
  • Check server hardware and software capacities so that the configuration can be extended without major modification or disruption of the users to support at least 1,000 users

Proposed Configuration

The proposed Windows 2000 Network configuration for generic software developer and engineer consists of the following elements:

The following table lists the elements of the configuration with detailed information and references. Other software elements, such as PVCS Dimensions and Rational Apex, may be added, but they are not in the same "subscription" vein as the software listed. Reasonably-priced software subscriptions are important for keeping up with the constant flow of changes to the software.

Product Website References
(for more info)
IBM NetFinity 4000R Model 86565RY
Windows 2000 Server

Hardware Specifications:

  • Rack Mount (3U - 5 1/4") Footprint
  • Pentium III CPU, 933 MHz (1 or 2 CPUs)
  • Memory: 128M standard/4096M maximum SDRAM
  • Hard Disk: up to 218G byte (no drive is standard, so drive is extra cost)
  • 5 PCI Slots Available
  • 5 USB Ports
  • 24x Max/10x Min CDROM
  • 5 1/4" Floppy
  • Networking: Ethernet 10Mbps / 100Mbps optional

Software Specifications:

  • Preloaded with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server/Advanced Server
  • Lotus Domino Application Server with 5 client licenses
  • Note that with an MSDN Universal Subscription for the Server, we can install any of the Windows 2000 Servers we wish (there are several from which to choose)

Price Specifications:

  • Recommended Configuration: Basic with 2 CPUs, 512M RAM, one 36.4G disk
    • $9,116.00 IBM Web Price
    • $297.00 per month for 36 months IBM SuccessLease for Small Business
  • Basic (no disk (6 slots available), 128M memory, 1 CPU) configuration
    • $5,188.00 IBM Web Price
    • $171.00/month for 36 months IBM SuccessLease for Small Business

See the NetFinity Specification Sheet for more details

NetFinity Product Line

NetFinity 4500R with Product Line Comparison Chart

IBM NetVista X40 Model 664314U Desktop PC
Windows 2000 Client

Hardware Specifications:

  • Desktop (2x3) Footprint
  • Pentium III CPU, 667 MHz
  • Memory: 128M standard/512M maximum SDRAM
  • Hard Disk: 20.4G Ultra ATA/66 with S.M.A.R.T. III
  • CDROM (DVD not available yet): 24x Max/10x Min
  • Networking: Ethernet 10Mbps / 100Mbps optional

Software Specifications:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Lotus SmartSuite Millenium

Price Specifications:

  • $2,499.00 IBM Web Price
  • $82.00/month for 36 months IBM SuccessLease for Small Business
NetVista Product Line

NetVista X40 with Product Line Comparison Chart (includes interactive full-motion video product tour)

Kodak DVC325 Digital Video Camera
Full-Motion Video and Still Photo Imaging
Required for Each Client
  

Hardware Specifications:

  • Image Sensor: 1/4" Progressive Scan CCD with VGA resolution, 640 x 480 pixels
  • Photo Resolution: 640 x 480 pixels, 24-bit True Color
  • Video Image Resolution:
    • 30 frames per second @ QCIF (176 x 144)
    • 20-25 frames per second @ CIF (352 x 288)
    • 8 frames per second @ VGA (640 x 480)
  • Lens: Manual Focus
  • Focus Range: 4" to infinity
  • Shutter Speed: 1/15 second, 1/30-1/150 second
  • Camera Housing: Monitor top fixture with manual tilt (allows up to 75° range of movement)
  • Detachable Base: Detachable for handheld camera operations within cable length
  • Shutter Control: Manual by shutter button or software controlled
  • Tripod Mount: Standard tripod socket on detachable base
  • Laptop Mount: For attaching camera to laptop computer or flat screen monitor
  • Universal Serial Bus (USB) Interface: 9.8' (3.0 m) cable with Series A connector included; USB Interface provides power
  • Audio: Supports simultaneous audio and video capture via audio-enabled Windows System

Bundled Software Specifications:

  • TWAIN Acquire Module (Microsoft-standard image capture)
  • PRESTO! Video Works Software (full-motion video editing)
  • PRESTO! Mr. Photo Software (full-color photo editing)
  • Microsoft NetMeeting (video teleconferencing with up to 32 people simultaneously)

Price Specifications:

  • $120 list price
  • $80 lowest-known price

See Kodak Writeup for more details.

Main Kodak Site on DVC325

CNET Review of DVC325

Labtec LVA-7280 Digital Microphone
Required for Each Client

The Labtec LVA-7280 Digital Microphone is designed to follow the speaker's voice and filter out background noise. Features:

  • Adaptive beamforming follows the speaker's voice when he/she moves in front of the microphone
  • Four (4) logarithmically spaced microphone elements provide better clarity
  • Mute/Power button
  • Power/Out-of-Listening-Zone Indicator lets you know when you are out of range
  • Echo Cancellation listens for, and cancels, echoes and reverberations
  • Digital Signal Processor intelligently discriminates between speech and background noise

Price: $130 list

Labtec ClearVoice Digital Microphone Product Description
Compaq iPAQ H3650 Pocket PC
Required for Each Client

This is a full Pocket PC (running Microsoft Windows CE 3.0) with a full assortment of tools. Added is the Compact Flash Card Expansion Pack (so a Compact Flash Card can be plugged into it) and a Compact Flash Card.

Hardware:

  • 208MHz CPU with 32M RAM
  • USB Interface to Desktop Computer
  • Expansion Pack for Compact Flash Card

Software:

  • Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 (Pocket OS)
  • Utilities and applications, including, but not limited to:
    • Microsoft input tools: Voice Recorder, Keyboard with Word Completion, Jot Character Recognizer with Word Completion, and Transcriber Handwriting Recognizer
    • Microsoft Pocket Excel,
    • Microsoft Pocket File Explorer,
    • Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer,
    • Microsoft Pocket Money,
    • Microsoft Pocket Reader (for viewing a library of eBooks and eZines),
    • Microsoft Pocket Streets,
    • Microsoft Pocket Windows Media Player (for playing video (AVI) and audio (MP3, WMF) files),
    • Microsoft Pocket Word,
    • Compaq iPAQ Personal Information Management (PIM) software, such as calendar, contacts, inbox, notes, and tasks, which integrates with Microsoft Outlook on the Client
  • Compaq utilities and extra applications (Ilium eWallet and ListPro)

Prices ($1150 total):

  • iPAQ 3650 - $500
  • CF Card Expansion Pack - $300
  • 128M Compact Flash Card - $350

See the H3650 Quick Specifications document for complete details.

For more information on Pocket PCs, see the User's Report on the Pocket PC.

Compaq iPAQ H3650 Product Description
Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN)
Universal Subscription

MSDN Subscriptions is a membership service which delivers you essential programming information, the latest Microsoft software and tools, each month, on your choice of CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. MSDN Subscribers also receive updates, service packs, select betas, and new releases shipped throughout the year. There are three subscription levels customized to your development needs:

  • MSDN Universal (includes Professional and Library),
  • MSDN Professional (includes Library), and
  • MSDN Library.

MSDN Universal is recommended, and it is purchased for an annual fee. The MSDN Universal Subscription includes, but is not limited to:

  • MSDN Library (updated quarterly on CDROM or DVD):
    • Microsoft Desktop and Embedded Visual Tools Documentation
    • Software Development Kit (SDK) Documentation
    • Device Driver Development Kit (DDK) Documentation
    • Microsoft Developer Knowledge Base - bug fixes and code workarounds
    • Technical articles
    • Code samples
  • Library Technical Support - for setup and installation only
  • MSDN Subscriber Support --
    • Exclusive Online Access - subscribers receive content and downloads exclusive to MSDN members via the Subscriber Downloads area of the MSDN website
    • MSDN News - bimonthly hardcopy newsletter (includes Software Engineering as well as Software Developer materials)
    • MSDN Flash - electronic newsletter
    • MSDN Online Developer Centers - integrated with your desktop and mobile computers
    • MSDN Training and Certification support and products, including discounts
    • MSDN Events (local, national, and global), including conferences and seminars
    • Duwamish Online - demonstrations of how to launch web sites and web applications
    • Technical Support for Developers - Universal Subscribers receive 4 "Professional Support for Developers" incidents for use in a development and test environment
    • MSDN User Group Program - coordination with local User Groups and Special Interest Groups
    • MSDN Show - on-demand WebCasts (full-motion streaming video)
  • Updates - updates, betas, and new releases received each month for the year of the subscription (will include Microsoft.NET Platform materials as they come out)
  • Microsoft BackOffice Test Platform - For developing and testing integrated client/server solutions, you get a special 10-connection version of the BackOffice family of server products, including, but not limited to (* indicates elements of Microsoft Windows DNA - Distributed Network Architecture - 2000):
    • Windows 2000 Server* and Advanced Server*, which include, but are not limited to:
      • COM+ Component Services
      • Data Access Services
      • Indexing Services
      • Internet Information Services (IIS)
      • Message Queuing Services
      • Network Load Balancing Services
      • Security Services
      • XML Support Services
    • Microsoft Application Center 2000*,
    • Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000*,
    • Microsoft Commerce Server 2000*,
    • Microsoft Exchange Server 2000*,
    • Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000*,
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2000*,
    • Site Server,
    • SNA Server, and
    • Systems Management Server.
    BackOffice Test Platform a limited license for development and testing only; Windows NT/2000 Servers and BackOffice licenses limited to ten (10) simultaneous connections. Small Business Server limited to two (2) connections.
  • Windows 2000 Environmental Subsystems - includes, but is not limited to, Interix ("Microsoft UNIX")
  • Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise Edition - An extensive development suite for building and managing mission-critical enterprise solutions, including, but not limited to:
    • Visual Basic,
    • Visual C++,
    • Visual J++,
    • Visual InterDev,
    • Visual FoxPro, and
    • Visual SourceSafe.
    Visual Basic and Visual C++ are Windows-based versions for Intel and RISC platforms only (other versions must be acquired separately). Visual Studio also includes Visual Basic and Visual C++ for embedded applications (Pocket PCs, hand-held PCs, palm-size PCs, Auto PCs, and Tablet PCs) starting later this year.
  • Microsoft Office Developer Edition - The version of Office designed to help professional programmers build and deploy custom solutions with Office. Office Developer includes Microsoft Office Premium as well as professional productivity tools, documentation and sample code for quickly building solutions with Microsoft Office in the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) development environment. Office Developer includes, but is not limited to:
    • Access - database management
    • Excel - spreadsheet
    • FrontPage - web site creation and management
    • MapPoint - mapping and geographic analysis
    • NetMeeting - video and audio conferencing
    • Outlook - messaging and collaboration
    • PhotoDraw - business graphics and photo manipulation
    • PowerPoint - presentation graphics
    • Project - project management
    • Publisher - desktop publishing
    • Reader and Reader Authoring Tools - electronic books and magazines
    • Schedule+ - time management
    • Team Manager - workgroup planning
    • Visio - drawing, diagramming, and data visualization
    • Word - word processing

Pricing for the MSDN Universal Subscription:

  • $2,499 for the first year
  • $1,999 for renewals/upgrades in succeeding years
  • Volume and Academic pricings are also available
Main MSDN Website

MSDN Subscription Comparison and Information

Ada and Software Engineering (ASE) Library
Release Subscription

This is a subscription (per release) to the ASE Library. About 2 releases are made of the library per year on CDROM.

The ASE Library includes, but is not limited to:

  • Over 380 freeware/shareware/public release assets, including documents, tutorials, courseware, compilers, reusable software components, and references to resources throughout the Web
  • Software Engineering information --
    • Best practices (military, commercial, and academic)
    • Software Engineering Body of Knowledge
    • Several Capability Maturity Models for both software and systems engineering
    • Design and Analysis Patterns
    • Process Definition and Modeling
    • Software Engineering Institute reports
    • Crosstalk Software Engineering newsletters
  • GNAT and Aonix Ada95 Compilers and Environments (works under many platforms, including Microsoft Windows)
  • Graphical Representation of Algorithms, Structures, and Processes (GRASP, works under Microsoft Windows)
  • AdaGide and GLADE
  • Sun's Java Development Kit
  • Courseware - over 100 courses in software engineering, web publishing, Ada, Visual Basic
  • ASE Bookcase - a reference resources which includes over 20,000 links to resources on the World Wide Web

Price: $24.95 per issue (subscription price, about 2 issues per year)

ASE Product Description

ASE Library at Kennesaw State University

Additional Software

The following table lists additional software that falls into the "very nice to have" category. It comes from third-party vendors as commercial products and compliments the proposed hardware and software configuration. These tools are a part of the author's tool set on his personal desktop computer.

Software Product Websites
Adobe Acrobat
by Adobe

Adobe Acrobat can create PDF files (a common documentation format used on the web that is transportable between many platforms, including Windows). With the latest version of Adobe Acrobat, the user can:

  • Convert any document, no matter what application was used to create it, to PDF, preserving the original fonts, colors, images, and layout; this includes documents created by Windows tools such as Word, Excel, Project, and Powerpoint
  • Convert paper documents to searchable PDF, create PDF forms, and capture PDF snapshots of Web pages for offline viewing and printing
  • Mark up PDF files using electronic notes, underlines, strikethroughs, clip art stamps, and the Pencil tool
  • Add security and control access to PDF files with password protection and digital signatures

Approximate Price: $250.00 (list)

http://www.adobe.com/
Adobe Reader
by Adobe

The Adobe Reader allows the user to view documents in the PDF format. It reads PDF files produced by Adobe Acrobat. Many websites store documents and reports in PDF format, and the Adobe Reader integrates with other Windows programs, particularly Internet Explorer and Netscape, to allow viewing of PDF files while surfing the web.

Approximate Price: $0.00 (free - download from the Adobe website)

http://www.adobe.com/
McAfee.com Clinic
by McAfee

McAfee.com Clinic is a collection of tools for tuning and fixing problems with your PC. It includes the McAfee Virus Scanner, Windows Registry analysis tools, Windows system analysis tools, and disk defragmentation tools that help to keep your desktop computer working well.

Approximate Price: $30.00 (list)

http://www.mcafee.com/
WS_FTP Pro
by Ipswitch

WS_FTP Pro is a Windows program for transferring files between your home computer and other computers on the Internet using the FTP protocol. It provides a very convenient user interface and integrates cleanly with Internet Explorer. It is a convenient way to browse the libraries for free and shareware software, documents, images, music clips, and video clips on the Internet and transfer them to your desktop computer. It also allows you to transfer files from your desktop computer to other computers on the Internet (provided you have an account there that gives you write access).

Approximate Price: $40.00 (list)

http://www.ipswitch.com/
ZipMagic
by Mijenix

ZipMagic handles a variety of compressed files and archived files, including compression and archival formats from non-Windows platforms. Supported formats include:
ZIPARCARJCAB DWZGZLZMPAC
PAKRARTARZ ZOO   

ZipMagic can create self-extracting ZIP files (as EXE files), and it can create both ZIP and self-extracting ZIP files that span multiple disks (for distribution of large files on floppies, for example).

ZipMagic integrates with the Windows environment, providing functionality from within Windows applications.

Approximate Price: $40.00 (list)

http://www.mijenix.com/

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Questions, comments, suggestions for improvement? Contact Richard Conn.