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Overview
Businesses today require reliability, security, and manageability with simplicity of use. Windows 2000 Professional goes beyond the reliability and security provided in Windows NT 4.0 and extends the ease-of-use of Windows 98.
Reliable
Windows 2000 Professional is built on the reliability of Windows NT technology, which makes it significantly more reliable than either Windows 95 or Windows 98. In Windows NT, each application runs in its own memory space, so when an application crashes, it does not bring down the entire system.
Windows File Protection
In addition to the way it allocates memory to applications, Windows 2000 Professional includes a built-in safeguard called Windows File Protection. This feature prevents system files, which are critical to the operating system, from being deleted or altered by users or applications. Windows File Protection can also repair system files if one is deleted or altered. It detects the change, retrieves a correct version of the file from a cache, and restores it to the system file folder.
Windows Installer
In the past, if users incorrectly installed or uninstalled an application, or changed a file by accident, they could destabilize their entire system. In Windows 2000 Professional, when a user makes a mistake, applications repair themselves.Windows Installer is the technology in Windows 2000 Professional that enables self-healing applications. With Windows Installer,, if installing or deleting an application, or even a part of an application, causes a problem, Windows Installer fixes it. For example, if a newly installed application has a dynamic-link library (DLL) with an identical name to another application's DLL, Windows Installer stores them in different folders.To further ensure that applications work correctly with Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft created an application certification program with business customers and independent software vendors (ISVs). To be certified, an application must meet technical reliability criteria, such as minimizing DLL conflicts, providing self-repairing installation, and maintaining user settings.
Dynamic System Configuration
Windows 2000 Professional reduces the number of restarts by improving how new hardware and software is installed. With Plug and Play, Windows 2000 Professional lets users easily add hardware devices such as scanners, DVD players, and speakers without restarting. It automatically recognizes and adapts to hardware changes, automatically configuring new hardware devices, and therefore minimizing user error.To further reduce the need to restart, Microsoft created a program to certify hardware drivers. Drivers that meet Windows 2000 certification requirements do not need to be restarted after installation. Certified drivers are tested and digitally signed by Microsoft. If Windows 2000 Professional detects a driver that Microsoft has not digitally signed, it warns users about the risk before they install it on their system.
Performance
Windows 2000 Professional performs better than Windows NT Workstation or Windows 98. Users can run more programs and perform more tasks at the same time because it is completely based on a 32-bit architecture. Adding more memory makes Windows 2000 Professional run even faster. Windows 2000 Professional supports up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and up to two-way symmetric multiprocessing. Achieving this level of performance in Windows 98, even if you add more memory, is not possible.
Easy to Use and Maintain
Windows 2000 Professional has an improved user interface, provides a new interface for managing network connections, supports interoperability with other networks, has wizards that assist in the completion of common tasks, and has a broader set of tools for flexible deployment.
Easy to Use Desktop Interface
Windows 2000 Professional refines the look and design of the desktop. Improved windows provide quicker access to information, whether it is on the computer, a network, or the Internet. Wizard improvements help users accomplish difficult tasks faster. Screen clutter is reduced because only the most frequently used items are displayed on the Start menu. Dialog box improvements help users save time by automatically completing words as they type them and by displaying the most recently used lists.Customizable Toolbars Users can add one or more customizable toolbars to the taskbar for single-click access to the Internet, the desktop, and programs. For example, users can use the Quick Launch toolbar to open a Microsoft® Internet Explorer window or read e-mail.Show Desktop Button Switching between open windows and the desktop is easy with the new Show Desktop button, located on the taskbar.My Documents and My Pictures Folders My Documents provides a convenient default storage location for personal files and folders. My Documents contains the My Pictures folder, a convenient place for to store photos, scanned images, faxes, and bitmaps.Multilingual Support Regardless of which language version of Windows 2000 Professional is installed, users can write, edit, view, and print content in all supported languages. Windows 2000 Professional detects and installs any necessary fonts or symbols to view multilingual information.Accessibility Tools The user can use the Accessibility Settings wizard to adapt Windows options to specific needs and preferences. Magnifier enlarges a portion of the screen for easier viewing, which can be useful for people who have impaired vision. Narrator uses text-to-speech technology to read the contents of the screen. On-Screen Keyboard makes it possible for those with limited dexterity to type by using a pointing device (such as a mouse) or a single-switch input device.
Networking
You can easily integrate Windows 2000 Professional with your existing networking infrastructure. It can coexist with earlier versions of Windows (Microsoft® Windows® 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, or Windows NT Server 4.0) or third-party environments such as UNIX, Novell Netware, IBM host systems, or Macintosh. UNIX interoperability is provided through an add-on pack called Windows Services for UNIX. Macintosh interoperability is provided by a number of services including File Server for Macintosh, which allows Macintosh clients to use TCP/IP (AFP over IP) to share files and to access shares on a Windows 2000 Server – based computer.Windows 2000 Professional also has built-in peer-to-peer support for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation, enabling interoperability between Windows 2000 Professional and earlier versions of Windows.
Security
Windows 2000 Professional is a highly secure operating system. Based on the security system built into Windows NT, it allows users and administrators to select the appropriate level of protection for their information and applications, whether they are exchanging or storing information on individual computers, the network, an intranet, or the Internet.With Encrypting File System (EFS), Windows 2000 Professional protects data on a computer's hard drive. EFS, which is part of the NTFS file system, encrypts each file with a randomly generated key. The encryption and decryption processes are transparent to the user. With support for Kerberos v5 authentication, Windows 2000 Professional protects your corporate network or intranet. Kerberos v5 authentication protects data by tracking and verifying each user's activity on a network. Windows 2000 Professional safeguards even the most sensitive communications exchanged over a public network with its support for public keys, Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), and smart cards. Smart cards require a combination of credentials such as a user name and password instead on relying on a single factor to authenticate a user.
Desktop Management
Windows 2000 Professional simplifies desktop management. Numerous wizards and troubleshooters help end-users perform routine and challenging tasks, reduce the time desktop managers spend helping them, and reduce the number of calls to Help desk. The Hardware Wizard helps users add, configure, remove, troubleshoot, or upgrade peripherals. The Network Connection Wizard lets users start network connections wherever they are.Windows 2000 Professional gives desktop managers more control over individual desktops. With IntelliMirror™ management technology, based on the Active Directory™ directory service, administrators can easily manage and back up users' data. IntelliMirror, allows desktop managers to apply policies to user data, desktop settings, and software. These policies travel with users, allowing them to work in the same environment on different computers. IntelliMirror requires Windows 2000 Server.For global companies, Windows 2000 Professional offers comprehensive multilanguage support. Because of its implementation of Unicode 2, Windows 2000 Professional can display documents in over 60 languages. If users receive documents written using an Arabic font, they can view it and edit it without installing additional fonts or language support. To further enhance multilanguage support, Microsoft offers a separate multilanguage version of Windows 2000 Professional, which provides up to 24 localized language versions of the Windows user interface. A user can log on to any computer and view the interface in the preferred language. Microsoft also provides separate language versions of Windows 2000 Professional in more than 20 languages.
Deployment
Whether you are upgrading from previous versions of Windows or installing on clean computers, Windows 2000 Professional provides deployment tools to make the process more efficient, and thus less costly. The System Preparation tool allows administrators to use imaging techniques to roll out Windows 2000 Professional. By rerunning a portion of setup on each computer, characteristics that are unique to that computer can be set even though it has been installed from a single image. Using Remote Installation Services (RIS) desktop managers can start and configure a computer.
Built for Mobile Users
Windows 2000 Professional is built for mobile users with features such as Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), hibernation, power schemes, Smart Battery, offline files and folders, Synchronization Manager, Internet Explorer 5 Web page caching, virtual private networking technology, and improved hardware support.
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
Windows 2000 Professional manages portable computer power so users can work longer. Support for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) in Windows 2000 Professional lets users put a portable computer running Windows 2000 Professional into Hibernate mode, which quickly shuts down the system without shutting down applications. It then lets them restart the system in the same state. It also supports Smart Battery, which gives users a detailed picture of a battery's life and settings, so they can reduce power to some functions.
Offline Files and Folders
With Windows 2000 Professional, mobile users can stay productive offline, and reconnect to the network quickly. The Windows 2000 Professional mobile computing features keep files up-to-date and let users work offline as if they were still connected.The offline files and folder feature mirrors how documents are stored on the network. The Synchronization Manager compares and updates offline files and folders whenever the portable computer is reconnected. Internet Explorer 5 saves Web pages with all their graphics and links for viewing from the cache, so users can browse Internet information offline.Improved connection wizards and support for advanced security and networking protocols let business users dial up to the Internet or to a virtual private network (VPN) from any location. When they connect to the Internet through a network, Windows 2000 Professional automatically locates the correct proxy server and configures Internet Explorer 5 to connect through it.
Hardware Support
Windows 2000 Professional supports more than 11,000 hardware devices, including support for removable storage devices such as digital video discs (DVDs) and Device Bay.Windows 2000 Professional works with such a large number of devices because it supports the latest hardware standards, including universal serial bus (USB), Infrared Data Association (IrDA) protocols for wireless communication, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 for devices that require ever faster data transfer. Advanced Plug and Play technology eliminates the time users previously spent manually configuring and restarting each time they added a device or docked a portable computer.
Internet Ready
With Internet Explorer 5 built in, Internet connection sharing, and support for Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and DHTML Behaviors in Internet Explorer 5, Windows 2000 Professional is Internet-ready.
Browser Integration
Windows 2000 Professional offers users an easy way to connect and work on the Internet, whether at the office, at home, or even offline. Internet Explorer 5 is designed to save time on tasks users do most often: searching and keeping track of information, whether on their hard disk, an intranet, or the Internet.With the Search bar, users can search faster and get exactly where they want to go. They can choose whether to search Web pages, addresses, or businesses and which search engine to use. With the integrated History bar, users can find their way back to information they browsed in the past, whether it was on a Web site, intranet site, or network or local folder.
Internet Connection Sharing
Windows 2000 Professional helps small businesses and other business to connect to the Internet by enabling several computers to share a single connection to the Internet at the same time. Internet connection sharing supports dial-up or broadband connections. With Internet connection sharing, a single computer can provide network address translation and name resolution for all computers on the network.
Development Platform
With support for Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and DHTML Behaviors in Internet Explorer 5, developers can rapidly build rich applications with attributes that can be easily replicated and tested on multiple sites. Developers can invent new ways to create, exchange, and display information using Extensible Markup Language (XML). When Windows 2000 Professional is combined with the integrated Web and communication services built into Windows 2000 Server, developers can create scalable end-to-end e-commerce solutions.
