Windows 2000 Active Directory
Disrupts NYU-NET

Windows 2000 (W2K) is the name of a family of operating systems from Microsoft. These run from desktop clients such as Windows 2000 Consumer Edition and Professional Edition up to Windows 2000 Server. This family of servers is still quite new and ITS is in the process of evaluating their appropriate use on NYU-NET. These are our preliminary findings and standards.

Windows 2000 Professional Edition

Windows 2000 Professional Edition (and Consumer Edition if released) do not cause significant problems. However, if you must use ITS provided or managed administrative application such as fame or BSR there may be compatibility problems. You should check with ITS Operations and Production Services (langroup@nyu.edu) for supported configurations.

Windows 2000 Server Without Active Directory

Windows 2000 Servers operating without Active Directory do not appear to cause problems. As with all new software releases, however, there are significant security and stability issues related to the default configuration of such systems. The ITS Security Group and the OPS LAN group are available to assist local system administrators with the deployment of these systems, so they should be contacted early in the purchasing process.

Windows 2000 Servers Using Active Directory

Bundled with the Server version of Windows 2000 is a service called "Active Directory". This service, by default, attempts to provide many standard network services, such as DNS, DHCP and Kerberos, which are already provided by central servers run by ITS Network Services.

It has been NYU-NET policy that no machine is permitted to offer such services without the prior, explicit approval of the NOC (NYU-NET Policies and Operational Principles), because they interfere with the production-quality, centrally managed and coordinated, services which keep NYU-NET working. This policy is even more necessary in this case, because Microsoft's version of these services are sufficiently different from accepted industry standards as to cause active disruption of network services to users of the same network segment as the machine running Active Directory. Therefore, we cannot currently approve the use of Windows 2000 servers running Active Directory on NYU-NET.

ITS Network Services is investigating a safe method to provide such services in a joint project with ITS Operations and Production Services. LAN group of Operations and Production Services are conducting tests on Windows 2000 as time and resources permit to find what additional options can be provided.*

If you believe you need to have such a system for some application please discuss the details with the central NYU-NET Network Operations Center (noc@nyu.edu).

This Document is a Clarification

This document is a clarification of existing NYU-NET policies. See www.nyu.edu/its/policies/ for the full list of ITS policies.

Questions or comments? Send email to noc@nyu.edu.

*Editor's note: As of August 2004, ITS Network Services and ITS Operations and Production Services merged with ITS Telecommunications Services to form ITS Communications & Computing Services.

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Page last revised: May 20, 2000
Page last reviewed: August 22, 2006