Rather than focusing on
managing computers, the Windows� 2000 operating system lets
administrators focus on managing the people who use them.
The IntelliMirrorTM management technologies
features within the Windows 2000 platform work behind the
scenes to manage users� software, settings, and data in
efficient, time-saving ways. This approach to business
computing helps Windows 2000 users do their Windows-based
work more efficiently while helping reduce their
companies� computing costs.
IntelliMirror features
intelligently manage Windows 2000-based users' data,
settings, and software through group-level policies set by
the network administrator. Regardless of where a Windows
2000-based user is when they log on to their organization's
network, IntelliMirror features are able keep track of and
regenerate the users' complete environment. That means that
the information and tools that Windows 2000 platform users
need are available to them whenever and wherever they need
them--whether they're connected to the network or working on
a laptop offline. Not only does IntelliMirror help make
desktop and laptop computing easier and more convenient, but
also saves time and money by eliminating many of the
situations that traditionally have required the assistance
of a network administrator. To see what IntelliMirror can
do, follow us into the work life of a Windows 2000 user.
Scene 1: A New Employee Logs
On
A new employee, Jack Gode,
arrives at the marketing department of Wide World Importers.
He follows the instructions that the company's network
administrator left on his desk: "Please log on to this
computer as JackG. Then please print and read the employee
handbook, which you'll find in the My Documents
folder." Within minutes, Jack is reading the Wide World
Importers employee handbook.
Behind the Scenes: Group
Policy and Windows Installer
In this scene, Jack logged on
to a desktop computer that had been configured with Windows
2000 Professional. Through the Group Policy settings stored
for Jack in the Active DirectoryTM directory
service, Windows 2000 recognized Jack's name and proceeded
to load his computer with all the applications, documents,
and settings that he needed to get started in his new job.
Group Policy defines the
computer resources available to a given group as established
by the organization's network administrator. A group may
contain several dozen users, such as all the member of
Jack's department; several hundred users, such as everyone
who works in Building 6 on the Wide World Importers
corporate campus; or several thousand users, such as all the
full-time employees at Wide World Importers. Jack belongs to
three different groups: the group of full-time employees at
Wide World Importers; the group of employees who work in
Building 6; and the group of marketing employees.
When Jack logged on and
opened the employee handbook document, Group Policy
recognized the association between his name and the policies
associated with the groups he belongs to. For example, since
Jack is a member of the marketing group, he has access to
the marketing group's applications and shared folders. Group
Policy instructs the operating system to install the folders
that members of the marketing group require. When Jack
opened the Wide World Importers employee handbook, a
Microsoft Word document, Windows Installer, checked Jack's
computer to be sure that he had all the correct files
necessary to start Microsoft Word. In this case it did have
Word present, and the document opened, all without Jack's
having to know anything about what was going on behind the
scenes. As Jack customizes his computer over the next few
days to suit his needs and preferences, his settings will be
saved to the server. And every time he starts an
application, Windows Installer will check his computer to be
sure that it contains all the files it needs to start the
program.
Cost Savings
In this scene, the time and
money savings for Wide World Importers came from what was not
necessary. Jack was able to log on and begin working
immediately. No assistance or other intervention was
necessary from the network administrator, the company help
desk, or Jack's colleagues.
Scene 2: Jack Goes Down
Under
A month later, Jack makes a
business trip to Wide World Importers' office in Melbourne,
Australia. He has a hectic last few hours in his office
before he rushes to the airport. He doesn't have to remember
to download the documents he'll need, because his My
Documents folder is stored on the network and can be made
available to him in an offline folder. When he's in his seat
on the airplane, he opens his laptop and refines a couple of
points in the marketing plan he will use during his stay in
Melbourne.
As soon as Jack arrives in
his hotel room in Melbourne, he plugs his laptop into the
phone connection, establishes a remote access service (RAS)
connection to the home office, and logs on. Immediately, his
updated version of the marketing plan replaces the older
version of the plan on the server in the home office.
Behind the Scenes: Offline
Folders
In this scene, since Jack
used his laptop to work offline, he updated a local version
of a document whose primary home is on the network at the
home office. When Jack established his remote connection to
the Wide World Importers network, the Offline Folders
feature of IntelliMirror recognized that there was a
discrepancy between the document on Jack's laptop and the
document on the network. It copied the newer version of the
document to the server. His marketing colleagues--everyone
in the group that has access to that folder--now have the
current version of the document.
Cost Savings
Once again, the time and cost
savings in this scene are realized because of what didn't
happen, all because IntelliMirror manages users and their
information. Even though Jack was thousands of miles away
when he did his work, IntelliMirror retained the integrity
of the corporate data as soon as Jack logged back on to the
network. Jack didn't need to remember to synchronize: It
just happens. Therefore, he has the document that he can
work on while travelling on the plane, and the master
version updates automatically when Jack establishes a RAS
connection.
If another member of the
marketing group had changed the marketing plan before Jack
logged on from Melbourne, Jack would have received a prompt
that asked him whether he wanted to save one or both
versions of the document. Since Jack was the only one to
have worked on the document during the time he was working
offline, however, the update was seamless.
Scene 3: Jack Has Jet Lag
It's Jack's second morning in
Melbourne, and he's feeling the effects of jet lag--he
forgot his laptop in his hotel room. Luckily, Jack is
already accustomed to the advantages of IntelliMirror.
Rather than turning around and going back to his hotel, he
goes to Wide World Importers' Melbourne office, asks if he
can use a Windows 2000 Professional computer that nobody
else is using, and logs on. Within a few moments, he's able
to use his own documents, his own applications, and his own
settings.
Behind the Scenes: Group
Policy and Active Directory
Once again, IntelliMirror's
management capabilities made Jack's life easier. He isn't
tied down to a single Windows 2000-based computer. The
information about his data, applications, and settings is
retained on the network server rather than on a specific
client computer. When Jack logged on to the network from
Melbourne, the Active Directory validated his name, his
group memberships, and the policies associated with those
groups. Through Group Policy, Windows 2000 then regenerated
Jack's computer environment, even though Jack was working
from a computer he'd never used before. Windows 2000 even
took Jack's location into account -- rather than accessing
the software Jack needed from the network at Wide World
Importers' home office, it accessed that software from the
server in Melbourne.
Cost Savings
In this scene, Group Policy
saved Jack a trip to his hotel, not to mention
consternation. Despite his forgetfulness, and although he
was several thousand miles away from the home office, Jack
was able to get right to work, since he had access to his
company's network.
Conclusion
Windows 2000 simultaneously
adds convenience and protects information. IntelliMirror
lets administrators think in terms of users and their roles,
rather than having to map those roles and requirements to
particular machines. This also makes it easy for users such
as Jack to focus on their work rather than on their
computers. And since Wide World Importers uses Windows
2000-based computers, its employees are able to travel, or
move from one computer to another, without jeopardizing
corporate data.
(The example companies,
organizations, people, and events depicted herein are
fictitious. No association with any real company,
organization, person, or event is intended or should be
inferred.)
