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Differences Between Windows NT Workstation 4.0
and Windows NT Server 4.0
Since the first release of the Windows NT platform in 1993, Microsoft has followed a strategy of
providing the same kernel architecture, user interface and Application Programming Interface (API)
across both the Windows NT Workstation and Server products, while optimizing, pricing, and licensing
the products for two specific segments - the interactive desktop operating system and the high
performance server. Consistent with that strategy, the Windows NT 4.0 platform is available in two
versions: Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WINDOWS NT SERVER 4.0
AND WINDOWS NT WORKSTATION 4.0
The table below outlines some of the technical differences between Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and
Windows NT Server 4.0.
Functionality Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Windows NT Server 4.0
Pri ci ng/Li censi ng $319 (maxi mum of 10 computers
connected - i ncl udes shari ng such as fi l e &
pri nt, peer Web servi ces - see l i cense for
detai l s)
$809 - 5 cl i ent access l i censes
$1,129 - 10 cl i ent access l i censes
*Addi ti onal cl i ent access l i censes requi red
for more than 10 users - see l i cense for
detai l s
System Desi gn Goal s Keep workstati on responsi ve to the l ocal
user wi th mi ni mum memory footpri nt.
Network performance i s the pri ori ty. Use al l
avai l abl e memory and CPU to provi de
fastest network fi l e access.
Wi ndows 95 User Interface Yes Yes
Wi n32 API Yes Yes
Memory Mi ni mum 12 MB RAM Recommended
16+ MB RAM
Mi ni mum 16 MB RAM Recommended 32+
MB RAM
Hard Di sk Mi ni mum 110 MB Mi ni mum 160 MB
Number of Processors Supported 2 32
Faul t Tol erance None Mi rrori ng, Dupl exi ng, RAID 5
Number of Inbound Di al -i n
Connecti ons
1 256
Fi l e & Pri nt Servi ng Peer (l i mi ted - see l i cense) Yes - requi res Cl i ent Access Li censes
HTTP, Gopher, FTP Servi ng Peer (l i mi ted - see l i cense) Yes - Internet Informati on Server
DNS Server No Yes
DHCP Server No Yes
WINS Server No Yes
Index Server No Yes - avai l abl e free on Internet
Web Authori ng No Yes - Mi crosoft FrontPage i ncl uded
Servi ces for Maci ntosh No Yes
Fi l e and Pri nt Servi ces for NetWare No Yes - add-on product
Di rectory Servi ces Manager for
NetWare
No Yes - add-on product
Runs Mi crosoft BackOffi ce and
BackOffi ce Server Logo Appl i cati ons
No Yes
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Admi ni strati ve Control Local admi ni strati ve control and restri cted
remote admi ni strati on
Central i zed admi ni strati ve control across
al l desktops and servers
Performance Tuni ng
User's foreground appl i cati on
mai ntai ns hi ghest pri ori ty.
Appl i cati ons granted mi ni mum
memory at startup.
Schedul er uses short ti mesl i ces for
maxi mum user response.
Network servi ces retai n hi ghest
system pri ori ty. Fi l e cache i s
preserved above al l other servi ces.
Appl i cati ons granted maxi mum
requested memory at startup.
Schedul er uses l ong ti mesl i ces to
respond to network requests.
DETAILS ON WINDOWS NT PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS
Since its inception, Windows NT Workstation has been tuned to provide the best possible performance
for a single interactive desktop user. In contrast, Windows NT Server has been tuned to provide great
performance when used as a server operating system, with multiple users making simultaneous
connections to the server. For example, a user who is working at their PC wants a highly-responsive
desktop, with fast graphics and the ability to quickly switch between multiple tasks. However,
responding to user input and graphics performance are less important on a dedicated server where
sharing files, printers, and Web pages are the priority. With this release Microsoft continues to
optimize performance for both server or workstation applications by eliminating scalability bottlenecks
of Windows NT Server, configuring network components for minimal memory consumption on Windows
NT Workstation 4.0, and tuning network caches depending on usage.
Below are key areas of the Windows NT core system that are performance-tuned for usage as a
workstation or server:
Task Scheduling - In order to provide maximum user responsiveness, the task scheduler in
Windows NT Workstation divides its time into very short timeslices, so that multiple tasks can
be loaded and unloaded rapidly, without the user experiencing delays. Users can quickly switch
from one task to another, and the system remains responsive. The task scheduler in Windows
NT Server divides its time into longer timeslices, allowing the server to better handle network
requests without interruption. This is particularly important with Symmetric Multiprocessing
(SMP) applications where thread and cache synchronization is critical across each processor.
Memory Allocation - In Windows NT Workstation applications are granted the minimum
necessary memory at load time, as workstation users typically load and unload various
applications in a single session. In Windows NT Server applications are granted all memory
requested (if available) at load time, as servers are typically configured with more memory than
workstations and server-based applications are infrequently loaded and unloaded.
I/O Throughput - A critical distinction of the architecture of Windows NT Server is that access
to key system resources is dynamically and equally parceled out. A small number of worker
tasks or threads service the queue of incoming user requests with dynamic load balancing
across CPUs and high performance access to protected virtual memory space and network I/O.
Windows NT Workstation does not have the same number of dedicated resources to support a
heavy file server load and funnels any incoming network requests through a single queue.
File Cache - In Windows NT Server, the file cache is given the highest memory priority in order
to boost network performance. In Windows NT Workstation, the user's foreground process is
given the highest memory priority in order to provide maximum responsiveness.
The following graphs illustrate how these optimizations affect the performance of each product.* The
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first graph shows that, as the number of clients connecting to each system increases, Windows NT
Server 4.0 allows the percentage of CPU time taken by network file sharing to approach 100 percent,
while Windows NT Workstation 4.0 keeps network CPU time low to keep the system responsive to
local applications and user input.
*NOTE: Thi s i nformati on i s presented to demonstrate the effect of i ncreased cl i ent l oad on Wi ndows NT Workstati on 4.0 and
Wi ndows NT Server 4.0. In producti on envi ronments, Wi ndows NT Workstati on 4.0 i s not l i censed, tested or supported beyond
10 si mul taneous i nbound computers connecti ng to the workstati on computer (see Li cense for detai l s).
The benefit of keeping the network CPU utilization of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 low is evident in the
following graph, which shows the Winstone32 test scores for local interactive performance. As the
number of clients increases, the Winstone32 score for Windows NT Workstation 4.0 stays high,
indicating high performance for local applications. On Windows NT Server 4.0, because the CPU is
consumed with networking operations, the Winstone32 score decreases rapidly, and times out after
approximately 30 users.
By allowing the network CPU utilization to freely scale with the number of connecting clients, Windows
NT Server 4.0 is able to maintain high network performance as the number of clients increases. The
following graph shows that the client wait time stays low as more clients connect to Windows NT
Server 4.0, while quickly increasing when connecting to Windows NT Workstation.
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Summarizing these performance optimizations, Windows NT Workstation 4.0 is tuned for
maximum user responsiveness and minimum memory footprint, while Windows NT Server 4.0
is tuned for faster I/O and network throughput. Windows NT Workstation will always sacrifice peer
network sharing performance for user responsiveness, while Windows NT Server sacrifices fast graphic
redraw and user input for file server performance.
CONCLUSION
Microsoft is committed to providing a consistent kernel architecture, user interface, and API across the
Windows family of products, while at the same time tuning and optimizing each product appropriately
for its primary user. The performance enhancements in Windows NT Workstation 4.0 make it a
compelling high-powered, interactive desktop operating system. Likewise, the enhancements to
Windows NT Server 4.0 make it the clear choice for multipurpose server usage.
The combination of Windows NT Server, and Windows NT Workstation or Windows 95 on client PCs
running Microsoft Internet Explorer continue to be the best Internet/intranet value available. Microsoft is
committed to continue working closely with customers to develop the best solutions possible.
Performance graphs based on Wi nStone and Mi crosoft WebCat performance tests. For more i nformati on on Wi ndows NT Server
4.0 performance, see http://www.mi crosoft.com/ntserver/ntsbench.htm.
1996 Mi crosoft Corporati on