Microsoft's name for its new strategy is the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI). At the heart of DSI is a plan to make Windows systems software and applications capable of communicating their operational requirements to each other using Extensible Markup Language (XML) messages. Microsoft is developing an XML schema for these messages that it calls the System Definition Model (SDM). Through SDM, Microsoft's systems software products will work together to deliver services that include change and configuration management, event management, directory and security services, performance management, server and storage virtualization, and resource management. This will allow Microsoft to create an integrated platform of management services that Windows applications can invoke in a consistent manner. Such an architecture would represent a dramatic advance over current Windows environments, where applications frequently collide with each other because of inconsistent or missing management services.

Manageability: Microsoft's Key to the Data Center

By defining its own Windows management architecture (DSI) and a communications protocol for that architecture (SDM), Microsoft is making epochal changes to its systems management strategy. Historically, Microsoft left much of the Windows management tool market to other vendors, including BMC, Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard, and NetIQ. Unfortunately, this strategy created a patchwork of non-integrated management tools. Microsoft contributed to the complexity and cost of the environment by recommending--prior to Windows Server 2000, at least--that customers deploy only one application per server. Faced with huge Windows server farms and no integrated tools to manage them, customers concluded that Windows was not ready to support mission-critical enterprise applications in the data center. In addition, Microsoft became the primary target of server consolidation projects that migrate Windows workloads to other hardware platforms, including Linux and the iSeries.

These problems are motivating Microsoft to take dramatic action on the systems management front. As part of DSI, Microsoft will develop a fairly comprehensive suite of integrated management tools to take over much of the current market for these products. This reflects a realization on the company's part that it needs a robust management platform if it is to achieve the following goals:

• Stop the consolidation of Windows servers to other operating systems that customers see as more reliable and manageable
• Reduce the total cost of ownership for Windows servers
• Give customers valid reasons to upgrade to current versions of Windows and other server products
• Establish large, symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) Windows servers as viable platforms for enterprise applications in the data center

At last week's Management Summit, Microsoft laid out its vision for how DSI will affect Windows and its management tools portfolio. The first DSI technology that Redmond will deliver is Windows Server Resource Manager (WSRM), a component of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise and Datacenter Editions. Through WSRM, users will be able to dynamically allocate CPU and memory resources to multiple applications on a single server--though without using partitioning technology--through a policy-based management system. Windows Server 2003 and WSRM are due to ship near the end of April.

By the middle of this year, Microsoft plans to ship Automated Deployment Services (ADS), another Windows Server 2003 component. Using ADS scripts, customers will be able to create, deploy, and edit software images across hundreds of Windows servers. This will significantly reduce the time that Windows administrators spend installing and upgrading Windows server software, particularly in large or distributed server farms.

Another management tool waiting in the wings is Virtual Server, a product being developed by Connectix that Microsoft acquired from the company last month. Virtual Server, like other Connectix products, allows users to support multiple operating system images on Intel-based systems via virtual machine partitions. Microsoft plans to support Virtual Server on Windows Server 2003, where it will enable customers to consolidate multiple Windows NT and Windows 2000 servers onto both uniprocessor and SMP systems. Microsoft will ship Virtual Server during the second half of this year.

While the three tools discussed above will hold the spotlight over the next several months, Microsoft's DSI strategy stretches far beyond them to embrace other management products. Indeed, the DSI architecture will take three to four years to completely roll out. However, if Microsoft sticks to its strategy and executes it effectively, it should give Windows the kind of manageability it has always needed to become a genuine force in data centers. I'll say more about Microsoft's DSI product roadmap and its implications for mid-size companies in future articles, so stay tuned.

Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..