UW USER Technology Update for Steering Committee

From willh@cac.washington.edu Mon Dec 29 16:39:32 1997
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 17:03:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Will Hall 
To: USER Steering Committee -- Betty Bengtson ,
    Denice Denton , David Hodge ,
    Ed Lazowska ,
    Arthur Nowell ,
    Richard Lorenzen ,
    Robert Muilenburg , David Thorud ,
    Weldon Ihrig 
Subject: USER technology update and questions

Technology is part of the agenda for the USER steering committee
meeting on February 2, 1998.  In the meantime, here's a sketch of
some pending technical decisions for your consideration and review.

1.  Based on market trends, software availability and cost, the team
    recommends Windows NT on Intel processors for the new servers.
    NT 4.0 is adequate, but it has some gaps.  NT 5.0 will address the
    major issues, but not as soon as we would like.  Although Unix is a
    viable alternative, NT appears to be the best long-term choice and
    we think we are best served to concentrate our efforts there.

2.  We looked at several web server applications and installed our top
    two choices:  Netscape Enterprise Server (ES) and Microsoft Internet
    Information Server (IIS).  It appears that IIS offers better tools,
    integration, and session management support, which should translate
    into lower development and maintenance costs.  We've been keeping
    both options open so far, but we think we are better off focusing 
    on Microsoft IIS.  Note that this does *not* restrict the users'
    choices for web browsers.

3.  Secure web transactions require a minimum level for web browsers.
    Some people will have to upgrade their software and/or hardware to
    meet this requirement.  The latest and greatest web features would   
    require more recent browsers, which would force more people to 
    upgrade.  Our current thought is to design for the broadest possible
    range of browsers, minimizing the cost for people to take advantage
    of the new systems.  The alternative is to include more advanced
    features, making the applications more leading-edge, but increasing
    the pressure to upgrade computers at work and at home.  We welcome
    any insights into how to strike this balance.

We want to make sure we get your input and we don't want to wait for the
February meeting to move forward, so please let me know if you have any
concerns in these areas, or in any other areas of the project.

Thank you!

Will Hall
Manager, University Services Renewal
http://www.washington.edu/user/
(206) 543-5521