12-07-2004 • VOLUME 7 • NUMBER 27 • £2.60
WWW.ITWEEK.CO.UK
21 CLIENT Bluetooth gains
more flexibility
25 NETWORK Voice over IP
services for UK corporates
32 MANAGEMENT Why IT
needs more HR expertise
CONTENTS
ENTERPRISEWEEK
Buyers mull Windows licensing 13
Data backup appliances advance 13
Microsoft reveals Fabriq system 14
INTERNETWEEK
Better tools to combat spyware 17
Lessons of the sports web sites 18
Semantic web awaits applications 18
CLIENTWEEK
Linux goes into portable devices 21
Crypto tools for mobile storage 21
Optoma ships big-screen webpad 22
NETWORKWEEK
10 Gigabit Ethernet to take off 25
Orange readies 3G data service 25
Quicker wireless LAN kit arrives 26
MANAGEMENTWEEK
Better purchase-control systems 31
Online tools to rate staff IT skills 31
Unix to beef up Longhorn
Roger Howorth
icrosoft is set to include its Services for Unix (SFU) add-on for
Windows as an integral part of
the next major release of the Windows server operating system, codenamed Longhorn
and expected in 2008. Some analysts said
the move could eventually sideline conventional Linux and Unix operating systems.
A growing number of firms are using
SFU, currently a free add-on for Windows
2000, 2003 and XP Professional, because it
enables a single system to run Windows,
Linux and Unix software.
Systems running SFU provide an excellent environment for integrating applications – for example, to add Active Directory
support to a Unix application.
Jason Zions, a solutions architect at
Microsoft, said there are development versions of SFU that enable a single process to
run code both from Windows and Unix
libraries. Currently this feature, which
would dramatically ease integration tasks, is
not available in SFU. Zions said, “We’ve
M
lar task, such as file serving.
been working on research
BULL BY THE HORNS
Experts said SFU could surversions that would solve
Unix Windows Linux
face as a new server role in
that particular problem. It
Longhorn.
wouldn’t surprise me to see
SFU is not shipped with
that capability appear in a
Windows because SFU curfuture release of Windows.”
rently contains open-source
Dan Kusnetzky of anasoftware, such as the GNU C
lyst firm IDC said SFU was Longhorn is set to resolve OS
one of Microsoft’s hidden dilemmas by running rival apps compiler, which cannot be
distributed with commercial
jewels. “It’s a very powerful
software. Zions confirmed that Microsoft is
capability that Microsoft very seldom
working to replace all open-source code in
speaks about,” he said. “Rather than hide
SFU with commercially licensed alternatives.
this product behind Windows they should
Last year it licensed Unix software from SCO.
lead with it. Many firms might be much
Microsoft may also release a 64bit vermore interested in Windows if it worked in
sion of SFU this year. Zions suggested that
the way they are used to doing things.”
Microsoft would soon support 64bit x86
By including SFU in Windows, Microprocessors such as the AMD Opteron and
soft could rapidly become the biggest supIntel Xeon EM64T chips, saying, “SFU 3.5
plier of Unix software if Longhorn proves a
today does not run on Windows 64bit platsuccess, undermining traditional Unix venforms, but when I get home I am putting in
dors such as Sun, HP and IBM, as well as
an order for a 64bit AMD laptop because I
Linux vendors’ enterprise offerings.
have to demo this stuff.”
Microsoft has already confirmed that
Longhorn will include a technology called
Microsoft upgrades, p4 Leader, p10
“server roles” to make it easier for IT staff to
Microsoft plans, p13 SOAs, p14
build Windows servers suited to a particu www.microsoft.com/windows/sfu
Ofcom picks
BT mediator
IBM flexes server power
Ofcom last week moved to ensure
fairer competition in the broadband
market with the appointment of a toplevel ambassador, charged with sorting
out the differences between BT and
its rivals.As a former chief technology
officer of cable firm NTL and a former
chief executive of BT North America,
Peter Black is hoping to mediate
between the two sides and secure
better services for UK companies.
Firms’ WAN options increase, p6
BT may open up local loop, p8
I
Miya Knights
BM will tomorrow step up its challenge to
Sun and HP in the Unix server market by
launching new p5 servers based on its Power5 processor, and with new advanced virtualisation tools for partitioning workloads and
running multiple operating systems.
The p5 will also introduce a new version
of IBM’s AIX operating system, AIX 5L 5.3,
and will use IBM’s Virtualisation Engine
software. The servers will be binary compatible with AIX 5L 5.2 applications and
will be able to simultaneously support 5.2
and 5.3 in partitions on a single system, as
well as Red Hat or Suse Linux workloads.
IBM’s virtualisation can quickly adjust
the allocation of memory, I/O and processor resources, allowing quick changes to
cope with peaks and troughs in demand.
Adalio Sanchez, IBM’s pSeries general
manager, said,“We have taken the operating
flexibility of the system up a notch... to
address the on-demand [capabilities] cus-
P5 SERVER BACKS VIRTUALISATION
Red Hat
Linux
Suse Linux
IBM p5
AIX 5.3
AIX 5.2
i5/OS
Symbian to
ring changes
The future of the Symbian smartphone
operating system looks brighter after
the consortium’s members said they
would raise their stakes – a move that
will increase funds for product development and block the possibility of Nokia
owning more than half the venture.
Sony Ericsson, Siemens and Panasonic said they would take larger
shares in a move that will add £187.7m
to Symbian’s coffers and calm fears that
Nokia could dominate the organisation.
Symbian chief executive David
Levin said the cash would be used to
add 300 staff, helping a push into cheaper phones. Symbian will
also add a non-executive chairman, probably from outside the
shareholder group.
Leader, p10
3G, pp5, 25, 26
Levin: cheaper phones
tomers [want] – 70 to 80 percent of Unix
servers are under-utilised.”
The p5 520, 550 and 570 models offer
from two to 16 dual-core Power5 processors.
IBM took a lead in dual-core processors,
which effectively pack the power of two
processors in one package, with the Power4,
introduced in 2001. Rivals Intel, Sun and
AMD are all developing dual-core designs.
The p5-520 is a two-way, entry-level,
deskside or rack-mounted server. It has a
1.65GHz Power5 processor and up to 32GB
RAM, running either AIX 5L or Linux. The
p5-550 scales up to four-way and comes
with 64GB RAM. The p5-570 will scale up
to 16-way and features a 1.9GHz Power5
processor and can also run the OS/400 successor, i5/OS, in addition to AIX and Linux.
IBM software testing tools, p6
NEWS INSIDE: SLAs Mobile deals, p4 • 3G growth, p5 • WANs Options, p6 • HP Printing, p6 • STORAGE Safety, p8 • BROWSERS Choice, p9 • JAVA Sun, p9