Windows 2000 application support

Of all the network operating systems discussed in this tutorial, Windows 2000 has perhaps the best overall level of support by third-party applications.

Why is Windows so well supported? If you were a software developer, wouldn't you rather develop a program for the most popular operating system than for one of the others? The answer is probably yes, and this is perhaps the largest factor that influences application development for Windows. A lesser factor is that the programming tools for Windows are easy-to-use, graphical tools created by Microsoft. Therefore, Windows is an easy platform for which to develop applications.

In addition to having superb third-party application support, Windows 2000 Server comes with a complete set of tools and services that satisfy almost every need a company could have from a network operating system. These applications include DNS and DHCP server services, performancemonitoring tools, and Web server applications.

Windows 2000 security

Windows 2000 brings with it a full range of security features that make for a very strong operating system. Authentication security is provided through Kerberos version 5, files system security and encryption are provided through NTFS permissions and EFS, and network communication can be protected by IPSec. These features are combined with the underlying features introduced in Windows NT 4.