Windows NT Overview

Introduction

Windows NT stands for Windows New Technology. Windows NT is a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft Corporation and released in 1993.

Windows NT is a separate line of Windows operating systems, specially designed for Enterprise environments. It was known for its advanced features, POSIX-compliant, and robustness, making it popular in Server and Workstation environments.

Windows NT Features

Windows NT introduced several significant advancements over the previous Windows operating systems, such as Windows 3.x and Windows 9x. Windows NT kernel is a hybrid kernel that combines the advantages of monolithic and microkernel architectures.

Some Windows NT features are as follows:

Multitasking
Portability
Protected Memory
Extensibility
Security Enhancements
Networking
Scalability

Multitasking

Windows NT supported preemptive multitasking, allowing multiple processes to run simultaneously and efficiently manage system resources.

Portability

Windows NT is designed to run on different hardware platforms with minimal changes.

Protected memory

Windows NT implemented a protected memory model, which isolated processes from each other and prevented one process from crashing the entire system.

Extensibility

Windows NT supports Application Programming Interface (API). It could be easily expanded on by writing to the Win32 API.

Security Enhancements

Windows NT introduced improved security features, including Access Control Lists (ACLs) and user-level permissions, to provide better security and control over resources.

Networking

Windows NT included built-in networking capabilities, such as TCP/IP support and domain-based networking, making it a popular choice for server environments.