Daily Archives: October 26, 2007

microsoft

Lessons from Microsoft’s WSUS blunder

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What happened: Microsoft pushed out an update to Windows Desktop Search (WDS) through WSUS (Windows Software Update Services, used to keep large Windows networks up-to-date), but made an error.

I found I had to read this explanation three times before I understood it, so here’s my attempt to re-phrase it.

From time to time, Microsoft issues updates to WDS. One of these updates came out back in February. Sane administrators approved this because it applied only to desktops that already had WDS installed.

Last Tuesday another such update appeared, and was automatically approved on sites where the February update had already been approved. Microsoft’s error was to make the new update applicable to all Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 machines, rather than just those where WDS was already installed.

Why was it such a big blunder? Many Enterprise PCs are set to redirect the My Documents folder to the server, where it can be backed up. WDS always indexes My Documents. Result: heavy network traffic as all these new indexes were being built. Furthermore, Microsoft’s track record for unobtrusive background indexing is not particularly good. Crippled network = lots of support calls.

The lesson: Susan Bradley says never auto-approve patches. I tend to agree, though it is a dilemma since with security-related patches time is of the essence. But here’s another case. I noticed on a Small Business Server 2003 box recently that Windows Server 2003 SP2 was waiting to be installed. Before clicking OK, I had a quick look for any issues, and came across this support note:

After applying Windows 2003 Service pack 2 on Small Business Server 2003 you may see the following issues:
1.  For both Standard and Premium:
     Missing Help and Support service
     R2 patch approve console has error on approval
2.  For Premium with ISA Server 2004
     Networking issues including NAT and VPN connectivity programs, Outlook not connecting, RPC errors, etc.

Ouch. There are solutions; but that’s definitely one to defer for after hours maintenance.

apple, microsoft, software, windows

Two spins on Microsoft’s excellent quarter

Microsoft has delivered an excellent set of results, showing growth in pretty much all areas.

It seems to me that you can spin this in a couple of ways. First, you could argue that Microsoft is alive and well and still in the race. Certainly, with figures like these you can hardly suggest that it is out of the race.

Second, you could argue that the figures demonstrate how monopolies can continue to make good profits even when their products disappoint, especially in a buoyant market like computing.

The truth? Somewhere in between. It doesn’t matter how good the financials are: the disappointment with Vista is real. Personally I have Vista working fairly well, though annoyingly slowly at times, but I notice plenty of people advising one another to stick with XP, for performance and compatibility. Maybe the long-awaited SP1 will fix it, but some are now resigned to waiting for Windows 7 (you know, odd-number release theory) for a really good upgrade. Vista’s problems have created an opportunity for Apple and even Linux to grab some market share.

Other shadows hanging over Microsoft that come to mind:

  • Lack of clarity over Internet strategy
  • Continuing security problems centered on Windows (for whatever reason)
  • Losing the search wars
  • Governments mandating ODF
  • Apple’s increasing market share, especially among thought leaders
  • Bureaucracy and litigation
  • PR and image problems

On the plus side I’d mention the strength of the .NET platform and languages; Silverlight’s promise; and the fact that most people still want to use Microsoft Office rather than Open Office (in my experience).

I am absolutely not a financial analyst; but I observe that having a good quarter does not fix what strike me as deep-rooted problems. At the same time it is a reminder of Microsoft’s huge resources and entrenched position; that’s not going to go away quickly either.

TechEd Europe the week after next; no doubt some more Microsoft reflections then.

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