What’s New in Host Integration Server 2000

Like the other members of its 2000 server lineup, Host Integration Server (HIS) 2000 is designed to run on Windows 2000 (SNA Server 4.0 cannot run on Windows 2000). However, like SQL Server 2000, HIS 2000 also remains backward compatible with Windows NT 4.0 Server. Although HIS 2000 will take advantage of Active Directory (AD), the degree of integration is small. HIS 2000 inherited SNA 4.0’s “subdomains” for advertising services to clients and coordinating pooled SNA Servers, which reduces the need for AD to provide these functions and allows HIS 2000 to maintain NT 4.0 Server compatibility.

In addition to Windows 2000 support, HIS Server includes modest improvements in five areas of host integration—security, network, data, application, and administration. The sections below list some of the most significant additions in each area.

New Security Integration Features

Improved host password synchronization. HIS 2000 will synchronize AD or Windows NT 4.0 domain passwords with IBM’s RACF, Computer Associate’s ACF/2, or CA-Top Secret mainframe security databases. It now utilizes IBM’s standard Password Expiration Management (PEM) component on the host to make changes to the host’s password database, eliminating the additional third-party components required by SNA Server 4.0. Mapping of Microsoft and host accounts is maintained in a new SQL Server-derived Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) database residing on the HIS 2000 server.