A rchive Date
[ 10-06-2000 ]
Category
[ Information Technologies ]
sub-Categoy
[ Microsoft ]
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[Windows 2000 for the masses
PC Week Labs' Eval shows that it is critical to measure thrice, cut once to push out the OS
By Cameron Sturdevant, PC Week Online
March 27, 2000 12:00 AM ET
The Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Deployment Planning Guide tells IT managers exactly when they will be ready to deploy Windows 2000 Professional - 917 pages into the hefty 1,156-page tome.
That may seem like an awfully long preamble, but PC Week Labs' Evaluation of Windows 2000 desktop deployment solutions shows that 917 pages is a pretty good relative indicator of the amount of planning and testing that must go into a mass upgrade of Windows 2000 Professional to corporate desktops.
Indeed, after two weeks of intensive testing for this Eval, we can categorically confirm that a successful mass deployment of Windows 2000 Professional must be preceded by some of the most careful planning many IT managers will do in the next five years (or until the next version of Windows rolls around).
In this Eval package, we'll describe our testbed and how IT managers can extrapolate our results to their own environments. We'll lay out the challenges and how they can be overcome (or at least circum vented) and recommend where to focus scarce IT resources to achieve a successful deployment.
For a mass deployment to work, IT managers must put together an extensive testbed that reflects the target corporate desktop machines. This lab should include at least one of each machine that makes up 5 percent or more of the production environment.
Thorough testing—including adequate time for user training—must be completed before a pilot deployment of the operating system is considered. If an organization can't afford the time and resources to assemble these basic requirements, it can't afford to mass-deploy Windows 2000 Professional. Period.
Fortunately, many of the early chapters of the Windows 2000 deployment guide make good templates for written proposals to get the necessary resources to deploy Windows 2000 Professional. We found the deployment guide, which is just one book of seven in the Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit, well worth studying. IT managers should either get the kit or download the chapters from Microsoft's technical library.
There are several ways for IT managers to de liver Windows 2000 Professional to corporate users. The most likely—and easiest—for most companies is on new systems. As part of this Eval, Analyst Jason Brooks examined tools that capture system settings and apply them to upgraded systems.
Shops that run applications and store data on file servers may want to forgo upgrading and install Windows 2000 Professional using imaging software such as Symantec Corp.'s Norton Ghost or Micro House International Inc.'s Image Cast IC3. Disk imaging is significantly faster than upgrading, but data stored on local machines will be lost as soon as disk imaging begins.
Pushing Windows 2000 Professional out to systems is more expensive and challenging than disk imaging, but it retains users' settings, personalization and data. Microsoft Corp.'s SMS (Systems Management Server) and applications and services from Computer Associates International Inc., Tivoli Systems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. can be used to push the operating system out to desktops.
For this Eval, we compared the performance of SMS and the CA Unicenter Software Distribution Module and Asset Management Option. Ultimately, we were able to upgrade nearly all of the 120 PCs used in our tests, including this analyst's production laptop.
Along the way, we learned some hard lessons, mostly about compatibility between old hardware drivers and the new operating system. We spent a lot of time at various equipment vendors' Web sites, downloading the latest BIOS upgrades and Windows 2000-compatible drivers.
SMS performed well when we deployed to machines with no operating system installed using the new Remote Installation Service. Although the product performed well in tests, we could see that it would likely bog down while deploying to large groups of machines. At the end of the day, however, we had a fully implemented hardware and software inventory package as well as a reasonable deployment tool installed in our environment.
The Unicenter tools, which can only be used by CA Express Delivery consultants, were boss when it came to pushing out operating system upgrades, but only after significant tweaking was applied to the files that drive automatic installation. And keep in mind that although Express Delivery uses CA tools, it is a service. Once the project is completed, all the tools are removed from the machines unless IT managers decide to step into a maintenance contract, which can be a cumbersome way to maintain desktop configurations.
The two Eval testbeds included four groups of 15 machines. The first group of PCs in each testbed had no operating system, the second group was running Windows NT 4.0 Workstation with Service Pack 5, the third group was running Windows 98, and the fourth group was running Windows 95. Each of the machines running an operating system was also loaded with Adobe Systems Inc.'s Photoshop and Palm Inc.'s Desktop Organizer software.
Each of the groups included four PCs that had only 1GB hard drives, which is below Microsoft's minimum system recommendation. We disqualified these machines from the test.
During our Eval, we considered our tests successful when we were able to upgrade a PC with almost no end-user keyboard input. We say "almost" no input because the target systems used in our tests do not have Pre Boot Execution Environment network cards that would have allowed us to do a 100 percent unattended installation. This means that machines that are more than 2 years old will likely require a visit from an IT staffer to get the upgrade rolling.
During tests, we booted the target machines with easy-to-make floppies that pointed to our distribution servers. This was the last thing we did with all the systems.
One consideration managers must weigh is how to implement a rollback plan. Although Microsoft calls Windows 2000 Professional an upgrade, nearly every DLL file is changed during the install procedure. And there is no uninstall included in Windows 2000 Professional.
The only way we can see to go back to a previously working configuration is to image the disk before running the upgrade.
Because imaging individual systems is not a likely option because of the sheer volume of disk space required and the intricate steps needed to ensure an accurate image, the only way to proceed is by testing hardware and software to ensure that the final deployment works correctly.
Our Eval revealed that IT managers should assign the task of understanding the syntax and operation of the UNATTENDED.BAT file to their most capable staffers. When we finally mastered the commands and options used to control the unattended installation of Windows 2000 Professional, we were able to work practical magic during our mass deployments.
Finally, IT managers should consider leveraging the work done to prepare for Y2K when getting ready to deploy Windows 2000 Professional. Much of the hardware and software inventory collected for Y2K is the same as that needed to assess equipment for the operating software upgrade.
PC Week Labs Analyst Cameron Sturdevant can be reached at cameron_sturdevant@zd.com.]
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