********************************************************************** Planning Your Microsoft Whistler Datacenter Server Installation Release Notes, Part 1 of 4 Beta 2 ********************************************************************** (c) 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. These notes support a preliminary release of a software program that bears the project code name Whistler. This text file series helps you understand the choices available during Setup for Whistler Datacenter Server. For more information about the deployment of servers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." In this section of the text file series: 1.0 System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility 2.0 Important Files to Review 3.0 Decisions Made During Installation 4.0 Choosing a Licensing Mode 5.0 Choosing a File System 6.0 Planning Disk Partitions 7.0 Choosing Components to Install 8.0 Networks: TCP/IP, IP Addresses, and Name Resolution 9.0 Deciding Between Workgroups and Domains After making the decisions outlined in this text file series, you'll be ready to run Whistler Setup and, later, to use Configure Your Server. Together, Setup and Configure Your Server help you get your servers up and running quickly. To find out more about Configure Your Server, see Whistler Help and Support Services. To open Help and Support Services, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support. ====================================================================== 1.0 System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility ====================================================================== Computers that run Whistler Datacenter Server must be on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). The HCL is on the Whistler CD, in the Support folder, in Hcl.txt. For the most up-to-date list of supported hardware, see the Hardware Compatibility List by visiting the Microsoft Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/ The requirements for systems on the Datacenter Server HCL include the following: * 400 megahertz (MHz) Pentium or higher central processing unit (CPU) for x86-based computers, and 800 MHz Pentium or higher for Itanium-based computers. * On x86-based computers, a maximum of 32 CPUs per computer are supported. * On Itanium-based computers, a maximum of 64 CPUs per computer are supported. * 512 megabytes (MB) of RAM minimum. * On x86-based computers, maximum RAM is 64 GB. * On Itanium-based computers, maximum RAM is 128 GB. * A hard disk partition with enough free space to accommodate the setup process. The minimum amount of space required is approximately 2 GB. More space might be needed, depending on the following: * The components being installed: the more components, the more space needed. * The file system used: FAT requires 100-200 MB more free disk space than other file systems. (NTFS is the recommended file system.) * The method used for installation: if installing across a network, allow 100-200 MB more space than if installing from the CD. (More driver files need to be available during installation across a network.) * The size of the paging file. Note: The setup process requires the free disk space described in the previous paragraphs. After Setup is finished, actual hard disk space used for the operating system (excluding user accounts) is usually less than the free space required for Setup, depending on the system components installed. For additional information about planning the sizes of disk partitions, including information about creating a separate partition for Remote Installation Services, see "Planning Disk Partitions" later in this text file series. * VGA or higher-resolution monitor, keyboard, and (optionally) a mouse or other pointing device. Alternatively, for operation without a monitor or keyboard, you can choose a remote diagnostic and support processor from the list in the HCL. For CD installation: * A CD-ROM or DVD drive. For network installation: * One or more Whistler-compatible network adapters and related cables. * A server from which to offer network access for the Setup files. ====================================================================== 2.0 Important Files to Review ====================================================================== At some point in your planning process, before running Setup, familiarize yourself with the Readme.doc file found on the root directory of the Whistler Datacenter Server CD. This file contains important usage information about hardware, networks, applications, and printing. You should also review the Hardware Compatibility List for Whistler Datacenter Server. For more information, see "System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this text file series. ====================================================================== 3.0 Decisions Made During Installation ====================================================================== The following list outlines the basic choices available during installation. 3.1 What Licensing Mode to Use ====================================================================== Products in the Whistler Server family support two licensing modes: Per Seat and Per Server. The Per Seat mode requires a separate Client Access License (CAL) for each computer that accesses a server running Whistler. The Per Server mode requires a separate CAL for each Concurrent connection to a server. If you plan to use Terminal Server, you will probably choose Per Seat licensing, and you will also need to install two components, Terminal Server and Terminal Server Licensing. For more information about licensing, see "Choosing a Licensing Mode" later in this text file series. For more information about Terminal Server components, see "Choosing Components to Install" later in this text file series. 3.2 What File System to Use ====================================================================== The file systems to choose from are NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. NTFS is the only file system recommended for Datacenter Server. It is also the only file system that supports Active Directory, which includes many important features such as domains and domain-based security. 3.3 What Partition You Will Install On, or Whether You Will Need a New Partition for Your Installation ====================================================================== Before running Setup, you will need to review your disk partitions. A partition divides a disk into one or more areas that can be formatted for use by one file system. Different partitions often have different drive letters (for example, C and D). After running Setup, you can modify the partitioning of the disk. For information about planning the partitions for a new installation, see "Planning Disk Partitions" later in this text file series. 3.4 What Components to Install ====================================================================== There are a variety of optional components to choose from when installing Whistler Datacenter Server. You can install these components during Setup, or you can add them later (through Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel). Alternatively, you can use the Configure Your Server Wizard, which will choose and install components for you according to the type of server you specify. For more information about components, see "Choosing Components to Install" later in this text file series. 3.5 How to Handle Networks, IP Addresses, and TCP/IP Name Resolution ====================================================================== Most networked computers currently use TCP/IP as the network protocol. If you use a different network protocol, before running Setup you will need to familiarize yourself with your current settings. With TCP/IP (the protocol used on the Internet), you will need to make decisions about how to handle IP addresses and how they will be resolved (translated) into names that users recognize. For more information, see "Networks: TCP/IP, IP Addresses, and Name Resolution" later in this text file series. 3.6 Whether to Create Domains or Workgroups for Your Servers ====================================================================== A domain is a grouping of accounts and network resources under a single domain name and security boundary. A workgroup is more basic, intended only to help users find such things as printers and shared folders within that group. Domains make it easier for an administrator to control access to resources and keep track of users. For more information, see "Deciding Between Workgroups and Domains" later in this text file series. ====================================================================== 4.0 Choosing a Licensing Mode ====================================================================== Products in the Whistler Server family support two licensing modes: Per Seat and Per Server. If you choose the Per Seat mode, each computer that accesses a server running Whistler requires a separate Client Access License (CAL). With one CAL, a particular client computer can connect to any number of servers. This is the most commonly used licensing method for companies with more than one server running a product from the Whistler Server family. In contrast, Per Server licensing means that each concurrent connection to this server requires a separate CAL. In other words, this server can support a fixed number of connections at any one time. For example, if you selected the Per Server client licensing mode and five concurrent connections, this server could have five computers (clients) connected at any one time. Those computers would not need any additional licenses. The Per Server licensing mode is often preferred by small companies with only one server running Whistler Datacenter Server. It is also useful for Internet or remote access servers where the client computers might not be licensed as Whistler network clients. You can specify a maximum number of concurrent server connections and reject any additional logon requests. If you are unsure which mode to use, choose Per Server because you can change once from Per Server to Per Seat at no cost. (However, if you plan to use Terminal Server, see the next paragraph.) If you plan to use Terminal Server, the licensing mode is usually Per Seat, except with the Terminal Server Internet Connector license, where the mode is always Per Server. In addition, you also need to install two components: Terminal Server and Terminal Server Licensing. For more information about these components, see "Choosing Components to Install" later in this text file series. ====================================================================== 5.0 Choosing a File System ====================================================================== You can choose among three file systems for disk partitions on a computer running Whistler: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. NTFS is the recommended system. FAT and FAT32 are similar to each other, except that FAT32 is designed for larger disks than FAT. (The file system that works most easily with large disks is NTFS.) This section provides information to help you compare the file systems. The section that follows provides additional information about NTFS. NTFS has always been a more powerful file system than FAT and FAT32. Windows 2000 and Whistler include a new version of NTFS, with support for a variety of features including Active Directory, which is needed for domains, user accounts, and other important security features. For more details about features in NTFS, see "NTFS" later in this text file series. Setup makes it easy to convert your partition to the new version of NTFS, even if it used FAT or FAT32 before. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition). If you don't need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, you should format the partition with NTFS rather than converting from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition, but a partition that is formatted with NTFS rather than converted from FAT or FAT32 will have less fragmentation and better performance. However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted. A partition can also be converted after completing Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER. Note: You can use important features such as Active Directory and domain-based security only by choosing NTFS as your file system. 5.1 NTFS ====================================================================== Some the features included in NTFS are: * Active Directory, which you can use to view and control network resources easily. * Domains, which are part of Active Directory and which you can use to fine-tune security options while keeping administration simple. Domain controllers require NTFS. * File encryption, which greatly enhances security. * Permissions that can be set on individual files rather than just folders. * Sparse files. These are very large files created by applications in such a way that only limited disk space is needed. That is, NTFS allocates disk space only to the portions of a file that are written to. * Remote Storage, which provides an extension to your disk space by making removable media such as tapes more accessible. * Recovery logging of disk activities, which helps you restore information quickly in the event of power failure or other system problems. * Disk quotas, which you can use to monitor and control the amount of disk space used by individual users. * Better scalability to large drives. The maximum drive size for NTFS is much greater than that for FAT, and as drive size increases, performance with NTFS doesn't degrade as it does with FAT. Setup makes it easy to convert your partition to the new version of NTFS, even if it used FAT or FAT32 before. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition). Setup begins by checking the existing file system. If it is NTFS, conversion happens automatically. If it is FAT or FAT32, Setup gives you the opportunity to convert to NTFS. If you don't need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, you should format the partition with NTFS rather than converting from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition, but a partition that is formatted with NTFS rather than converted from FAT or FAT32 will have less fragmentation and better performance. However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted. A partition can also be converted after Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER. (continued in Datactr2.txt)