********************************************************************** Planning Your Microsoft Whistler Server Installation Release Notes, Part 1 of 3 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 plan for the installation of Whistler Server on a domain (grouping) of two to five servers, serving 100 or fewer clients. For help with planning the installation of a larger number of servers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." The following list of headings will help you find the information that applies to you: Sections to read if you are upgrading: 1.0 System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility 2.0 Important Files to Review 3.1 Upgrading 4.0 Decisions to Make for an Upgrade 5.0 Upgrading an Existing Windows NT 4.0 Domain 9.0 Choosing a File System Sections to read if you are performing a new installation: 1.0 System Requirements and Hardware Compatibility 2.0 Important Files to Review 3.2 Installing 6.0 Decisions to Make for a New Installation 7.0 Choosing a Licensing Mode 8.0 Deciding Whether a Computer Will Contain More Than One Operating System 9.0 Choosing a File System 10.0 Planning Disk Partitions for New Installations 11.0 Choosing Components to Install 12.0 Networks: TCP/IP, IP Addresses, and Name Resolution 13.0 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 the Configure Your Server Wizard. 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 ====================================================================== Before installing your server, make sure that you have chosen hardware that supports Whistler Server. 1.1 System Requirements ====================================================================== To ensure adequate performance, the computers on which you will install Whistler Server must meet the following requirements: * Pentium or higher central processing unit (CPU), with a recommended speed of 550 MHz (minimum supported speed is 233 MHz). Whistler Server supports a maximum of 4 CPUs per computer. * 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended (128 MB minimum supported; 4 gigabytes (GB) maximum). * A hard disk partition with enough free space to accommodate the setup process. The minimum amount of space required is approximately 1 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. In addition, a domain controller upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 could require much more space than a new installation, because the existing user accounts database can expand by as much as a factor of ten during the upgrade as Active Directory functionality is added. 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 for New Installations" 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. The HCL is described in the following section, "Hardware Compatibility." 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. 1.2 Hardware Compatibility ====================================================================== Whistler Setup automatically checks your hardware and software and reports any potential conflicts. To ensure a successful installation, however, check to make sure your computer hardware is compatible with Whistler Server before running Setup. To do this, see the Whistler Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). If your hardware is not listed, Setup might not be successful. (Note that one type of hardware no longer supported is the microchannel bus.) To see the version of the HCL that was released with Whistler, on the Whistler CD, in the Support folder, open 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/ In addition, check that you have updated drivers for your hardware devices and that you have the latest system BIOS (for an x86-based computer) or Extensible Firmware Interface (for an Itanium-based computer). The device manufacturers can help you obtain these items. For more information about the ACPI standard for the BIOS, see "Understanding ACPI BIOS" later in this text file series. Finally, before installing Whistler Server, consider taking a device inventory of the hardware devices in your computer. For more information, see the following section. 1.3 Taking an Optional Device Inventory ====================================================================== To ensure smooth functioning of your adapters and other devices in your computer, be sure to read "System Requirements" and "Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this text file series. For specific information about using a mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fibre Channel adapter) with a driver that was supplied by the manufacturer, see "Providing a Mass Storage Driver or a HAL File" later in this text file series. Whistler includes Plug and Play technology so that devices (for example, video and network adapters) can be automatically recognized by the operating system, configuration conflicts are avoided, and you do not have to specify each device's settings by hand. However, if you have devices that do not use Plug and Play, or you are aware that your Plug and Play devices are not implemented exactly to the standards, you might want to take steps to avoid device configuration conflicts. This section describes the steps you can take, if you choose, to understand your device configuration before running Setup. To better understand the configuration of the devices in your computer, take an inventory. To do this, if your computer has an existing operating system, use it to obtain the current settings, such as memory address and interrupt request (IRQ), used with your devices. For example, with Windows NT 4.0, you can use Control Panel to view settings (on the Start menu, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click icons such as Network and Ports). You might also choose to view system BIOS information. To do this, watch the screen while starting the computer, and then press the appropriate key when prompted. During Setup, Whistler automatically takes a device inventory. However, taking your own inventory helps prevent the following difficulties: * If two or more adapters share IRQ settings or memory addresses, Whistler might not be able to resolve the conflict. To prevent this, you can take one of two approaches. You can remove one of the adapters before running Setup and re-install it afterward. For more information about hardware and configuration, see Whistler Help and Support Services. To open Help and Support Services, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support. Alternatively, you can modify one adapter's IRQ settings and memory addresses before running Setup so that each adapter's settings are unique. * If adapters do not respond in a standard way to the attempts by Whistler to detect or enumerate them, Whistler might receive indecipherable or inaccurate information. In this case, you might need to remove these devices before running Setup, and re-install and configure them afterward. For more information about hardware and for configuration guidance, see Whistler Help and Support Services. To open Help and Support Services, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support. The following table lists the kinds of information to gather before starting Setup. ADAPTER INFORMATION TO GATHER --------------- ----------------------------------------------- Video Adapter or chip set type and how many video adapters Network Network IRQ, I/O address, DMA (if used), connector type (for example, BNC or twisted pair), and bus type SCSI controller Adapter model or chip set, IRQ, and bus type Mouse Mouse type and port (COM1, COM2, bus, or PS/2) or USB I/O port IRQ, I/O address, and DMA (if used) for each I/O port Sound adapter IRQ, I/O address, and DMA Universal serial Devices and hubs attached bus (USB) PC card What adapters are inserted and in which slots Plug and Play Whether enabled or disabled in BIOS BIOS settings BIOS revision and date External modem Com port connections (COM1, COM2, and so on) Internal modem Com port connections; for nonstandard configurations, IRQ and I/0 address Advanced Enabled or disabled; current setting Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI); Power Options PCI What PCI adapters are inserted and in which slots 1.3.1 Understanding ACPI BIOS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For x86-based computers, the basic input/output system (BIOS) is a set of software through which the operating system (or Setup) communicates with the computer's hardware devices. The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is the current standard for the way the BIOS works. Whistler supports not only ACPI-compliant BIOS versions, but also some BIOS versions based on older advanced power management (APM) and Plug and Play designs. Some ACPI-based BIOS versions are not compliant with the standard. The more recent the version of an ACPI BIOS, the more likely that it is compliant. An ACPI-based BIOS that is not compliant with the ACPI standard might not support workable communication between the operating system (or Setup) and your hardware. If workable communication is not supported, Setup stops and displays instructions for contacting your hardware manufacturer and taking other steps to solve the problem. If this happens, follow the instructions that appear on your screen. To learn more about the ACPI compliance of your BIOS: * For information about which ACPI-based BIOS versions are ACPI-compliant, see the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for Whistler. This is the definitive source for this information. For information about the HCL, see "Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this text file series. * For information about your BIOS version, before running Setup, restart the computer and watch the text on the screen. Pay particular attention to blocks of text containing the words "BIOS" or "ACPI BIOS." * For information about BIOS versions for your hardware, see your hardware documentation and contact your hardware manufacturer. ====================================================================== 2.0 Important Files to Review ====================================================================== At some point in your planning process, before running Setup, familiarize yourself with important files found on the root directory of the Whistler Server CD: * Read1st.txt Contains critical preinstallation notes vital to the success of your installation. * Readme.doc Contains important usage information about hardware, networks, applications, and printing. You should also review the Hardware Compatibility List for Whistler Server. For more information, see "Hardware Compatibility" earlier in this text file series. ====================================================================== 3.0 Deciding Whether to Upgrade or Install ====================================================================== After you have reviewed "System Requirements," "Hardware Compatibility," and "Important Files to Review" earlier in this text file series, and before you run Whistler Server Setup, you will need to determine whether to upgrade or to perform a new installation. Upgrading is replacing a version of Windows NT or Windows 2000 with Whistler Server. Installing, in contrast to upgrading, means wiping out the previous operating system, or installing Whistler Server on a disk or disk partition with no previous operating system. Note: Do not upgrade to or install Whistler on a compressed drive Unless the drive was compressed with the NTFS file system compression utility. Uncompress a DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volume before running Whistler Setup on it. If you have already decided whether to upgrade or to perform a new installation, see the following sections later in this text file series: * For an upgrade: see "Decisions to Make for an Upgrade." * For a new installation: see "Decisions to Make for a New Installation." There are several reasons to choose to upgrade. (To determine whether your old operating system is a version from which you can upgrade, see the following section, "Upgrading.") Configuration is simpler, and your existing users, settings, groups, rights, and permissions are retained. In addition, files and applications do not need to be re-installed. As with any major changes to the hard disk, however, you should back up the disk before running Setup. It is possible to install Whistler Server and also allow the computer to sometimes run another operating system. Setting up the computer this way, however, presents complexities because of file system issues. For more information, see "Deciding Whether a Computer Will Contain More Than One Operating System" later in this text file series. 3.1 Upgrading ====================================================================== If you upgrade, Setup automatically installs Whistler into the same folder as the currently installed operating system. You can upgrade to Whistler Server from the following versions of Windows: * Windows NT Server version 4.0 * Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition * Windows 2000 Server If your computer is running Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition, you can upgrade to Whistler Advanced Server, but not Whistler Server. Note: If you are running a version of Windows NT earlier than 4.0, you cannot upgrade directly to Whistler from it. You must first upgrade to Windows NT 4.0. 3.2 Installing ====================================================================== If you plan to perform a new installation, note that: * For a new installation on a disk partition that contains applications you want to keep, you must back up the applications and re-install them after installing Whistler Server. * If you want to perform a new installation of Whistler Server on a partition that previously contained Whistler Server, and if you want to keep any documents saved in the My Documents folder, back them up before beginning the installation. You can use Search to find the documents. After completing the new installation, you can copy the documents back to the My Documents folder. ====================================================================== 4.0 Decisions to Make for an Upgrade ====================================================================== If you are upgrading, and you have a Windows NT 4.0 domain, you will need to decide on the order of server upgrades. For more information, see the following sections later in this text file series: * "Upgrading an Existing Windows NT 4.0 Domain" * "Planning the Order of Server Upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" * "Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Domain Controllers First" * "Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Member Servers First" In addition, if you are upgrading from Windows NT 4.0, you will need to decide whether to convert the file system, on any FAT or FAT32 partitions you might have, to the NTFS file system. For more information, see "Choosing a File System" later in this text file series. ====================================================================== 5.0 Upgrading an Existing Windows NT 4.0 Domain ====================================================================== Domains are an important feature of Windows servers and clients. A domain is a grouping of accounts and network resources under a single domain name and security boundary. It is necessary to have one or more domains if you want to use domain-based user accounts and other domain security features in Whistler. (This was true for Windows NT and Windows 2000 as well.) On computers running Whistler, servers can have one of three roles in relation to domains: * Domain controllers contain matching copies of the user accounts and other Active Directory data in a given domain. * Member servers belong to a domain but do not contain a copy of the Active Directory data. * Stand-alone servers belong to a workgroup rather than a domain. A domain must have at least one domain controller. For resilience, a domain should have multiple domain controllers to support the handling of logon requests and directory updates. Before running Setup, you should plan the roles that your servers will Have within domains in Whistler. However, you can still adjust these roles after completing Setup. There are a number of important points to remember about upgrading an existing Windows NT 4.0 domain to run with Whistler: * You must use the NTFS file system on domain controllers. In addition, any servers that have any partition formatted with FAT or FAT32 will lack many security features. For example, on FAT or FAT32 partitions, a shared folder can be protected only by the permissions set on the share, not on individual files, and there is no software protection against local access to the partition. * If you want to upgrade a server and then use the same applications as before, be sure to read about application compatibility. One important source of application compatibility information is Read1st.txt and the Application Compatibility section of Readme.doc (in the root directory of the Whistler CD). For more information about these files, see "Important Files to Review" earlier in this text file series. * You can upgrade member servers before or after upgrading domain controllers. However, when you upgrade the domain controllers in a Windows NT domain to Whistler, you must upgrade the primary domain controller first. * When you begin upgrading domain controllers, if you have a remote access server that is a member server, you should upgrade it before the last domain controller is upgraded. Such a server is dependent on domain controllers for user information and therefore should not be "left behind" when domain controllers are upgraded. As an alternative, you can decrease the security permissions on Active Directory so that the remote access server running Windows NT can read user attributes from the Whistler domain controllers. For more information, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." The roles of the servers in a domain are named somewhat differently by computers running Whistler Server as compared with those running Windows NT. On computers running Windows NT, the possible roles were primary domain controller (limited to one per domain), backup domain controller, member server, or stand-alone server. Whistler has only one kind of domain controller (without a "primary" or "backup" designation), and it includes the roles of member server and stand-alone server. When you upgrade, Setup assigns server roles as follows: ROLE IN WINDOWS NT DOMAIN ROLE IN WHISTLER DOMAIN ------------------------- --------------------------------------- Primary domain controller Domain controller Backup domain controller Your choice of domain controller or member server Member server Member server Stand-alone server Stand-alone server 5.1 Planning the Order of Server Upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain ====================================================================== When planning the order of server upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 domain, there are two somewhat different approaches to choose between: upgrading the domain controllers first, or upgrading the member servers first. You can mix these approaches. However, if you have a Windows NT domain and you want to begin upgrading domain controllers, you must upgrade the primary domain controller first. If you upgrade member servers first (without upgrading domain controllers), a variety of features become available, but none that require Active Directory. Once you begin upgrading domain controllers, Active Directory features become available. For additional information about planning the order of server upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 domain, see the following: * For background information about server roles (which you must understand to plan the order of server upgrades), see "Upgrading an Existing Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this text file series. * For more detailed information about upgrading domains, or information about upgrading domains with more than five servers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." * For information about how to carry out each kind of upgrade, see "Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Domain Controllers First" or "Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Member Servers First" later in this text file series. The lists in "Features Available with Upgrade of Windows NT 4.0 Domain Controllers" and "Features Available with Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain," later in this text file series, show the features that are available with each approach to upgrading servers. 5.1.1 Features Available with Upgrade of Windows NT 4.0 Domain Controllers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When Windows NT domain controllers are upgraded and begin communicating on a network, all the features of Whistler become available through these servers. Of these features, the Active Directory features are listed in this section, and a number of other features are listed in "Features Available with Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" later in this text file series. Note: The features available when domain controllers are upgraded include not only the features in the following list, but also the features in "Features Available with Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" later in this text file series. Active Directory includes the following features: * Simplified management of network-resource information and user information. * Group Policy, which you can use to set policies that apply across a given site, domain, or organizational unit in Active Directory. * Security and authentication features, including support for Kerberos V5, Secure Sockets Layer V3, and Transport Layer Security using X.509v3 certificates. * Directory consolidation, through which you can organize and simplify the management of users, computers, applications, and devices, and make it easier for users to find the information they need. You can take advantage of synchronization support through interfaces based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and work with directory consolidation requirements specific to your applications. * Directory-enabled applications and infrastructure, which make it easier to configure and manage applications and other directory-enabled network components. * Scalability without complexity, a result of Active Directory scaling to millions of objects per domain and using indexing technology and advanced replication techniques to speed performance. * Use of Internet standards, including access through LDAP and a namespace based on the Domain Name System (DNS). * Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI), a powerful development environment. * Additional features. 5.1.2 Features Available with Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The features in the following list are available when member servers are upgraded in a Windows NT domain, regardless of whether domain controllers have been upgraded. The features available when domain controllers are upgraded include not only the features in the following list, but also the features in the previous one. * Management tools: Microsoft Management Console Plug and Play Device Manager Add Hardware Wizard (in Control Panel) Support for universal serial bus Enhanced Backup utility * File system support: The version of NTFS in Whistler includes support for disk quotas, the ability to defragment directory structures, and compressed network I/O. * Application services: Win32 Driver Model, DirectX 7.0, and Windows Script Host. * Printer protocol support: Device and protocol support allowing choices from more than 2,500 different printers. Other printing enhancements are included, for example, Internet Printing Protocol support, which allows users to print directly to a URL over an intranet or the Internet. * Scalability and availability: Improved symmetric multiprocessor support as compared to Windows NT. * Security: Encrypting file system. 5.2 Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Domain Controllers First ====================================================================== You can upgrade a Windows NT 4.0 domain by taking one of two general approaches: upgrading domain controllers first or member servers first. If you are not sure which approach you want to take, see "Planning the Order of Server Upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this text file series. If you upgrade your Windows NT domain by upgrading the domain controllers first, the upgrade has the following three stages: * Carrying out backups and other preparations so you can restore the previous installation if necessary. * Upgrading the primary domain controller. You must do this before upgrading any backup domain controllers. * Upgrading other servers in the domain. This section describes the actions to take for these stages. For a more in-depth discussion of planning the upgrade of domain controllers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." For information about what versions of Windows NT can be upgraded to Whistler Server, see "Upgrading" earlier in this text file series. 5.2.1 Backups and Other Preparations ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As with any major change to the contents of hard disks on your servers, you should back up each server before upgrading it. Also, be sure to review "Preparing Your System for an Upgrade" later in this text file series. In addition, to safeguard your existing network integrity, you might consider removing a backup domain controller temporarily from a network. To do this, in your existing Windows NT network, choose a backup domain controller, ensure that it has a current copy of the user accounts database, and back it up. Then disconnect its network cable. After upgrading your primary domain controller to Whistler (you must upgrade the primary domain controller first), this disconnected system is available for promotion to a Windows NT primary domain controller if needed. However, in the course of a successful upgrade, you would not and could not promote the Windows NT backup domain controller to primary domain controller. Instead, you would continue the upgrade process, eventually reconnecting the disconnected server and upgrading it. Also, for any computer that will be a domain controller in the Whistler domain, make sure that there is plenty of free space on the disk, beyond the space needed for the operating system itself. (For information about the disk requirements for the operating system, see "System Requirements" earlier in this text file series.) When Setup upgrades the user accounts database from the format used by Windows NT to the format used by Whistler Server, the database can expand by as much as a factor of ten. 5.2.2 Upgrading Servers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The first domain controller to be upgraded in a Windows NT domain must be the primary domain controller. As you upgrade this server, you will be given the choices of creating a new domain or a child domain, and of creating a new forest or a domain tree in an existing forest. For the upgrading of a domain of two to five servers (which is the size of domains discussed in this text file series), create a new domain and a new forest. For information about domain structures to use with larger numbers of servers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." During the upgrade, you can choose the location of three important items: the database containing user accounts and other Active Directory data, the log file, and the system volume (SYSVOL) folder. The database and the log file can be on any kind of partition (FAT, FAT32, or NTFS). The database can expand by as much as a factor of ten from the size it was in Windows NT, so allow plenty of room for it. (Initially, the log file will take up very little space.) The SYSVOL folder must be on an NTFS partition. (For information about NTFS and other file systems, see "Choosing a File System" later in this text file series.) After the primary domain controller is upgraded to a Whistler domain controller, it will be fully backward-compatible. This means that the domain controller appears as a Whistler domain controller to Whistler servers and clients, but emulates a Windows NT 4.0 primary domain controller to Windows NT 4.0 servers and clients. After upgrading your primary domain controller and ensuring that it is functioning to your satisfaction, upgrade any backup domain controllers next. (If possible, it is best to begin the upgrades soon, rather than allowing a long delay.) Also, if you are running a remote access server that is a member server, you should upgrade it before the last domain controller is upgraded. A remote-access member server is dependent on domain controllers for user information and therefore should not be "left behind" when domain controllers are upgraded. As an alternative, you can weaken the security permissions on Active Directory so that the remote access server running Windows NT can read user attributes from the Whistler domain controllers. For more information, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." Note: When the second domain controller is upgraded, it copies the first (formerly the primary) domain controller. Therefore, be sure that the first domain controller is running and available on the network as you upgrade the second. Similarly, be sure that at least one Whistler domain controller is available on the network when you upgrade the third, fourth, and any remaining Windows NT domain controllers. Upgrade the backup domain controllers one at a time (ensure that each is backed up before upgrading). Start and test each server on the network to ensure that it is functioning to your satisfaction before upgrading another backup domain controller. When you have completely upgraded all domain controllers to Whistler domain controllers, you have the option of changing the domain from mixed mode (where Windows NT domain controllers can exist in the domain) to native mode (where only Whistler domain controllers can exist in the domain). This is an important decision, because you cannot revert to mixed mode after changing to native mode. For information about domain trees, mixed mode, native mode, or any other item related to domains, see the topics under Active Directory in Whistler Help and Support Services. To open Help and Support Services, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support. For information about performing upgrades in domains larger than two to five servers, see the "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, Deployment Planning Guide." 5.3 Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Member Servers First ====================================================================== You can upgrade a Windows NT 4.0 domain by taking one of two general approaches: upgrading domain controllers first or member servers first. For information about the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, see "Planning the Order of Server Upgrades in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this text file series. Note: If you have a remote access server that is a member server, and you have begun upgrading any domain controllers, be sure to read "Upgrading Servers" earlier in this text file series. Before upgrading any server, be sure to back it up, and review "Preparing Your System for an Upgrade" later in this text file series. If you upgrade a Windows NT 4.0 domain by upgrading member servers first, you can upgrade one, a few, or all of the member servers at a given time. Choose the order of the upgrades by considering which of your servers would be most improved by the features in the Whistler Server family. For information about the features available when member servers are upgraded, see "Features Available with Upgrade of Any Server in a Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this text file series. After upgrading member servers in a domain, when you are ready to upgrade domain controllers, follow the instructions in "Upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 Domain by Upgrading Domain Controllers First" earlier in this text file series. ====================================================================== 6.0 Decisions to Make for a New Installation ====================================================================== The following list outlines the basic decisions you will need to make if you have decided to perform a new installation. Each area is discussed in more detail in the sections that follow. You will need to consider the following: 6.1 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. 6.2 Whether You Want to Be Able to Choose Between Different Operating Systems Each Time You Start the Computer ====================================================================== A computer can be set up so that each time you restart it, you can choose from several different operating systems. For more information, see "Deciding Whether a Computer Will Contain More Than One Operating System" later in this text file series. 6.3 What File System to Use ====================================================================== The file systems to choose from are NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. You should use NTFS because it is the only file system that supports Active Directory, which includes many important features such as domains and domain-based security. However, it might be necessary to have a FAT or FAT32 partition in situations where you must set up a computer so that it sometimes runs Whistler and sometimes runs Windows NT 4.0 or an earlier operating system. For more information, see "Choosing a File System" later in this text file series. 6.4 What Partition You Will Install On, or Whether You Will Need a New Partition for Your Installation ====================================================================== If you are performing a new installation, you will need to review your disk partitions before running Setup (for an upgrade, you will use existing 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 for New Installations" later in this text file series. 6.5 What Components to Install ====================================================================== There are a variety of optional components to choose from when installing Whistler 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. 6.6 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. 6.7 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 "Upgrading an Existing Windows NT 4.0 Domain" earlier in this text file series and "Deciding Between Workgroups and Domains" later in this text file series. ====================================================================== 7.0 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 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. (continued in Server2.txt)