IT Employment
Only tips I can give you:
1. read a lot! about win2000 (and/or XP)from books or other sources
2. stay focussed on the techrepublic site
3. visit microsoft sites
key words for youre kind of infrastructure:
1. NetBios over tcp/ip for XP (a security policy)
2. other policy's
3. standardisation
4. system state and backups
5. implement XP by using sysprep and ghost (or simular)
Dont think this helps a lot but maybe I've started you thinking
Good luck!
by dmont
by lmayeda
We have a couple of separate LANs one is still using a WinNT PDC and the other has a W2K server. I've added a couple of WinXPs to the NT network and 1 XP to the LAN network. I've had more problems with the XP on the W2k network ... (extremely slow network response) which I've managed to work around.
I would NOT bring in a bunch at a time until I was comfortable with tne new OS and your business apps.
by dmont
by dmont
by hal 9000
Bring in the XP machines very gradually. Start with the first one in a non necessary area and have a very good play with it and READ A LOT even try http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
as a starting point but go there now and over Easter and read a LOT. At least your using XP Pro so you will have fewer problems but it will be a diffictual change over particuarly as you have very limited experience with XP to start off with.
This is one of those jobs that must be taken slowely oryou will end up with a total mess and have nothing working. I know it sounds like a good idea but "DO IT SLOWELY AND CAREFULLY" or you will end up with an unworkable network with the Boss or whoever screaming their head off about the down time and the staff being unable to perform any work.
Everything is going to be different on this installation so the more reading that you can do the better and what would be even more useful is if you can set up even temporally a NT Server and then a XP workstation from the new computers and get these to actually work with each other through whatever hubs/routers that you will be using before you even consider letting XP loose on the network.
by dmont
by omie
First of all it is not that hard. The only problem that might occur is that if you have some DOS based application which might not run. Win2k and winXP are almost the same.
Again if you need to do something and you can't figure out it is always easy to click the help icon in the menu and it will run you through it.
Goodluck
by dmont
by hal 9000
Much faith in the XP Migration test as recently I had a computer in for repair? as it would not accept SP! for XP. This was a new computer that was originally built with XP Pro installed and after much mucking around it was the DVD Drive that was causing the problem but the test claimed that there where no hardware/software problems.
I guess it al falls into what is considered as a hardware problem as the bare XP installation worked but the moment you tried any of the Hot FIxes/Patches it failed. Perhaps MS can come out with a new XP tester that actually takes into account the many changes in the OS that they have performed over XP so far very short life.
by tomsal
I agree, I really think people are pushing the panic button prematurely on this. The guy said he has no XP experience but he obviously has some W98 and NT4 server experience since he's been running such a network.
People up to this point are going to scare the guy like he's trying to switch over from an all PC LAN to an all Mac LAN -- the change is hardly that severe.
That all said, just as in martial arts my master says "never underestimate your opponent, no matter their physical appearance"...well never underestimate a project even if you may think its easy/simple -- if nothing else its un-professional.
PLAN, RESEARCH, TEST, DEPLOY.
Plan - Don't even touch the WinXP install CD for a single node, until you at least jot some notes down on how you want to roll out XP.
Research- I disagree that you need to lock yourself away for weeks on end, as some others seem to be implying -- but I do agree you need to at least spend a good hour reading up on WinXP's slight changes in the GUI, skim through the file system basics and you should spend the volume of your study time on the networking "how to's" of XP Pro.
You know Windows 98. You know NT 4. So its not going to be that hard for you to adjust to XP's subtle differences.
(If you know w2k, XP will practically be second nature to you).
Test - NEVER go from studying about a system to deploying it into production! NEVER NEVER NEVER do this. Make a test only station and simply "play" with XP Pro -- spend 30 minutes, spend a day..whatever you need.
Deploy - NOW you deploy.
You'll be golden.
good luck
by dmont
Agree with TomSal here about Plan Research Test Deploy, also about thinking positive about it all.
But disagree with the easy approach about the slight difference between Win98 and XP.
Actually there is a huge difference between the two OS's.
Butit is also true that by staying with WinNT4 the implementation of XP could be considered as a fairly simple implementation of a "improved Win98" WorkStation-infrastructure park.
So yeb this could also be the reason that its probably not going to bethat hard to implement it all.
And connection with WinNT should be no biggy
(must enable the NetBios over tcp/ip though on XP to connect to the NT shares)
And you can make a fuss about securing the whole XP bunch but while you lack a true W2K AD domain you cannot centralize youre security policy's and cannot profit from the extra (security) features of a W2K Active Directory.
But if you value security on the WS's nevertheless:
use the same the same security standard policy
for all the XPWS's (so use sysprep and build images with ghost or something similar)
Bottem line for youre scenario
use the administration tools wisely
especially ..\system32\gpedit.msc
if happy with all the computer configuration security settings template:
export it all to a txt-file. (for backup purpose .. Note: importing other security templates is also possible)
And last but not least
If you value security enough:
upgrade youre WinNT4 domain infrastructure asap to a true W2K domain (no hibrid)
After that a whole new scala of security options will be available to you.
Hope this will make you happy ;)
by rollerskate
by rollerskate
by dmont
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