Windows 2000 Deployment Guide: Part 1
In this, the first of a series of articles on the decisions and tasks required for deploying Windows 2000, author Dale Holmes lays out the series goals and sets the stage for the first step of his journey.
Introduction
It's finally here…after many, many months of waiting, discussing, speculating, arguing and then more waiting, Windows 2000 has finally reached production and is currently shipping. Chances are, you've seen it and heard the hype; the trade press has been dolling out Windows 2000 tidbits for the past year. They've offered up little morsels of Windows 2000 flavor to whet your appetite and excite you about the new functionality of Microsoft's latest operating system. You've had a taste of Active Directory, and a little bite of Dynamic DNS. Distributed File System, anyone? How about a little Kerberos or IPSec? By now you've probably had your fill of Windows 2000 tidbits, and no doubt you are quite excited about one of the new functions that Windows 2000 offers. However, you’re left with one burning question in the end: How am I going to deploy Windows 2000 in my existing environment?
I intend to address this question in these articles. Together we'll take an in-depth look at Windows 2000 deployment. Over the next several weeks we'll examine the issues you will need to consider in order to put together an effective Windows 2000 deployment plan. We'll evaluate your existing environment and prepare it to accept Windows 2000. We'll look at the hardware and software, workstations, and servers. We'll examine the new features offered by Windows 2000, and the pitfalls surrounding their implementation. Finally, we'll consider training and outsourcing.
The material will be presented in step-by-step fashion, and you will be asked to perform tasks between articles before you can progress to the next step in the process. Follow along with us for the next several weeks as we look at deploying Windows 2000 across your enterprise. I hope you're looking as forward to this journey as I am.
In the next article, we'll begin our Windows 2000 deployment guide by examining all of the products in the Windows 2000 family. Your task for the interim is to determine your current source for operating system software, and to inquire about their pricing for the various Windows 2000 offerings. There is no need to provide the salesperson with specifics of your environment; simply gather their general pricing information for Windows 2000. For now, consider it a fact-finding mission, not the start of an actual IT project.