Simple Windows XP SP2 Deployment Summary
Published : September 1, 2004
This summary describes the results obtained at Microsoft using this white paper to deploy Windows XP SP2 at three SMS 2003 sites. At each site, one client was upgraded. Your results might vary as you plan and deploy your Windows XP SP2 upgrade.
Normally, you would configure an advertisement to run a program from a distribution point when your clients are in a well-connected LAN. However, since many administrators have remote computers connected to their networks by wireless networks and by remote access, the following test deployment advertisements were configured to download the program before running it.
By default, the Advanced Client cache size is set to 250 MB. In the following tests, the cache size was increased to accommodate the package download size of 327 MB. Otherwise, the package download would have failed and the advertised program would not have run.
On This Page
Test Deployment 1
Test Deployment 2
Test Deployment 3
Test Deployment 1
Total Windows XP SP2 package size: 327 MB
Time taken to complete download: About 10 minutes with no other network traffic between the Advanced Client and distribution point.
Link speed: 100 Mbps (LAN)
Network bandwidth utilized between client and server: Maximum network utilization was 67%, however typical bandwidth usage was typically 25%.
Client configuration: Pentium 3, with a 996 MHz processor
Total install time when running from network: About 40 minutes
Test Deployment 2
Total Windows XP SP2 package size: 327 MB
Time taken to complete download: About 13 minutes with no other network traffic between the Advanced Client and distribution point.
Link speed: 100 Mbps (LAN)
Network bandwidth utilized between client and server: Maximum network utilization was 79%, however typical bandwidth usage was typically 25%.
Client configuration: Pentium 4, with a 1.7 GHz processor
Total install time when running from network: About 50 minutes
Test Deployment 3
Total Windows XP SP2 package size: 327 MB
Time taken to complete download: About 13 minutes with some network traffic besides traffic between the Advanced Client and distribution point.
Link speed: 100 Mbps (LAN)
Network bandwidth utilized between client and server: Maximum network utilization was about 75%, however typical bandwidth usage was typically 25%.
Client configuration: Pentium 3, with a 1.2 GHz processor
Total install time when running from network: About 50 minutes
For this test deployment, Outlook 2003 and Word 2003 were running during the upgrade.