Computers that contain multiple Windows Server 2003 family partitions

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Computers that contain multiple Windows server 2003 family partitions

You can set up a server so that it contains some combination of Windows XP and products in the Windows Server 2003 family, or contains multiple installations of products in the Windows Server 2003 family. If you plan to do this, note the following:

  • Install each operating system on a different partition or, for dynamic disks, on a different disk, and install the applications used with an operating system on the same disk or partition with it. If an application is used with two different operating systems, install it in two places.

  • For an x86-based computer, choose any product in the Windows Server 2003 family for installation on a specific partition. For example, you could install Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, in one location and Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, in another.

    For an x64-based computer, you can choose among Windows XP Professional x64 Edition; the x64-based version of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; the x64-based version of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; and the x64-based version of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. In addition, you can choose to install any x86-based operating system, such as Microsoft® Windows® XP.

    For an Itanium architecture-based computer, you can choose among Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium); the Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; and the Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition.

  • If the computer participates in a domain, use a different computer name for each installation. Because a unique security identifier (SID) is used for each installation of Windows Server 2003 on a domain, the computer name for each installation must be unique, even for multiple installations on the same computer.

  • If you set up a server so that it contains some combination of Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 or Windows XP, or contains multiple partitions with products in the Windows Server 2003 family, and you want to use the Encrypting File System (EFS) on the computer, you must take certain steps. These steps make encrypted files readable between the different installations.

    • One approach is to ensure that all the installations are in the same domain and that the user of these installations has a roaming profile.

    • Another approach is to export the user's file encryption certificate and associated private key from one installation and import it into the other installations.

    For more information, see Introduction to using Encrypting File System, Using roaming user profiles, and Importing and exporting certificates.