Deploying Windows 2000 Professional

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While you are documenting your current network environment, take special note of areas where you are currently experiencing problems. If you stabilize your network before deploying a new operating system, deployment and troubleshooting will be easier, and you can have increased confidence in the upgraded network.

When documenting your network infrastructure, you are obtaining both hardware data to document your infrastructures physical structure and software data to document the existence and configuration of the protocols in use on your network. You also need to document the logical organization of your network, name and address resolution methods, and the existence and configuration of services used. Documenting the location of your network sites and the available bandwidth between them will also assist you in deciding whether to perform push or on-demand installations when you upgrade or migrate to Windows 2000 Professional.

Developing a physical and logical diagram of your network will help you organize the information you gather in an understandable and intuitive manner.

Physical Network Diagram

The physical diagram presents the following information about your existing network:

  • Details of physical communication links, such as cable length, grade, and approximation of the physical paths of the wiring, analog, and ISDN lines.

  • Servers, with computer name, IP address (if static), server role, and domain membership. A server can operate in many roles, including primary or backup domain controller, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service server, Domain Name System (DNS) server, Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) server, print server, router, and application or file server.

  • Location of devices such as printers, hubs, switches, modems, routers and bridges, and proxy servers that are on the network.

  • Wide area network (WAN) communication links (analog and ISDN) and the available bandwidth between sites. This might be an approximation or the actual measured capacity.

Document firmware version, throughput, and any special configuration requirements for any devices on the network. If you assign static IP addresses to any of these devices, record them.

Logical Network Diagram

The logical diagram shows the network architecture, including the following information:

  • Domain architecture, including the existing domain hierarchy, names, and addressing scheme.

  • Server roles, including primary or backup domain controllers, DHCP service servers, or WINS servers.

  • Trust relationships, including representations of transitive, one-way, and two-way trust relationships.

Network Configuration

In general, document these areas of your network configuration:

  • Name resolution services

  • IP addressing methods and service configurations

  • Remote and dial-up networking

  • Bandwidth issues

Include these additional areas in your current infrastructure assessment:

  • File, print, and Web servers

  • Line-of-business applications

  • Directory service architecture

  • Security

Incorporate Plans for Future Network Changes

Determine if there are any current plans for increasing network capacity or adding networking features and functions. For example, is there a major network upgrade planned that would coincide with the planned Windows 2000 Professional rollout? Is there any planning being done to add new user services such as instant messaging or videoconferencing? These plans will affect your deployment strategies.

For additional details on documenting your current environment, see Preparing Your Network Infrastructure for Windows 2000, Determining Network Connectivity Strategies, and Using Systems Management Server to Analyze Your Network Infrastructure in the Deployment Planning Guide.