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Planning a Managed Environment

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

Many organizations are moving towards a highly managed computing environment based on a configuration management infrastructure that is designed to reduce the cost of managing a diverse set of organizational needs. The Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 operating system includes a set of configuration management technologies — collectively known as IntelliMirror® — that you can use to centrally manage configurations for users and computers.

IntelliMirror and Group Policy combine the advantages of centralized computing with the performance and flexibility of distributed computing. This book explains how to design and deploy a centrally managed distributed computing environment.

In This Chapter

Overview of Deploying a Managed Environment Process

Developing a Deployment Plan

Defining the Scope of Your Configuration Management Project

Assessing Your Current Environment

Determining Your Requirements for Configuration Management Technologies

Designing Managed Configurations

Designing Your Organizational Unit Structure

Testing Your Configuration Management Design

Staging and Deploying Your Design to the Production Environment

Additional Resources for Planning a Managed Environment