Setting Up a Test Environment

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

RMS integrates with your existing Active Directory infrastructure and database servers, such as those running Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 or Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Because of the critical nature of these supporting components, you should thoroughly test RMS in an isolated test environment before you deploy it in your organization. This requires that you set up separate Active Directory and database server installations in the test environment.

Start with the most basic configuration of an RMS root cluster in a forest with a database server and a client. After you gain familiarity with RMS, your configuration can grow to closely match the topology that you will deploy in your organization’s production environment, adding multiple forests and external access as necessary. Although your test environment may not include all of the redundancy and multiple site configurations of the organizational deployment plan, it should include at least one server running of each of the supporting components that you need to deploy.

The following list describes a possible minimal configuration for a test environment that you can use to test a basic configuration for RMS:

  • A domain controller running Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later. A database server that hosts RMS logging, configuration, and directory services databases. If the database will be on the same server as RMS, it can be used with either Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) Release A, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (EE), or SQL Server 2005. If you are going to be using a remote server for database support, SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 is required.

Note

Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the minimum requirement for the domain controller, but Windows Server 2003 is recommended due to performance enhancements in Active Directory group expansion.

It is recommended that MSDE 2000 or SQL Server 2005 EE be used to support RMS databases only in test environments because these database products do not support any network interfaces. In addition, the terms of use for MSDE 2000 and SQL Server 2005 EE specify that you cannot use SQL Server client tools to manipulate them. With this restriction, you will be unable to view logging information or change data stored in the configuration database.

  • A root cluster running Windows Server 2003, on which RMS is installed and provisioned. You can add more servers to the root cluster as your testing progresses.

  • A client computer running Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista®, RMS client, and an RMS-enabled application.

    Note

    The RMS client is integrated with Windows Vista so a separate installation is not required.

  • User accounts that have e-mail address attributes in Active Directory.

For information about the installation and configuration of a basic RMS infrastructure, as well as how to apply the infrastructure requirements to a production environment, see "Setting Up a Basic Infrastructure" later in this subject.