Using the Test Lab After Deployment

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

The importance of testing changes to your computing environment after you have deployed Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional cannot be overemphasized. Because of the potential effect changes can have in the production environment, many organizations test every update and service pack until the anticipated results are achieved before they set up a pilot or a rollout. Figure 2.13 shows that the lab can be used to manage post-deployment changes.

Figure 2.13   Using the Test Lab After Deployment

Using the Test Lab After Deployment

If you plan to use your test lab to manage changes to your production environment, you will need to develop appropriate guidelines. Describe, in a general way, how to prepare the lab for testing a change and identify procedures for conducting tests and reporting results. For each change that you test, you will need to identify:

  • Components required before the change can be implemented in the test lab.

  • Steps required to implement the change.

  • Documentation to be produced in the test lab.

  • Action to take if a lab test fails.

  • Action to take if a lab test succeeds.

Remember to periodically evaluate test lab components to determine and counteract the effects that accumulated changes have on them. For example, a computer that has undergone many changes in the testing process might not behave in the same way that a computer that has been newly installed with the same configuration would.