February 8, 2000 Web posted at: 4:27 p.m. EST (2127 GMT) In this story: SERVER MIGRATION CLIENT MIGRATION RELATED STORIES, SITES by Kevin Railsback

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(IDG) -- Making the move from Windows NT or NetWare to Windows 2000 is not a job to be taken lightly. You must weigh factors beyond the time and money necessary to perform the migration. Training costs for IT staff and employees plus the much more advanced hardware requirements of Windows 2000 can make the upgrade much more expensive than it first appears.

Despite the initial expenses, Win2000 -- a platform more stable than NT -- promises to lower total ownership costs through reduced administration and decreased downtime for servers and client machines. This, plus knowing that most application and server software will eventually require Win2000, should help you decide if the time is right to upgrade.

You may find that a 'wait and see' approach for your migration plans for several months is best, waiting to upgrade until Windows 2000 has proven itself in the real world.

Also consider Win2000's Active Directory (AD), which can significantly reduce overall administration costs by centralizing directory information. By setting up AD as your company's primary directory service, you can greatly reduce the administration costs for client and server machines.

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To lead the migration of Win2000 from NT 4.0, you'll need to do your homework first. Learn the steps necessary for deploying Windows 2000 Server and Advanced Server as well as the process of migrating to Windows 2000 Professional.

SERVER MIGRATION

Phase 1: Research

The first step in deploying any system as large as Win2000 is research. If you don't know what's in your enterprise and what Win2000 features you want to implement, the project is sure to fail.

Your IT staff must take an up-to-date, detailed inventory of all the server and client hardware in the enterprise. This should include diagrams of network layout, router configurations, and firewall settings, as well as the protocols in use on your network.

The safest way to deploy Win2000 is to get it working before adding the bells and whistles. So another research goal is deciding which features from the new OS your business needs implemented off the bat. Postpone nonmission-critical functionality until after the initial migration, limiting the variables you'll need to check in case of a problem. For example, avoid moving to Microsoft's DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) or DNS (Domain Name Service) when your enterprise uses a Solaris box. Waiting until Win2000 is deployed before adding the extras can dramatically cut down on server and client problem debugging.

	Inside Windows 2000
Server enhancements worthy, but costly IT proceeds with caution Robust client offers wide device support
	MESSAGE BOARD
Windows 2000

Phase 2: Planning

The first step in planning your migration is to determine a time line. As your research and planning progresses, it should be updated to include reasonable milestones and goals. Dragging out the migration can drive costs way up. All hardware and software should be checked for Win2000 compatibility, and upgrade options should be explored for non-Win2000-compliant packages. Fortunately, you can keep Windows NT 4.0 servers running for the software that hasn't been tested or approved for use with Windows 2000.

Also, IT staff and end-users may need training on Win2000's new features. In-depth training for system administrators can be expensive, but it will end up saving money in the long run when problems are avoided or resolved quickly.

Phase 3: Prerequisites

As soon as the first two steps are under your belt, and your IT staff is up to snuff on administering a Win2000 environment, proceed with preparing your infrastructure. Upgrade RAM in servers and clients as needed. Microsoft recommends a minimum of 128MB of RAM for servers and 64MB for desktops, but these numbers should be doubled for optimal performance.

All software updates must be performed to bring applications up to Win2000 compliance. Software that hasn't been certified for Windows 2000 should be tested prior to the rollout.Plan to maintain an NT 4.0 server to keep any non-Win2000-compliant software running.

Next, apply the latest service packs to your Win2000 servers. This way, you know you have the most stable environment possible in which to perform the migration.

Finally, reorganize your existing domain structure to make the transition to AD smooth. Enlist the aid of third-party tools, such as FastLane DM/Manager (see review, page 40), to automate the optimization of your domain structure. After migrating to AD, these tools will help with the testing and diagnostics.

Phase 4: Test migration

Now test your upgrade plan. Go through the migration process on a nonproduction server and take detailed notes. Record any problems or oddities you encounter so that you can address them before the real migration.

When you are confident that your plan will lead to success, create a detailed checklist from your notes. In the heat of the real server migration, it is easy to make mistakes or skip an important task. This checklist will help keep your IT staff on track and aid in debugging any problems found later.

Next, test all applications and services on the Win2000 server. Now is the time to squash bugs, before irate users find them for you. This includes testing e-mail server software, Web and FTP servers, CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) packages, and administration tools. Check network management suites to ensure that they still communicate with the Win2000 server, and monitor everything for stability.

Also, you must thoroughly check your new AD installation and all security settings and file permissions. Make sure that users can log in to the directory tree and access their drives and applications. Try accessing administrator-only directories and applications from a user account without administrator privileges.If it looks good, you're ready for the next phase.

Phase 5: Server migration

If everything is working smoothly so far, begin the server migration. First, back up every server that will be affected. Verify these backups and store them in a safe place. If catastrophe strikes, getting the servers back up quickly will be of the utmost importance.

If you've prepared properly and tested everything thoroughly, the actual migration will be a breeze. Follow your checklist step by step -- now is not the time to make any last-minute changes to your plan.

As you go through the installation and configuration of Win2000, document everything. If you run into problems, such as servers that cannot communicate or an e-mail server that doesn't work, this information can ensure a quick resolution later.

When the upgrade process is complete on each server, a set of wizards will assist in the proper configuration of the new environment, including building your AD structure.

When you next log in, you'll be presented with the Win2000 Configure Your Server wizard. This program centralizes all of the tools and tasks needed to finish the upgrade. You can configure the server for various tasks, such as setting up Web services, an application server, file and print sharing, and AD.

Phase 6: Post-migration testing

You're not through the woods yet -- now you must test everything again. Ensure that servers can talk to each other and all clients can log in and access all of their drives and other resources. Double-check your security settings and other server configuration options.

Completely test every aspect of the new Win2000 environment. It is especially important to check the AD structure for anomalies, such as missing domain or user information. Then have a small subset of users log in and use the new servers. If everything goes smoothly, you're ready to plunge the entire organization into Windows 2000.

CLIENT MIGRATION

After going through the server migration, the update to Windows 2000 Professional on your desktops will seem like a walk in the park.

Professional has more rigorous hardware requirements than previous releases, but it supports a much wider range of system components and peripherals, making the move from Windows 95 or 98, as well as from NT 4.0, an easy one. Keep in mind that IT staff and end-user training on the new system will be critical in realizing all of the benefits Professional can provide.

Similar to the server migration, check for hardware and software compatibility with your existing infrastructure. Most in-place Windows applications should run fine on Win2000, but performance issues should be addressed.

Windows 9x runs on systems with 32MB of RAM. Windows NT 4.0 Workstation runs well with 64MB of RAM. However, Windows 2000 Professional has a much higher hardware requirement.Windows 2000 Professional requires 64MB of RAM, but this should be viewed as an absolute minimum. Any machines with less than 96MB will be noticeably sluggish. The most important factor to consider when planning this migration on your desktops is whether or not they will run well under the new OS. If you have mostly Pentium and low-end Pentium II machines with 64MB of RAM, expect to update them to at least 96MB or 128MB, if possible.

For desktops running older Pentium systems, the move to Professional probably wouldn't be beneficial. Make sure you test the new OS on any platforms you plan on deploying it on during the planning process.

Compatibility with existing applications is also a critical factor to consider for client PCs. Before upgrading to the new OS, all software that your users need should be thoroughly tested on Windows 2000 Professional.