Assessing Your Current Network Infrastructure
Asses your network infrastructure by identifying existing network protocols, speed of network links (network bandwidth), and whether or not there is a Windows 2000 Server network infrastructure in place when you install Windows 2000 Professional.
Table 3.2 lists key planning issues related to assessing your network infrastructure and describes how these issues affect your plan.
Table 3.2 Key Planning Issues for Assessing the Network Infrastructure
| Issue | Effect on your plan |
|---|---|
| Network protocols | Network protocols determine how you customize network protocol and associated adapter paRAMeters in several networking sections in the answer file, such as the [NetAdapter], [NetProtocols], and [NetServices] sections. |
| Network bandwith | The amount of network bandwidth available affects your choice of installation tool and method. For example, in locations that do not have a highbandwidth connection to a network server, using a CD-ROM or other local method of installing Windows 2000 Professional (executing Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe at the command prompt on each computer) is probably the best option. For users with high-bandwidth network connections, but whose computers do not have a remote boot–compliant network card or remote-boot CD ROM, a network-based image duplication or manual installation method will be the next best option. |
| Windows 2000 Server network infrastructure | Having an existing Windows 2000 Server infrastructure in place affects the range of tools you can use to automate and customize installations. For example, if you have a Windows 2000 Server computer configured as a RIS server, you can use Remote OS Installation to image and automatically distributed customized images of a Windows 2000 Professional installation to users. |
Documenting Your Network Infrastructure
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 infrastructure's 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.
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.
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.
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
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.