Planning is the key to success
Using Systems Management Server (SMS) to automate an enterprisewide
upgrade to Windows NT or Windows 95 will save you time, resources, and money.
And the time gained with automation gives you more time to look after
exceptional cases. But the success of your upgrade clearly depends on one key
step: planning. Too many times, system administrators cite lack of time and
resources as reasons for skipping this step. But the complexity of SMS makes
planning mandatory. For a successful deployment, you must have a clear picture
of the end result and the steps to get there.
Successful deployment depends on knowing how SMS works, in addition to
becoming familiar with the Win95 and NT operating system setup programs. SMS
provides the delivery mechanism, and it drives the standard operating system
installation routines. To automate an upgrade, you must supply the appropriate
setup answer files. For Win95, those files are msbatch.inf, netdet.ini,
apps.inf, wrkgrp.ini, automate.inf, custom.inf, and setuplog.txt. For NT, the
file is nt4.txt.
Preliminary Considerations
Before you begin, you need to know which operating systems SMS lets you
upgrade: MS-DOS 5.0 or later, Windows 3.1x, and Windows for Workgroups (WFW)
3.1x to either Win95 or NT. SMS does not allow an automatic upgrade from OS/2,
and you cannot upgrade Win95 to NT 4.0. In these cases, you must perform a
manual installation.
Networked Windows installations also require special handling. If you have
a networked Windows version and want to use SMS to upgrade, consider rolling
back to MS-DOS before you upgrade.
If your environment has any dual-boot computers, you must choose the
operating system under which you want to install the SMS client, and make that
OS your primary one. SMS client functionality will not be available under the
secondary operating system.
To ensure successful automation of your new OS rollout, you must plan it
carefully. The following five steps are crucial in any SMS upgrade plan. (For
more information on planning an upgrade using SMS, see, "
References for Planning an Upgrade.")
STEP 1
Identify Client Configurations
Both Win95 and NT allow for multiple configurations. To begin planning an
upgrade, you must identify the configurations in your existing environment and
identify your clients' optimal configurations. You will use this information for
testing and for automating or customizing the setup. Here is a checklist of
items to consider:
Setup. Decide the extent to which you let users set up and
configure their environments during initial installation. For example, do you
want users setting up the Microsoft Exchange mailbox using the Exchange wizard,
or do you want to fully automate the setup?
Networking Options. Determine the default protocol (e.g.,
TCP/IP, IPX). Determine what redirector you will install (e.g., Microsoft Client
for Windows Networks, Microsoft Client for NetWare Clients, Novell Client 32).
Decide which Services you need to install (e.g., Simple Network Management
Protocol--SNMP--Agent, Remote Access Service--RAS, NetWare Client Services).
Security. Note which users have access to their hard disk.
(Locked-down workstations will require special consideration, and you may need
to upgrade them manually.)
Policies. Integrate current and future policies into your
test plan.
Profiles. Establish any user or hardware profiles. (For
information on user profiles, see Drew Heywood, "Windows NT User Profiles,"
September 1997. For information on hardware profiles, see Mike Reilly, "Configuring
Hardware Profiles," September 1997.)
Applications. Identify which applications are local and
which are remote. What applications run locally on all desktops? What
applications run from the server? Do you have applications that require open
database connectivity (ODBC)?
After you have considered all these points, use them to create a
specification for each operating system and configuration. The specifications
need to match your current environment or become a plan for your ideal
environment.
STEP 2
Identify Target Computers and Software
An accurate and complete list of target computers (those you want to
upgrade) in the SMS database is essential for a successful upgrade. Take the
following steps to compile an accurate list of target computers:
* Verify the integrity of the SMS database. Before you query the SMS
database for target computers, make sure you have an up-to-date computer
inventory. Increase hardware inventory collection frequency to once daily. Use
logon scripts to collect inventory at logon or when the user runs runsms.bat.
Drop outdated computers from the database. Tip: If the database contains
questionable information, you need to delete the site history files (*.hms). You
can find these files in sms\site.srv\inventry.box\history. When you delete
site history files, you do not compromise the database's integrity; instead, you
ensure that complete Management Information Format (MIF) files are passed to the
database. (For details about MIF files, see Mark Eddins, "Customizing
Systems Management Server," January 1997.)
* Verify hardware compatibility. You can use the SMS query function to list
computers that meet the new operating system's minimum hardware requirements and
those that do not. At a minimum, your query must identify processor name, amount
of RAM, available hard disk, display type, and network card. Also check for
client computers that are not on Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).
You may want to exclude these computers to avoid potential problems.