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Best practices and Guidelines for Deployment of Windows XP SP2
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Step 1 - Planning
We have compiled these guidelines to help you have a smooth
transition should you decide to install Windows XP Service Pack 2. These guidelines are general in nature and would apply
regardless of what application software products you are using in your application and from what vendors they come from. Of course
you should also refer to and give appropriate consideration to any vendor specific guidelines from the application software vendors
whose products are on your affected computers.
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Important First Step
Be aware that Windows Update and
Automatic Update, if turned on, will AUTOMATICALLY download XP SP2 for installation, and tell users that
there are critical updates to install. It will not necessarily automatically install, but the click
happy user could accidentally install it without noticing. This could thwart your plans for a
"controlled" rollout of XP SP2 if you find your systems will be affected; therefore you should:
- Assess whether or not you have Windows Update
or Automatic Update enabled on potentially affected PCs
- Educate users that they should not install
updates without authorization if in fact you allow users enough authority to even do that to begin with.
- If you need to temporarily disable automatic
download delivery of XP SP2, read this Microsoft article.
- Be aware that you are responsible for
re-enabling any parts of Windows Update or Automatic Update that you disable, for you are potentially
putting your systems at future risk if you disable these features and forget to re-enable them.
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Planning – we cannot emphasize this enough. Proper preparation for the
deployment of any Service Pack to the operating system is important. It is
extremely important for the deployment of Windows XP SP2.
- You MAY be able deploy XP SP2 with minimal downtime to the machine if
- You plan properly
- The affected applications are supported on XP SP2 by their
respective vendors
- Minimal to no reconfiguration is required of the firewall in XP SP2 and
DCOM setup.
- First and foremost - consider the impact of computer system downtime on
your business. You may look at these guidelines and say "gosh do I need a doctorate to deploy this?" Of course not.
- The degree of caution you apply to how you apply XP SP2 should have
strong consideration of your business situation.
- We have tried to write these guidelines to include steps for people with very
critical situations, steps that could be de-emphasized based on your business requirements.
Do Not:
- ASSUME that you can just install XP SP2 and there will be no problems.
This is a major upgrade to the operating system – some have even called it
"XP Version 2" to imply a whole new version of the operating system, not just a service pack.
- ASSUME that you can deploy XP SP2 without any downtime on the target
machine.
- Deploy XP SP2 if one of your application software vendors has issued any
advisory that explicitly tells you NOT to install XP SP2 because of known compatibility issues.
- Systems are comprised of multiple parts - you need all parts to be
supported on XP SP2 before deploying.
Do:
- Go into this assuming that some downtime will be required.
- Involve the right people in your organization in your planning
- Affected users
- Persons responsible for systems that may interact over the network
with the systems you are responsible for
- Internal IT resources
- If your company has an overall rollout plan for XP SP2, try to leverage those
efforts to save you time in your planning, and of course make sure what you
do will not conflict with other plans driven by other parts of the organization
- If practical for your business, try to plan your rollout of XP SP2 in such a
way that you minimize or remove the risk of having one computer being out
of service shut down a section of your process or the entire process.
- Realize that XP2 SP2 is large and will use a large amount of disk space
when installing (Colin – any feel for how much free space is needed ? – if
not I'll try to find out from Microsoft). Make sure you have enough disk space before you start to install this service pack.
- Make sure you have backups of anything crucial
on the machine before you install the service pack.
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Disclaimer:
The information contained in these pages is based on our testing with the release candidate of XP
Service Pack 2. Although this information is based on "best practices" as judged by the authors,
Software Toolbox and the authors of this document assume no responsibility or direct, indirect, or
consequential liability for its accuracy or suitability for a users particular application. The reader is
responsible for proper application to their particular situation and for the decision to deploy Windows XP SP2 in their environment.
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