Hardware Requirements

When selecting a computer for use as a PDC or BDC, use the hardware guidelines in Table 2.7, below. The table assumes that the computers will function only as PDCs and that no other major Windows NT operations will occur, such as moderate file server, SQL server, SNA server, and remote access server. All numbers are in megabytes (MB) and it is assumed that the computer's pagefile size is at least 250 MB.

Table 2.7 Domain Controller Hardware Requirements

SAM Size

Registry Size

Paged Pool


Minimum CPU Needed


Pagefile


RAM

5

25 (default)

50 (default)

486dx/33

32

16

10

25

50

486dx/33

64

32

15

25

50

Pentium, MIPS, Alpha AXP

96

48

20

30

75

Pentium, MIPS, Alpha AXP

128

64

30

50

100

Pentium, MIPS, Alpha AXP

256

128

45

75

128

Pentium, MIPS, Alpha AXP

332

166

60

102

128

SMP

394

197

75

102

128

SMP

512

256


For more information, refer to Large Domain Testing Overview, available from Microsoft Product Support Services.