Sample Planning Worksheets

Scalability and Availability

At one time, faster CPUs and network adapters were the traditional benchmarks of network performance. In the future, more efficient read/write capabilities, improved input/output (I/O) performance, and faster disk access will be equally important characteristics of network architectures. Environments that require mission-critical computers can now use the extended capabilities of Windows 2000. Table A.7 highlights Windows 2000 features that will assist you in improving network scalability and availability.

Table A.7 Scalability and Availability

Feature	Role of this feature within my organization
Enterprise Memory Architecture Windows 2000 Advanced Server allows you to access up to 32 gigabytes (GB)of memory on processors.
Improved symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) scalability Windows 2000 Advanced Server has been optimized for eight-way SMP servers.
Cluster service Allows two or more servers to work together as a single system.
Intelligent Input/Output (I2O) support I2O relieves the host of interrupt-intensive I/O tasks by offloading processing from main CPUs.
Terminal Services Through terminal emulation, Terminal Services allows the same set of applications to run on diverse types of client hardware, including thin clients, older computers, or clients not running Windows. It can also be used as a remote administration option.
Network Load Balancing Combines up to 32 servers running Windows 2000 Advanced Server into a single load balancing cluster. It is used most often to distribute incoming Web requests among its cluster of Internet server applications.
IntelliMirror IntelliMirror allows users to have their data, applications, and settings follow them when they are not connected to the network.

For more information about deploying Windows 2000 Cluster service, see "Ensuring the Availability of Applications and Services" in this book.

For more information about Terminal Services, see "Deploying Terminal Services;" in this book.