Prerequisites for Designing the Lab

Because the lab should simulate the environment where you will deploy Windows 2000, you need information about your current and proposed environments before you can design the lab. Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS) can help you collect information about your current system. For more information about using SMS to inventory your system, see "Using Systems Management Server To Analyze Your Network Infrastructure" in this book. The information about the proposed environment should be available in the planning documents produced by the project team. In addition to a high-level understanding of Windows 2000 features and functionality, you need the following information:

• The current network design (logical and physical).
• The proposed Windows 2000 design.
• A list of features to evaluate and explore.
• An inventory of existing hardware (servers, client computers, and portable computers).
• A list of hardware proposed for Windows 2000.

  This list might evolve during testing, but you need an initial list to equip the lab.

• A list of administrative tools (Windows 2000, third party, and custom built).
• A list of the upgrades, such as service packs, drivers, and basic input/output system (BIOS), that you need to install to be ready for Windows 2000.

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