Defining Client Administration and Configuration Standards
Defining Client Administration and Configuration Standards |
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More organizations than ever are entering new geographic markets, and users speaking many different languages are traveling in larger numbers. Multilingual users exist in almost every medium-sized or large organization in every country and region.
This creates new issues for IT administrators, such as the following:
Windows 2000 enhances support for international and multilingual computing through the use of Unicode character encoding, and National Language Support (NLS) Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), the Multilingual APIs, and Windows resource files. This multilingual technology enables Windows 2000 to support the input and display of languages used in more than 100 international locales, no matter which of 24 localized versions of Windows 2000 you are using.
In addition, Microsoft offers a separate Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version, which extends the native language support in Windows 2000 by allowing user interface languages to be changed on a per user basis.
Note
The Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version is available only to Microsoft Open License Program, Select, and Enterprise agreement customers. For more information about these programs, see the Licensing Programs for Enterprises link on the Web resources page at http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources.
The MultiLanguage Version allows administrators to:
The MultiLanguage Version does not change the language used in applications; it only changes the language used in Windows 2000 menus, dialog boxes, and Help files. A similar Microsoft® Office® 2000 MultiLanguage Pack allows organizations to simplify Office 2000 deployment options.
The Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version provides a variety of options for international and multilingual users. Table 23.9 helps you select the language options appropriate for your organization.
Table 23.9 Multilingual Features and Benefits by Version
| Feature | Single Language Version | MultiLanguage Version |
|---|---|---|
| Multingual Features for Users | Fully localized user interface includes menus, Help files, dialog boxes, and folder names. Users can input, view, and print in more than 60 languages. | Users can switch the user interface to the language they prefer. They can also input, view, and print in more than 60 languages. |
| Multilingual Features for IT Professionals | Ideal if you do not have a significant need to support more than one language version in your environment. Users can still view and edit documents in other languages. | Ideal if you need to deploy and support more than one language in your environment. For example, when you need to deploy a service pack, only one version is required. Also ideal if you need to support users speaking multiple languages on a single computer. |
You can only upgrade to the MultiLanguage Version from international English versions of Windows. If you want to replace any other language versions of Windows with the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version, you will need to perform a clean installation of the MultiLanguage Version.
There are additional version restrictions that you need to be aware of while planning an upgrade to the MultiLanguage Version. Table 23.10 provides version compatibility guidelines.
Table 23.10 MultiLanguage Version Upgrade Options
| Windows 2000 Professional MultiLanguage Version | Windows 2000 Server MultiLanguage Version | Windows 2000 Advanced Server MultiLanguage Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 3.x | -- | -- | -- |
| Windows for Workgroups | -- | -- | -- |
| Windows NT 3.51 Workstation | X | -- | -- |
| Windows NT 4.0 Workstation | X | -- | -- |
| Windows 95 | X | -- | -- |
| Windows 98 | X | -- | -- |
| Windows 2000 Professional | X | -- | -- |
| Windows NT 3.51 Server | -- | X | X |
| Windows NT 4.0 Server | -- | X | X |
| Windows 2000 Server | -- | X | -- |
| Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server | -- | X | X |
| Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition | -- | -- | X |
| Windows 2000 Advanced Server | -- | -- | X |
Addressing the following planning considerations will make your deployment of the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version more successful:
Two distinct collections of language files are necessary for the User Interface language support in the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version:
For each UI language that you install, the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version also requires the relevant language group to be installed. For example, to use the German UI, you must first install the Western Europe and United States language group.
You can install and uninstall Windows 2000 language groups during Windows 2000 Setup, and afterward from Regional Options in Control Panel. The installation and removal of the MultiLanguage Version files is a separate process from the installation of language groups.
Each additional language group that you choose to support on a single computer requires additional disk space. Table 23.11 displays the approximate amount of space required for each language group.
Table 23.11 Approximate Disk Space Required for Language Groups
| Language Group | Space Required in Megabytes (MB) (estimated) |
|---|---|
| Arabic | 1.6 |
| Armenian | 11.5 |
| Baltic | 1 |
| Central European | 1.2 |
| Cyrillic | 1.2 |
| Georgian | 5.8 |
| Greek | 1 |
| Hebrew | 1.4 |
| Indic | 0.25 |
| Japanese | 58 |
| Korean | 29.4 |
| Simplified Chinese | 32.5 |
| Thai | 3.9 |
| Traditional Chinese | 13.5 |
| Turkic | 0.9 |
| Vietnamese | 0.5 |
| Western Europe and United States | 10.1 |
Note
A number of files (primarily fonts and keyboard layouts) are shared by several language groups. Therefore, if you install multiple language groups, the total amount of space required might be slightly less than a sum of table values.
In addition, allow up to 45 MB of disk space for installation of the MultiLanguage Version files for each User Interface language you choose to install.
Installation of the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version involves two steps:
By installing the necessary language groups during the Windows 2000 Setup, before you begin installing the corresponding MultiLanguage Version files, you avoid having to swap CD-ROMs during the MultiLanguage Version installation.
The default UI language (the language applied by default to all new user accounts created on the computer) is determined when the MultiLanguage Version is set up. You can change the default UI or add or remove UI languages using the Muisetup.exe file.
Note
Adding and removing languages using Muisetup.exe affects only the MultiLanguage Version files. To add or remove the files associated with language groups, use Regional Options in Control Panel.
For more information about automating the setup of Windows 2000, see "Automating Server Installation and Upgrade" and "Using Systems Management Server to Deploy Windows 2000" in this book.
Using the MultiLanguage Version to reduce the number of client configurations in the organization can greatly simplify the job of administering clients. However, enabling all users to change the UI language on their computer can add unnecessary complexity to the environment. For this reason, you might want to restrict some users' ability to change their UI language. You can do this using Group Policy from the User Configuration node of the Group Policy snap-in.
Note also that if you apply MultiLanguage policy to a local computer using local Group Policy, the local Group Policy object will affect all users of that computer because there is no way to filter local Group Policy objects for individual users.
For more information about the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version, see the Windows 2000 Professional Multilanguage Support link on the Web Resources page at http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources.