How to upgrade Processor support in Windows 2000? 2

[butchrecon]

Just need some instructions on upgrading a Single processor system to dual processor.
James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

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[isguyatlanta]

Does the board support it? If so - the manufacturer will provide you with information as to what processors can be dual on that board.

 

[butchrecon]

The issue is not what processors or if the board supports dual. I am familiar with computers. I have never UPGRADED a Windows 2000 Server from single to multiprocessor. I just need to find out how it is done. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

Step 1. Log on to the W2K machine with Administrator privileges.

Step 2. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and open the System applet.

Step 3. Click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager. Expand the Computer branch. You see a line describing a single-processor PC.

Step 4. Double-click this line, then click the Driver tab, then Update Driver, Next. Display the list of known drivers, then click Next and click "Show all hardware of this device class." Select the same type of computer you have, but choose a "multiprocessor PC." Click Next, then Finish, and you're done.

See also Q237556 and Q234558 for more info.
CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[GndPrx]

Go to Computer Manager (Right click My Computer and choose Manage) and choose Device Manager

Under your computer name, expand the Computer branch and you should now see something along the lines of Uniprocessor PC

Open the properties of that item and choose Driver and Update Driver.

From here it is just like updating any other driver, you can either use the autodetect which should find the new processor or manually search for the multiprocessor driver.

Carl

 

[butchrecon]

Thanks fellas. I had those instructions, just double checking. Thanks for your assistance.

Citrix
On another note. For Terminal Server I agree that it should not be set up on an Active Directory DC. Problem is upper Management does not under stand. Can you give me your thoughts on it? James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

It's fairly simple, really;

An Active Directory is essentially a database. The server has far too much work to do without the overheads of Terminal Services.

Conversely, Terminal Services requires all the resources it can get. If another service is taking those resources, there are less for the end users.

Calculate it like this;

W2k Server takes up to 256Mb RAM for the O/S alone. I know the official figure is around 128Mb, but just use perfmon to get a good idea of the base level you need.

Each user requires at least 32Mb. If you've got 20 users, that's 640Mb. Add that to your base O/S, we're talking the best part of 1Gb RAM.

Ignoring RAM, Databases use a lot of processor resource. On a single processor W2k server, you might expect to get 25 users or so in Terminal Server sessions, if you have 1Gb RAM. If a database is running, this can go down to single figures, depending on the database.

Next, hard disk activity. Databases really hit hard disks. So do 25 users. A Terminal Server should really be using a UW SCSI RAID controller with a pair of mirrored disks at minimum.

Last (on my list, but not exhaustive), network bandwidth.

The terminal server sessions won't use much - they are optimised for minimum network usage. Only Citrix MetaFrame uses less. However, as soon as the users want to print, copy and paste, or use any of the other virtual channel stuff, bandwidth per session can increase.

All of this can be measured (and printable reports can be made) using perfmon - so you can give your boss hard copies of the evidence.

Upgrading the server won't help much.

Most Citrix servers I build are dual processor with 2-4Gb RAM and have redundant RAID controllers. They never do anything but provide Terminal Services, and can still encounter performance issues. Add DC to the mix, and troubleshooting will become one of your biggest nightmares!

Terminal Servers need to be rebooted regularly. A lot of people complain about this, but it's fairly obvious why; How often would you reboot your PC?

Consider that each user on a T/S running a session can be considered as a computer user, that means you can multiply uptime by the number of users on the server. In the example I use, our 20 users effectively use the T/S for 100 days in a single 5-day working week.

I could go on, if necessary...



CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[butchrecon]

Yea I know what your saying Citrix. I have shown "higher" the perfmon reports and some MS white papers. They feel that since the AD Servers in the field do only Authentication and some OTG scanning functionality that they should be fine for TS. The system will have dual 1gigs with 1.5G of RAM. Thats great for TS. But when I add in the AD functions and OTG scanning functions we could be pushing the server a little harder than I would like to. Any way thanks for the advice and glad to see you are still around. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.