To ensure adequate performance, make sure that computers on which you install Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, meet the following requirements:

• For an x86-based computer:
  
  
  • One or more processors with a recommended minimum speed of 550 MHz (minimum supported speed is 133 MHz). A maximum of four processors per computer is supported. Processors from the Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processors are recommended.
    
    
  • 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended minimum (128 MB minimum supported; 4 gigabytes (GB) maximum).
    
    
• For an x64-based computer:
  
  
  • One or more processors with a minimum speed of 1.4 GHz. A maximum of four processors per computer is supported.
    
    
  • 512 MB of RAM minimum.
    
    

For computers with more than 4 GB of RAM, be sure to check the hardware compatibility information in the Windows Catalog at:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=37824

• A hard disk partition or volume with enough free space to accommodate the setup process. To ensure that you have flexibility in your later use of the operating system, it is recommended that you allow considerably more space than the minimum required for running Setup, which is approximately 1.25 GB to 2 GB for x86-based versions of Windows Server 2003, and 4 GB for x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003. The larger amount of space is required if you are running Setup across a network instead of from a CD-ROM, or if you are installing on a FAT or FAT32 partition (NTFS is the recommended file system).
  
  

• VGA or higher-resolution monitor (Super VGA 800x600 or higher recommended), keyboard, and (optionally) a mouse or other pointing device.
  
  As an alternative, for operation without a monitor or keyboard, you can choose a remote diagnostic and support processor that is designed for products in the Windows Server 2003 family. For details, see the hardware compatibility information in the Windows Catalog at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37824
  
  

For CD-ROM installation:

• A CD-ROM or DVD drive.
  
  

For network installation:

• One or more network adapters and related cables that are designed for products in the Windows Server 2003 family. For details, see the hardware compatibility information in the Windows Catalog at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37824
  
  
• A server from which to offer network access for the Setup files.
  
  

For additional hardware-based functionality:

• Appropriate hardware for the functionality you require. For example, if you require sound, you must have a compatible sound card with speakers or headphones, and if you plan to support network clients, the servers and clients must have appropriate network adapters and cables. For details about your hardware, see the hardware compatibility information in the Windows Catalog at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37824
  
  

One of the most important steps to take before installing a server is to confirm that your hardware is compatible with products in the Windows Server 2003 family. You can do this by running a preinstallation compatibility check from the Setup CD or by checking the hardware compatibility information at the Windows Catalog Web site. Also, as part of confirming hardware compatibility, check to see that you have obtained updated hardware device drivers and an updated system BIOS.

Regardless of whether you run a preinstallation compatibility check, Setup checks hardware and software compatibility at the beginning of an installation and displays a report if there are incompatibilities.

Setting up a computer so that you can choose between two or more operating systems at startup does have an advantage: it allows you to use applications that run only with a particular operating system. However, there are definite reasons to install only one operating system:

• Each operating system uses valuable disk space.
  
  
• Compatibility issues, especially file system compatibility, can be complex. For more information, see "Multiple Operating Systems and File System Compatibility" later in this topic.
  
  
• On a dynamic disk (a storage type available with products in the Windows Server 2003 family), you can have only one operating system per disk. Dynamic disks also will not work with some operating systems. For more information, see the table in the previous section, "Deciding Whether a Computer Will Contain More Than One Operating System."
  
  
• It is no longer necessary to maintain multiple operating systems as a safeguard against problems with starting the computer. With products in the Windows Server 2003 family, you have other options for system recovery. For example, if you have a problem with a newly installed device driver, you can use Safe Mode, in which Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, restarts with default settings and the minimum number of drivers.
  
  

Before you decide to set up a computer with more than one operating system, review the following restrictions.

On computers that contain multiple operating systems, compatibility becomes more complex when you consider file system choices. The file systems to choose from are NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. (For more information, see "Choosing a File System for the Installation Partition" later in this topic.)

NTFS is normally the recommended file system because it is more efficient and reliable, and supports important features including Active Directory and domain-based security. With NTFS, however, you need to take file system compatibility into account when considering whether to set up a computer to contain more than one operating system, because with Windows 2000 and the Windows Server 2003 family, NTFS has new features in addition to those in Windows NT. Files that use any new features will be completely usable or readable only when the computer is started with Windows 2000 or a product in the Windows Server 2003 family. For example, a file that uses the new encryption feature will not be readable when the computer is started with Windows NT Server 4.0, which was released before the encryption feature existed. (For more information about features that affect file accessibility with products in the Windows Server 2003 family, see "NTFS" later in this topic.)

Using NTFS as the only file system on a computer that contains both Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, and Windows NT is not recommended. On these computers, a FAT partition containing the Windows NT 4.0 operating system ensures that when started with Windows NT 4.0, the computer will have access to needed files. In addition, if Windows NT is not installed on the system partition, which is almost always the first partition on the disk, it is recommended that the system partition also be formatted with FAT.

If you set up a computer so that it starts with Windows NT 3.51 or earlier on a FAT partition, and Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, on an NTFS partition, when that computer starts with Windows NT 3.51, the NTFS partition will not be visible. If you set up a computer this way, and the partition containing Windows NT 3.51 is not the system partition (which is almost always the first partition on the disk), the system partition must also be formatted with FAT.

If you plan to set up a computer so that it contains Windows NT 4.0 and Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, first review the following precautions:

• It is no longer necessary to maintain multiple operating systems as a safeguard against problems with starting the computer. With products in the Windows Server 2003 family, you have other options for system recovery. For example, if you have a problem with a newly installed device driver, you can use Safe Mode, in which Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, restarts with default settings and the minimum number of drivers.
  
  
• Using NTFS as the only file system on a computer that contains both Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, and Windows NT is not recommended. Follow the guidelines in "Multiple Operating Systems and File System Compatibility" earlier in this topic.
  
  
• Make sure that Windows NT 4.0 has been updated with the latest released Service Pack. For details, see "Multiple Operating Systems and File System Compatibility" earlier in this topic.
  
  
• Install each operating system on a different partition, and install the applications used with an operating system on the same partition with it. If an application is used with two different operating systems, install it on two partitions.
  
  
• Do not install Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, on a compressed drive unless the drive was compressed with the NTFS file system compression feature.
  
  
• Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, must be installed last. Otherwise important files that are needed for starting Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, could be overwritten.
  
  
• If the computer participates in a domain, use a different computer name for each installation.
  
  

If you set up a server so that it contains some combination of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, with Windows 2000 or Windows XP, or contains multiple partitions with products in the Windows Server 2003 family, and you want to use the Encrypting File System (EFS) on the computer, you must take certain steps. These steps make encrypted files readable between the different installations.

• One approach is to ensure that all the installations are in the same domain and that the user of these installations has a roaming profile.
  
  
• Another approach is to export the user’s file encryption certificate and associated private key from one installation and import it into the other installations.
  
  

For more information about EFS, roaming user profiles, and importing and exporting certificates, see Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

Back to Top

If you have a FAT or FAT32 partition on which you want to install a product in the Windows Server 2003 family, and you want to use NTFS instead, you have two choices:

• You can convert the FAT or FAT32 partition to NTFS. This leaves files intact, although the partition may have somewhat more fragmentation and slower performance than a partition formatted with NTFS. However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted.
  
  If you install a product in the Windows Server 2003 family on a FAT or FAT32 partition, you are offered the option to convert the partition to NTFS. You can also convert a FAT or FAT32 partition after Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER.
  
  
• You can reformat the partition with NTFS. This erases all files on the partition, but results in less fragmentation and better performance than with a converted partition.
  
  

If you format a partition during Setup, the file systems choices are listed as NTFS and FAT. The following table provides information about the relationship between partition size and file system choices during Setup.

If you format a partition during Setup, you can choose between a quick format and a full format:

Quick format   Quick format creates the file system structure on the disk without verifying the integrity of every sector. Choose this method for any disk that has no bad sectors and no history of file-corruption problems that might be related to bad sectors.

Full format   A full format identifies and tracks bad sectors so that they are not used for storing data. Choose this method for any disk that has bad sectors or has a history of file-corruption problems that might be related to bad sectors.

NTFS has always been a more powerful file system than FAT and FAT32. Windows 2000, Windows XP, and the Windows Server 2003 family include a new version of NTFS, with support for a variety of features including Active Directory, which is needed for domains, user accounts, and other important security features. For more details about features in NTFS, see "NTFS" later in this topic.

FAT and FAT32 are similar to each other, except that FAT32 is designed for larger disks than FAT. The file system that works most easily with large disks is NTFS.

The following table describes the compatibility of each file system with various operating systems.

The following table compares disk and file sizes possible with each file system.

This section provides background information about the features available with NTFS. Some of these features include:

• Better scalability to large drives. The maximum partition or volume size for NTFS is much greater than that for FAT, and as volume or partition sizes increase, performance with NTFS does not degrade as it does with FAT.
  
  
• Active Directory (and domains, which are part of Active Directory). With Active Directory, you can view and control network resources easily. With domains, you can fine-tune security options while keeping administration simple. Domain controllers and Active Directory require NTFS.
  
  
• Compression features, including the ability to compress or uncompress a drive, a folder, or a specific file. (However, a file cannot be both compressed and encrypted at the same time.)
  
  
• File encryption, which greatly enhances security. (However, a file cannot be both compressed and encrypted at the same time.)
  
  
• Permissions that can be set on individual files rather than just folders.
  
  
• Remote Storage, which provides an extension to your disk space by making removable media such as tapes more accessible. (This feature is not included with Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, or with Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.)
  
  
• Recovery logging of disk activities, which allows NTFS to restore information quickly in the event of power failure or other system problems.
  
  
• Sparse files. These are very large files created by applications in such a way that only limited disk space is needed. That is, NTFS allocates disk space only to the portions of a file that are written to.
  
  
• Disk quotas, which you can use to monitor and control the amount of disk space used by individual users.
  
  

For information about converting or reformatting a FAT or FAT32 partition, see "Reformatting or Converting a Partition to Use NTFS" earlier in this topic.

Back to Top

If you plan to use Remote Installation Services on this server so that you can install operating systems onto other computers, a separate partition for use by Remote Installation Services is necessary. Plan on using NTFS on this partition: NTFS is required for the Single Instance Store feature of Remote Installation Services.

If you need to create a new partition for Remote Installation Services, plan on doing it after Setup, and leave enough unpartitioned disk space so that you can create it (at least 4 GB of space is recommended). As an alternative, you can plan to make the disk a dynamic disk, which allows more flexibility in the use of the disk space than a basic disk. (However, if you want to have a dynamic disk on a computer that contains more than one operating system, see "Deciding Whether a Computer Will Contain More Than One Operating System" earlier in this topic.)

For more information about Remote Installation Services and about disk and partition choices, see Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

You can change the partitions on your disk during Setup only if you are performing a new installation, not an upgrade. You can modify the partitioning of the disk after Setup by using Disk Management.

If you are performing a new installation, Setup examines the hard disk to determine its existing configuration, and then offers the following options:

• If the hard disk is unpartitioned, you can create and size the partition on which you will install a product in the Windows Server 2003 family.
  
  
• If the hard disk is partitioned but has enough unpartitioned disk space, you can create the partition for your Windows Server 2003 family product by using the unpartitioned space.
  
  
• If the hard disk has an existing partition that is large enough, you can install a product in the Windows Server 2003 family on that partition, with or without reformatting the partition first. Reformatting a partition erases all data on the partition. If you do not reformat the partition, but you do install a Windows Server 2003 family product where there is already an operating system, that operating system will be overwritten, and you must reinstall any applications you want to use with the Windows Server 2003 family product.
  
  
• If the hard disk has an existing partition, you can delete it to create more unpartitioned disk space for a partition for a product in the Windows Server 2003 family. Deleting an existing partition also erases any data on that partition.
  
  

A dynamic disk is a disk using the new storage type introduced with Windows 2000. If you changed a disk to dynamic and you want to perform a new installation on the disk, review the following.

• If you used Windows 2000 or Windows XP to change a disk with no partitions directly to a dynamic disk, you must revert the disk to basic before you can install an operating system on it.
  
  

  Caution:
  All data will be lost in the process of reverting the disk to basic, so back it up first.

  You can use Windows 2000 or Windows XP to revert the disk, or you can use the Setup program for a product in the Windows Server 2003 family. To use Windows 2000 or Windows XP, follow the instructions in Help for your operating system. To use Setup for a product in the Windows Server 2003 family, during the partitioning phase, find the dynamic disk among the list of available partitions and then delete it (which erases all data on all volumes). You will be prompted to confirm your action. After you do this, the disk will contain only unpartitioned space, and you can use Setup to create a new (basic disk) partition on it.
  
  
• If you plan to rerun Setup on a computer on which a product in the Windows Server 2003 family was already installed, and the computer contains dynamic disks, be sure to read about the limitations for installing operating systems on disks that are changed to dynamic using a product in the Windows Server 2003 family. For more information, see topics about dynamic disks and the partition table in Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.
  
  

With the disk management technologies in Windows NT 4.0, you could create volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity, each with specific capabilities and limitations. By using the dynamic disk technology introduced with Windows 2000, you can use similar technologies, with the added flexibility of being able to extend disk volumes without repartitioning or reformatting.

This transition from the technologies used in Windows NT 4.0 means that you must make certain choices before running Setup for Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. Any volume sets, mirror sets, stripe sets, or stripe sets with parity that you created with Windows NT 4.0 are not supported in Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, although they were supported to a limited extent in Windows 2000.

If you used Windows NT 4.0 to create a volume set, mirror set, stripe set, or stripe set with parity, and you want to run Setup for Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, on that computer, you must choose one of the following methods.

As outlined in the preceding section, using TCP/IP requires that an IP address be provided for each computer. This section describes IP addressing options. For descriptions of name resolution options, which are also needed in a TCP/IP network, see "Name Resolution for TCP/IP" later in this topic.

There are two basic approaches for providing an IP address for a server you are installing:

Name resolution is a process that provides users with easy-to-remember server names, instead of requiring them to use the numerical IP addresses by which servers identify themselves on the TCP/IP network. The name-resolution services are Domain Name System (DNS) and Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).

With Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; or Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, servers in a domain can have one of two roles: domain controllers, which contain matching copies of the user accounts and other Active Directory data in a given domain, and member servers, which belong to a domain but do not contain a copy of the Active Directory data. (A server that belongs to a workgroup, not a domain, is called a stand-alone server.) It is possible to change the role of a server back and forth from domain controller to member server (or stand-alone server), even after Setup is complete. However, it is recommended that you plan your domain before running Setup and change server roles (and server names) only when necessary.

Multiple domain controllers provide better support for users, compared to a single domain controller. With multiple domain controllers, you have multiple copies of user account data and other Active Directory data; however, it is still important to perform regular backups, including Automated System Recovery backups, and familiarize yourself with the methods for restoring a domain controller. In addition, multiple domain controllers work together to support domain controller functions, such as carrying out logon validations. For more information about domain controllers and other Active Directory topics, see Help and Support Center (after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support). Special Aspects of Windows Server 2003 Family Domain Controllers

As you manage your Windows Server 2003 family domains, you might want to learn more about operations master roles. This section describes operations master roles briefly.

Operations master roles are special roles that are assigned to one or more domain controllers in an Active Directory domain. The domain controllers that are assigned these roles perform operations that are single-master (not permitted to occur at different places in a network at the same time). For example, a single domain controller must oversee the creation of security identifiers for new resources (such as new computers) to ensure that the identifiers are unique.

The first domain controller installed in a domain is automatically assigned all the operations master roles. You can change the assignment of operations master roles after Setup, but in most cases this is not necessary. You will need to be particularly aware of operations masters roles if problems develop on an operations master or if you plan to take one out of service. You can find more information in Help and Support Center. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

For information about upgrading a domain, see "Getting Ready for an Upgrade: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition," on your Setup CD.

For detailed information about domains and forests, operations master roles, the global catalog, and other Active Directory topics, see Help and Support Center, which is available after you install (or upgrade to) a product in the Windows Server 2003 family on your first server. To open Help and Support Center, after completing Setup, click Start, and then click Help and Support.

For information about setting up multiple domains with structured relationships, see the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit. You can view the Windows Deployment and Resource Kits on the Web at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=29883

Back to Top