NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DAVE KEARNS ON WINDOWS NETWORKING TIPS 08/23/04 Today's focus: When is it safe to install Windows XP Service Pack 2?
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * Windows XP Service Pack 2 drama * Links related to Windows Networking Tips * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Alterpoint Read the latest analyst report on Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) written by EMA's Dennis Drogseth. This report discusses the latest developments in the NCCM market, including an in-depth look at DeviceAuthority Suite, a comprehensive solution for configuring, changing, and controlling today's complex, multi-vendor IT network infrastructures. Download the report today to learn how you can leverage NCCM to reduce the cost and complexity of managing network change. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=73315 _______________________________________________________________ CONTEMPLATING A CAREER MOVE? For many of us, it is time to contemplate a change. You're great at managing networks, but what about your career? Get information and advice for managing and developing your career and guiding your staff's career choices at NW Fusion's Career Research Center. Click here: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=73239 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: When is it safe to install Windows XP Service Pack 2? By Dave Kearns The uproar and consternation surrounding the release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP continues. What I find remarkable is that this conglomeration of patches is causing more consternation in the tech community than the security flaws the patches were designed to overcome. Microsoft has released a list of more than 200 software applications (many games, lots of anti-virus and spam-filtering tools but also standard business software such as PageMaker, Arcserve - and Microsoft Office) whose default behavior will be broken by the installation of SP2. See the editorial link below for a list of apps that may experience problems. Another Microsoft article discusses what to do if an application or service fails after installing SP2 (see editorial link below). It all began when Microsoft released a document advising that "The best way to ensure you get Windows XP Service Pack 2 when it is released is by turning on Automatic Updates today" (see editorial link below). Shortly after, Gates and company bowed to the wishes of their corporate customers and instituted ways to delay the release of the patchwork update to the Automatic Updates service that Microsoft has been touting as a major security improvement to its operating systems. It was just a year ago, in fact, that Microsoft was pushing everyone to install the Automatic Updates service to automate the distribution of patches and fixes. It seems that not only will SP2 require changes to the services and applications you use, but also the Automatic Updates service can easily choke when trying to download the 257M-byte patch file to all your servers and desktops. Unpacking and installing the massive file will also tie up most CPU cycles on a machine for quite some time. Would you want that to happen to all of your users at 9 a.m. Monday? Or, to put it another way, do you like seeing your phone lit up like a Christmas tree? For four months (through mid-December), you can block the automated download and installation while managing the rollout on your own. After that, the automated release will begin. If you have managed to install SP2 by then, expect to spend the Christmas holidays fixing, configuring and even re-installing operating systems, applications and services throughout your network. There are three methods offered by Microsoft to disable automated patching: an executable file (to run on each XP computer to change a registry setting); a group policy template (to apply to Active Directory); or a URL embedded in an e-mail message to each user. I especially like that last one - we've spent many months trying to convince users NOT to click on links or attachments in e-mail even if they think they know the sender, but now we're supposed to expect they will click on this one. Most likely they will, as the preaching about viruses hasn't seemed to sink in with many of them! To reiterate what I've said before (and hopefully won't have to repeat again), if your network is protected installing SP2 to your desktops can be a slow, deliberate process. First, work out all the kinks in the lab and only then (and after the foolhardy have rushed to install it and suffered the consequences) should you consider moving it out to your users. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Programs that are known to experience a loss of functionality when they run on a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer Microsoft.com http://www.nwfusion.com/nlwnt522 Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2 Microsoft.com http://www.nwfusion.com/nlwnt523 Get ready for Windows XP Service Pack 2 Microsoft.com http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx Netscape upgrade could attract browser converts Network World, 08/23/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0823mozilla.html?nl2 New Microsoft server tightens integration Network World, 08/23/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/082304mshost.html?nl2 _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Dave Kearns Dave Kearns is a writer and consultant in Silicon Valley. He's written a number of books including the (sadly) now out of print "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networks." His musings can be found at Virtual Quill <http://www.vquill.com/>. Kearns is the author of three Network World Newsletters: Windows Networking Tips, Novell NetWare Tips, and Identity Management. Comments about these newsletters should be sent to him at these respective addresses: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Kearns provides content services to network vendors: books, manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing, technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill provides "words to sell by..." Find out more by e-mail at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Alterpoint Read the latest analyst report on Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) written by EMA's Dennis Drogseth. This report discusses the latest developments in the NCCM market, including an in-depth look at DeviceAuthority Suite, a comprehensive solution for configuring, changing, and controlling today's complex, multi-vendor IT network infrastructures. Download the report today to learn how you can leverage NCCM to reduce the cost and complexity of managing network change. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=73314 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Breaking Windows networking news from Network World, updated daily: http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/win2000.html Archive of the Windows Networking Tips newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/nt/index.html _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Oracle An Economist Intelligence Unit White Paper: From Grid to Great? Grid computing is breaking out. Familiar mostly to academics, government groups, and scientific researchers, this technology that links together the power of diverse computers to create powerful, fast and flexible systems is beginning to catch on in the corporate world. Included in this white paper, results and interviews from a global survey among Sr Executives, click to download now http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=75674 _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE WONDERING IF YOUR PAY IS UP TO SNUFF? Check out Network World's 2004 Salary Calculator to see if you're getting paid what you're worth. Using data collected in the 2004 Network World Salary Survey, we've programmed this calculator with several categories that could affect your pay. Answer the questions and find out what the average salary is for your job category. 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