Software

The latest patches and service packs should always be applied to server computers under the control of a reliable scheduling mechanism. Virus checking is very important at least through to the Transport Unpacking server because raw content from outside the Gateway reaches this point without prior examination. Migration from Windows 2000 Server to Advanced Server and on to DataCenter Server requires more administration but is otherwise relatively trouble free. The main transition is from single servers to server clusters and the configuration of network load balancing. Since some of the services require state information, the design has to allow for the possibility that the server or even cluster providing core navigation services may not itself hold the state information for the user session. Different approaches are possible, including a separate server function to manage sessions and state. Another workable alternative is to have the accounting server manage the session and attach any needed context and pass it on to stateless navigation servers.

As usual, all unneeded Windows services, users, and groups should be removed from each server in order to reduce complexity, increase performance, and eliminate potential security problems.

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