Hello,
We currently have around 350 pc's with Windows 2000 on them, I suggested
that we should upgrade all the machines to XP but I'm starting to think that
it would be too much hassle for us to do without getting much back in return.
Can anyone outline advantages and disadvantages of having XP rather then 2000?
Many thanks,
Omar
Omar,
Windows XP is Windows NT V5.1, and Windows 2000 is Windows NT V5.0. So you're
not alone in questioning the need for upgrading blindly.
While support for Windows 2000 Server mainstream support is promised thru June
2005, and security hotfixes thru March, 2010, support for Windows 2000 Desktop
will not continue that long. The Technet (Windows 2000 Online Product
Documentation) pages for Windows 2000 Professional Desktop already have been
removed from the website.
<
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/support/lifecycle/>
<
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/support/onlinedocs/default.asp>
If you have 350 computers, I suspect that it's in your best interests to
upgrade. Since XP is only a small versional difference from 2K (V5.1 as
opposed to V5.0), I suspect that you'll find that the compatibility difference
is only slight. I imagine that you'll find applying SP2 to XP to be almost as
challenging, as upgrading from NT V5.0 to V5.1.
Security is a major problem in any network today; with 350 computers, I suspect
that you already know that. With Windows XP being the current desktop operating
system, and preparing to move towards marketing Longhorn, Microsoft will be
putting less and less resources towards maintaining security for Windows 2000
Desktop each year.
My advice: Upgrade as soon as possible.
--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.
