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If I want to add new Windows NT services to an existing installation, do I need to add them from the NT installation CD-ROM, then reload all service packs to update the core NT installation? Do I need to uninstall all service packs before to adding a new service?
You can add new services that require the NT installation CD-ROM at any time, and you don't need to remove a service pack before adding those services. However, you need to reapply the service pack whenever you use the installation CD-ROM to install new software. A service pack simply copies new versions of NT program files to the NT installation directories (after backing up the old versions if you've requested a backup). When you install a new service from the CD-ROM, the installation process might overwrite a file that the service pack has updated. Even more likely, the service pack includes updated versions of some files, but they don't copy to the computer when you install the service pack if the original files don't exist on the system.
To be safe, whenever you install new software that copies files from the original NT installation CD-ROM, reapply the service pack so that you know you're running the most recent versions of the programs. If you applied hotfixes after a service pack installation, remember to reapply the hotfixes if you reinstall the service pack. The service pack reinstallation most likely wrote over files that the hotfix replaced.
I don't recommend adding services just because you think you might use them in the future. Each service drains system resources, and some services have a significant impact on busy systems. For example, Network Monitor and the diskperf -y switch are two services that affect system performance, even when monitoring isn't active.
On my network, one PC runs Windows NT Server 4.0 and the other PCs run NT Workstation 4.0. The network's name is workgroup. When the server and workstations boot, the message Can't see workgroup appears. When the workstations aren't active, the server sees itself as workgroup. However, if a workstation is active, the server displays an error message. Any suggestions?
Your symptoms suggest that you've set up the server as a domain controller for the workgroup domain and the workstations as members of a workgroup also called workgroup. This conflicting use of the name workgroup explains why the server can boot alone but experiences an error upon boot when it finds a workgroup using its domain name.
I recommend you let the server be a domain controller, then join all the workstations to its domain. Alternatively, you can reinstall NT Server on the system so that the server isn't a domain controller but rather a member server. Then, configure the server to be a member of the workgroup called workgroup.
How can I determine the average bandwidth that Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition (WTS) client sessions use when I'm capacity planning?
In its "Terminal Server Capacity Planning" white paper (http://technet.microsoft.com/cdonline/content/complete/windows/winnt/termsrv/prodfact/tscap.htm), Microsoft claims that you can use a figure of 2Kbps to 6Kbps per user to estimate the WTS client's impact on network utilization. However, this estimate isn't accurate for all customer environments. To get a more precise idea of how WTS will affect your network, you can use Network Monitor in conjunction with Performance Monitor.
On your NT server, go to the Services tab of the Control Panel Network applet and install Network Monitor Tools and Agent. This procedure adds the Network Segment object to Performance Monitor. Network Interface, the other object you'll need, installs with TCP/IP. You can use the newly provided counters under the Network Segment object to analyze the impact of your active sessions on the server. Specifically, you can use the Network Segment object's %Network Utilization counter, which displays the total bandwidth in use on a given network segment, and the Network Interface object's Bytes received/second and Bytes total/second counters, which provide the total number of bytes that the server's adapter receives or processes.
I've found that Network Monitor's %Network Utilization counter sometimes provides unreliable data, especially on Fast Ethernet/100Mbps networks. And NT Server's Network Monitor can monitor only the traffic to and from its adapter. If you want to more accurately monitor all traffic on a network segment, consider using an enhanced network monitor such as the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) version of Network Monitor or a third-party product such as Data General's NetXRay.
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