Windows XP 2008

Why can't I have Windows XP on my computer now?

Some of the important issues to be aware of are that the University standard Windows 2000 image has been exposed to stringent testing, both internal to ITS but also with Academic and Business Areas. The Windows XP installation that DMS has available for our current environment has not been tested to the same level. As a result some issues may include but are not limited to:

• ITS software remotely deployed may not work completely
• Connectivity to the Netware environment (eg Fecundity, Brio etc) may be problematic (including printing)
• University business software (ie Peoplesoft, Syllabus Plus etc) may not work fully
• Migration to the new Staff Windows Vista environment may not be able to be as automated as those running the standards. This exposes risk to the data not being transferred as reliably as part of this process.
• Standard services may not work as reliably, as to be expected due to the lesser testing

It is because of the above reasons that a strong business case needs to be provided to ITS (microscope won't work on Windows 2000 or a particular software package won't work etc).

Having said this, ITS recognises that genuine business requirements sometime justify deviation from the standards. Windows XP standard incorporating the new files, print and desktop management environments has already been released to student labs but we are still in testing phase with the new Staff Windows Vista image. This image is only being tested for the new environment (Active Directory) and will not talk to our current Novell environment.

Problematic issues like:

• remote software deployment may not work
• connection to Novell servers can be problematic
• some software you may require will not work with XP etc.

It is because of the above reasons (and more) that only XP installations with a strong technical reason can be approved.

The migration of staff will be a more complicated exercise due to considerations such as local data, email data migration (address books and local mail), peripheral device migration (such as PDA devices), server-side shared and user data. This is the reason that in the absence of a strong business case ITS recommends staff use the standard environment. It will make the migration process more automated and reliable and provide for a better end user experience.