Sams Teach Yourself MCSE Windows NT Server 4 in 14 Days
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): David Schaer, et al
ISBN: 0672311283
Publication Date: 12/15/97

A specific piece of hardware may be found compatible, but not necessarily across all hardware platforms. For example, the same network card that might be approved for use on an Intel x86-based system might not be approved on a DEC Alpha, MIPS, or PowerPC.

3.2.2. Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for NT will vary based on what the system will be used for. A system running Microsoft SQL and servicing 500 users has greater hardware requirements than a system that is being used solely to provide file and print services to a few dozen people. Because hardware requirements can vary so drastically based on function, the tests are forced to focus on minimum requirements.

Intel x86 Installation Requirements

The Intel x86-based systems (80486, Pentium) are the most common systems used to run NT Server 4.0. Because of this it is reasonable to expect the exam to place more attention on this platform than on the RISC.

Be sure to know the minimum installation requirements for an x86 system. They are A 486DX/33 or above 16MB of RAM 130MB of free disk space VGA or better video capabilities CD-ROM or access to files via a network A FAT or NTFS partition for installation

Processor Requirements NT requires a 486DX/33 or above. NT also supports systems with multiple processors. NT Workstation supports two, and NT Server supports four. Various OEM versions of NT running on specialized hardware have been designed to support up to 32 processors.

Memory Requirements The minimum amount of memory you can have is 16MB. The terms random access memory (RAM) and physical memory will be used interchangeably.

RAM is the focus of many performance issues in Chapter 11, “Configuring and Optimizing NT 4.0 Services.” A system with a slower processor yet a large amount of RAM can often outperform systems with faster processors and less memory.

Hard Disk Space Requirements The minimum hard disk space requirement, 130MB, is listed for a system with 16MB of physical memory. Certain configurations of NT require additional hard disk space. Configuring a large paging file for emulating physical memory on a hard disk requires a hard disk of greater capacity. The default pagefile size is the amount of RAM plus 12MB—the minimum pagefile size is 2MB. Configuring the recovery option of writing system memory to a dump file (%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP) when a system failure occurs requires a pagefile on the system partition at least equal to the amount of RAM in the computer.

Video Requirements The system must support VGA or greater resolution. You will be asked to test the video driver and resolution during the installation.

It is better to install the standard VGA driver during installation. After you have finished the installation, then you can install the specific drivers for your video adapter card.

You must use the video drivers for NT 4.0. Video is handled differently in NT 4.0 than in previous versions of NT, and video drivers from NT 3.x are not compatible. This is true also of Windows 95 drivers; they cannot be used as the drivers for NT 4.0 systems.

Installation Media Requirements There are only two installation methods for NT 4.0, CD-ROM or via a network. The CD-ROM drive may use either a SCSI or supported IDE controller.

In certain systems that support booting from the CD-ROM you might not need to boot from a floppy disk to begin the installation. Because a majority of systems do not support this feature, NT Server comes with three floppy disks that are used to initialize the CD-ROM under a limited character-based version of NT.

Installation from a shared network device is supported for systems that do not have a local CD-ROM drive. Performing multiple installations or upgrades is often easier using the across-the-network method.

The fastest method for installing NT is via a network share. In fact, you can point to multiple shares to speed the installation even more.

Primary File System Requirements On an Intel x86-based machine the system partition can be either FAT or NTFS. Either file system is supported because the NTLDR file initializes the mini-file system drivers to provide support for both on bootup.

RISC-Specific Issues

The same hardware requirements as for x86-based computers must be met when installing NT Server 4.0 on a RISC-based computer with the addition of a SCSI CD-ROM and a 2MB FAT partition.

Because RISC-based computers do not include the NTLDR file found on x86-based NT installations, the mini-file system drivers required for NTFS access are not initialized at boot time.

A RISC-based computer requires the following additional items: SCSI CD-ROM A minimum of a 2MB FAT partition