When I took 40,000 seats to 4.02, I used two complete sets of batch files and Kixtart code. I setup a test domain and copied all the current code to the netlogon share. Then placed 4.02 binaries on the netlogon share. I created accounts for all the local admins that wanted to test their and configured the account to execute the scripts.
They were responsible to test their code. After a reasonable amount of time the they had to identify any issue that the current code had with 4.02. Then the code on the server was updated to resolve those issues.
This code was setup in parallel with the current production scripts on the production domain. Then I changed 1,000 accounts every night for five days monitoring help desk calls during the week. (Very few came in.)
After that week I then started changing 5,000 per night until all accounts were running the new binaries with the slightly modified (if at all) code.
Then after a week I started changing the accounts again to execute the 4.02 binaries with the 4.02 specific KiXtart code.
I use a CRC32 check to verify that the binaries I want are on the client. I do not rely on "xcopy /d". I can back version or update any single file using this method. I also maintain different versions of KiXtart on the server in different directories. I can take the whole corporation to 4.10rc2 this morning and have then revert at the next logon by a small edit to my batch file.
The same batch can also execute two different version of Kix code based on a flag file on the client. Using this methodolgy, you test your new code on any computer as desired without changing an account.
[ 13 June 2002, 00:03: Message edited by: Howard Bullock ]
