We must concentrate our available staff on preventing and repairing Y2K problems, rather than consuming them in testing or reporting. Issues for specific communities Server systems and networks provide the infrastructure for our desktop and laboratory systems. This is the first priority for support staff. Administrative desktop systems present the lowest risk among our systems. Instructional laboratories frequently contain large collections of identical computers, each with a limited software suite.
Economies of scale apply here.
Local support staff should thoroughly test a prototype machine well in advance, allowing adequate time to obtain fixes and propagate them. Disk replication, such as Ghost for the PC, or server-based distribution should be used to minimize labor and assure consistency among the machines. Research facilities contain the greatest variety of hardware and software, including many computer systems embedded in laboratory instruments. It is frequently difficult or impossible to upgrade operating system versions, upgrade to new hardware, or otherwise modify the computing environment. Research labs have an enormous investment in their accumulated data.