This article contains information about things to consider when you upgrade servers in a Web farm deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. When you install a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 update, we recommend that you install the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 update to all servers in a Web farm.

Note A Web farm is sometimes referred to as a "server farm."

When you install a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 service pack or a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 hotfix, we recommend that you install the service pack or the hotfix on all the servers in your Web farm. If the servers in your Web farm deployment of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 are not running the same build of SharePoint Portal Server 2003, communications between the servers in your Web farm may be interrupted or may not work as expected.

In a Web farm deployment of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 that is configured to use shared services, where there may be too many farms to conveniently deploy a service pack or a hotfix, you do not have to install the update on all Web farms at the same time. However, you must install the update on all the servers that are located in one parent farm or in one child farm at the same time.

For more information about how to deploy, configure, and administer SharePoint Portal Server 2003, see the Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide. The Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide (Administrator's Help.chm) is located in the Docs folder in the root of the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 CD.

For more information about SharePoint Portal Server 2003, visit the following Microsoft Web site: