Microsoft Windows Server Administration Essentials

Tom Carpenter

• Publisher: Sybex
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781118016862
• eBook ISBN: 9781118148693
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Networking
• Index: Computer Science

The core concepts and technologies you need to administer a Windows Server OS

Administering a Windows operating system (OS) can be a difficult topic to grasp, particularly if you are new to the field of IT. This full-color resource serves as an approachable introduction to understanding how to install a server, the various roles of a server, and how server performance and maintenance impacts a network.

With a special focus placed on the new Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certificate, the straightforward, easy-to-understand tone is ideal for anyone new to computer administration looking to enter the IT field. Each chapter offers a clear and concise look at the core Windows administration concepts you need to know to gain an understanding of these difficult topics.

• Offers a clear, no-nonsense approach to administering a Windows operating system and presents it in such a way that IT beginners will confidently comprehend the subject matter
• Targets the MTA 98-365 exam by covering Windows Server installation, server roles, storage, and active directory infrastructure
• Provides you with a solid foundation of various networking topics so that you can gain a strong understanding of Windows Server administration concepts
• Includes review questions and suggested labs to further enhance your learning process

With this book by your side, you will be armed with the core concepts and technologies needed to administer a Windows Server operating system.

CHAPTER 1
Windows Server Overview

Servers play a vital role on modern business computing networks. They provide such important services as e-mail, file storage, collaboration, and security. This chapter introduces you to servers in general and Microsoft Windows Server in specific. You will learn about the differences between servers and clients and the different designs of today’s server hardware. Next, you will learn about the different roles servers play on modern computing networks and why these roles are important. Finally, you will explore the specifics of Windows Server. You will learn about the different interfaces it provides, networking features it offers, management features it supports, and the different editions of the product that are available. The following topics will provide coverage of this information:

• Introducing Servers
• Understanding Server Roles
• Microsoft Windows Server Features

Introducing Servers

If you want to understand Windows servers, you must begin by understanding servers in general. In this section, you will learn what servers are, how they differ from clients, and the various shapes and sizes in which they are manufactured. I will begin by defining what a server is so that you can keep this definition in mind as you read through the rest of this book.

Understanding Server Concepts

Computer networks are used to provide communications between computing devices. The computing devices include network infrastructure hardware devices, such as routers, switches, and firewalls. They also include clients and servers. Servers are used to provide services to the networked devices.

Servers must be connected to a network so that other devices (clients) can consume their services. These networks may include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and any other type of network on which the servers communicate. In the early days of computing, a server often sat on the other end of a telephone line allowing only one user to connect at a time. Even though this is not efficient, it still represents a network being used to access a server. The telephone line created the network connection between the client and the server.

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A modem is a modulator and demodulator that uses the telephone network to carry digital data as analog signals.

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The services provided by a server include three primary categories of service:

Network Services Network services include any service that exists to provide network functionality. For example, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to provide Internet Protocol (IP) configuration settings that allow client devices to communicate on the network. Another example is the Domain Name System (DNS) server service, which resolves Internet-like domain names to IP addresses. These Internet-like names are called hostnames.

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DNS names look like mypc.domain.name or yourpc.domain.name. The leftmost portion is the host name and the rest is the domain name. Together they form a fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

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Security Services Security services include those services that provide authentication, authorization, confidentiality, or some form of protection to the network and networked devices. An example of a security service is the Active Directory Domain Service (AD DS), which could also be partially categorized as a network service. AD DS provides the user accounts that are used to log on to Windows Server-based networks. When these accounts are used for logon processes, authentication is performed and authentication is a security service. An additional security service is the IPSec Policy Service, which enforces security settings for Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications.

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Because they provide more than one type of service, some services can be placed in multiple categories of service.

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Information Services Information services include any service that provides information access, information management, or information processing. For example, the Microsoft SQL Server service provides database access and database management. This functionality qualifies SQL Server as an information service. Microsoft SharePoint is another example of an information service. It provides for information storage and retrieval, as well as collaboration.

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You will learn more about services in Chapter 4.

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Understanding Client/Server Concepts

The...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1: Windows Server Overview
• CHAPTER 2: Installing Windows Servers
• CHAPTER 3: Managing Windows Server Storage
• CHAPTER 4: Administering Services
• CHAPTER 5: Active Directory Infrastructure
• CHAPTER 6: Configuring Active Directory
• CHAPTER 7: Managing Active Directory
• CHAPTER 8: Group Policy Management
• CHAPTER 9: Application Servers
• CHAPTER 10: Internet Information Services (IIS)
• CHAPTER 11: File and Print Servers
• CHAPTER 12: Remote Access Technologies
• CHAPTER 13: Server Troubleshooting
• CHAPTER 14: Performance Tuning
• CHAPTER 15: Server Maintenance
• Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
• Appendix B: Microsoft’s Certification Program
• Appendix C: Answers for Additional Exercises
• Glossary
• Index
• End User License Agreement