Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Windows Server 2008 is Microsoft's most ambitious server operating system
update since Windows 2000 Server. This new version of Windows Server is chock-full of new
tools and features designed to help administrators increase the availability of network services
while limiting security risks. This chapter discusses the editions of Windows Server 2008 and the
requirements and uses for each. In addition, you learn about the roles a server operating system
plays in a computer network and the many Windows Server 2008 features designed to fill those
roles.
Most networks are set up so that the people using computers on them can communicate with
one another easily. One of a server's functions is to facilitate communication between comput-
ers and, therefore, between people. The administrator of a computer network has the job of
configuring servers and computers on the network to provide services that facilitate this com-
munication. These services include, but aren't limited to, file sharing, device sharing (such as
printers), security, messaging, remote access, Web services, and services that work in the back-
ground to ensure a user-friendly and secure experience. One such background service is a direc-
tory service. To server administrators, it's front and center in their daily activities, but to network
users, the directory service is probably working best when they don't know it's there.
The primary focus of this topic—and, indeed, Windows Server 2008—is the Microsoft
directory service, Active Directory. Active Directory can be described as a control panel for a
Windows network where user accounts are created, network use policies are defined, and secu-
rity policies are configured, among a host of other functions. This chapter introduces you to
Active Directory as well as other Windows Server 2008 technologies and services.
A server or collection of servers is usually at the center of most business networks. The functions
a server provides depend on a number of factors, including the type of business using the server,
size of the business, and extent to which the business has committed to using technology to aid
operations. The latter factor is the crux of the matter. Technology is designed to help a person
or an organization do things more efficiently or more effectively, and a server is used to provide
services a business has deemed can help its operations. Before you explore these services in more
detail, a few definitions are in order.
When most people hear the word “server,” they conjure up visions of a large tower computer
with lots of hard drives and memory. This image is merely a computer hardware configuration
that may or may not be used as a server, however. In short, a computer becomes a server when
software is installed on it that provides a network service to client computers. In other words,
you could install certain software on an inexpensive laptop computer and make it act as a server.
By the same token, a huge tower computer with six hard drives and 16 GB of RAM could be
used as a workstation for a single user. So although some computer hardware configurations are
packaged to function as a server, and others are packaged as desktop computers, what makes a
computer a server or desktop computer is the software installed on it.
Of course, with modern operating systems (OSs), the lines between desktop and server com-
puter are blurred. OSs such as Windows Vista and its predecessors are designed to be installed on
desktop computers or workstations; to run Web browser, word processing, spreadsheet, and other
similar programs; and generally act as a personal computer. However, these OSs can perform
server functions, such as file and printer sharing, and even act as a Web server. On the other hand,
Windows Server 2008 and its predecessors are designed as
server operating systems
, but there's
nothing to stop you from installing a word processor or Web browser and using Windows Server
2008 on your desktop computer. So what are the differences between a desktop OS, such as
Windows Vista, and a server OS, such as Windows Server 2008? The following section explains.
Both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista can perform some server functions and some
desktop functions, but important differences distinguish them. Vista is configured to emphasize
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