Introducing Windows Server 2008 - MCTS Guide to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration - page 20

Other Active Directory Related Roles
In addition to Active Directory Domain Services, several other server roles related to Active
Directory can be installed. Because most of these roles are new or have been updated quite a bit,
they are discussed in “New Active Directory Roles” later in this chapter:
• Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS)
Application Server
The Application Server role provides a high-performance integrated environment for managing,
deploying, and running custom client/server business applications. Applications that depend on
this role are usually built with one or more of these technologies: IIS, ASP.NET, the Microsoft
.NET Framework, COM+, and Message Queuing. This topic doesn't cover the Application
Server role, so for more information, see MCTS Guide to Configuring Microsoft Windows
Server 2008 Application Infrastructure (Course Technology, 2008).
DHCP Server
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server role provides automatic IP address
assignment and configuration for client computers. A DHCP server responds to requests from
network computers for their IP address configurations, which include an IP address and
subnet mask. Optionally, a DHCP server can provide a default gateway address, DNS server
addresses, WINS server addresses, and other options. A major enhancement to the DHCP
Server role in Windows Server 2008 is its support for IPv6, the next generation of the IP pro-
tocol. This role isn't covered in detail in this topic. For more information, see MCTS Guide to
Configuring Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure (Course Technology,
2008, 1-4239-0236-X).
DNS Server
DNS is a critical component in the operation of the Internet and Windows domains. A DNS
server resolves the names of Internet computers and computers that are members of a
Windows domain to their assigned IP addresses. The DNS Server role can be tightly inte-
grated with Active Directory, and your understanding of how to manage the DNS service in
Windows Server 2008 is critical to proper Active Directory operation. When Active Directory
is first installed in a Windows network, you're prompted to specify an existing DNS server
or install DNS on the same server as Active Directory. Chapter 9 covers the DNS Server role
in depth.
Fax Server
The Fax Server role provides tools to manage shared fax resources and allow users to send and
receive faxes through a network fax server. After the Fax Server role is installed, you can manage
users who have access to fax resources, configure fax devices, create rules for routing incoming
and outgoing faxes, and monitor and log use of fax resources.
File Services
The File Services role, along with a number of role services that can be optionally installed,
enables administrators to provide high-availability, reliable, shared storage to Windows and
other client OSs. After this role is installed, the File Server role service is installed automatically.
Figure 1-11 shows Server Manager and a detailed look at the role services available when you
install the File Services role. “Storage Management Enhancements” later in this chapter describes
some new capabilities of this role, and Chapter 6 covers the File Services role with emphasis on
the File Server role service.