Chapter 1
Overview of Windows Server 2003
Deploying Windows Server 2003 and Windows Clients
Storage and File System Support
Internet Services and .NET Application Services
The Different Versions of Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is available in four configurations: (Not including Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, which is in a category by itself.)
Standard Edition
Designed to meet the requirements of small-sized to mid-sized businesses and includes all the necessary file and printer sharing, secure Internet connectivity, and collaboration capabilities to do so.
Enterprise Edition
Designed for medium-sized to large-sized businesses and provides a stable enterprise infrastructure, enabling deployment of line-of-business applications and appropriate for high performance e-commerce solutions.
Datacenter Edition
Designed for business-critical solutions that require excellent performance and absolute stability under load, such as that required by enterprise database applications and high volume transaction processing.
Web Edition
Designed for hosting Web site, Web services, and applications.
The table below shows the features that separate the different editions.
In all other respects the versions are essentially the identical.
| Feature | Standard Edition | Enterprise Edition | Datacenter Edition |
| Maximum RAM | 4 GB | 32 GB for 32-bit version; 64 GB for 64-bit version | 64GB for 32-bit version; 512 GB for 64-bit version |
| Maximum CPU | 4 | 8 | 64 |
| Cluster Service | No | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Terminal Server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Terminal Server Session Directory | No | Yes, 32-bit version only | Yes, 32-bit version only |
| Hot add memory | No | Yes, 32-bit version only | Yes, 32-bit version only |
| 64-bit support for Intel Titanium Processors | No | Yes | Yes |
| Non-uniform memory access (NUMA) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Datacenter program | No | No | Yes |
Deploying Windows Server 2003 and Windows Clients
Deploying Windows Server 2003 with Microsoft Windows XP Professional is the best way to get the most from technologies that intelligently store user data, applications, system files, and administrative settings from clients to servers. These technologies help manage software on client machines and transparently provide better availability and safety for users' data.
Using the Software Installation feature in Windows Server 2003, You can assign an application to a user or group so the program appears on the user's Start menu and is installed the first time a user clicks it. If the application isn't immediately required, the program can be published so that it appears as an option in Add/Remove Programs for the user to install when needed. When an application upgrade becomes available , the upgrade is automatically applied the next time the user launches the application.
User documents and personal settings can be stored, or mirrored, on a server managed by an administrator.
This provides:
Improved access Users can log on to any PC on the network; all their documents and personal settings appear on any computer they use.
Increased availability The information mirrored on the server is also on the local machine, so it is available even when users aren't connected to the network. When a user reconnects, the information on the server is synchronized with the local information. Because laptop users' data is synchronized with the server whenever a laptop is connected to the network, network administrators can back up mobile users' data even when the laptops are not connected.
Better Protection All files reside on the server, which can be backed up as part of normal, centralized backup and restore procedures.
Although you can connect machines with any number of operating systems to your Windows Server 2003, using it in conjunction with Windows XP Professional will provide optimal functionality for users and administrators alike. From software installation to IntelliMirror data, coupling the two operating systems will provide the safest and easiest computing experience.
The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hosts administrative tools displayed as consoles. These tools, composed of one or more applications, are built with modules called snap-ins. This design enables you to customize the tools so that you can delegate specific administrative tasks to users or groups. Saved as MMC files, these custom tools can be sent by e-mail, shared in a network folder, or posted on the web. Using system policy settings, you can also assign MMC files to users, groups, or computers. A tool can be scaled up or down, integrated seamlessly into the operating system, repackaged, and customized. In fact, you can do everything with these tools short of adding pinstripes and custom upholstery.
Group Policy
Group Policy is a management technology used to specify operations for desktop configurations for groups of computers and users. Group policies are saved as Group Policy Objects (GPOs) that in turn are associated with Active Directory objects such as sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs). Group Policies can include security options, software installation and maintenance options, and options for scripts controlling startup and shutdown.
IntelliMirror
IntelliMirror is a powerful technology that helps manage change and configuration. In other words, after the clients and servers are set up, hardware, software and users changes are handled automatically, using rules and profiles to determine what happens. Administrators can control the rules for the entire network from a single central location
The table below summarizes some of the centralized network management tasks in Windows Server 2003.
| Task | What is done | Technologies used |
| Manage user documents | Mirrors user data to the network and caches network data locally on the client | Active Directory, Group Policy, File Redirection, Offline Files, Synchronization Manager, Disk Quotas, and roaming user profiles |
| Manage user settings | Mirrors user settings to the network and applies administrator-set defaults to the user's environment | Active Directory, Group Policy, user configuration, and roaming user profiles |
| Perform remote OS installation | Installs operating system from network servers | Active Directory, Group Policy, and Windows Installer |
| Install Software | Provides just-in-time software installation (applications and operating system upgrades) |
Terminal Services
Terminal Services allows Windows-based applications to run on desktops that can't normally run large Windows applications. All application processing and data storage takes place on the server; the client machine needs only to be able to run a "thin client", which requires very small amount of memory and disk storage space. This allows machines without a lot of power (needed to run enterprise applications independently) to use the resources of the server.
With Terminal Services, users log on and see only their own session, which is completely independent of any other client session. The application operates on the server, and the entire process is transparent to the user. The setup and use of Terminal Services and Terminal Services clients is covered later.
The typical network in a medium-sized to large-sized enterprise is completely heterogeneous, so interoperability between and among operating systems is imperative. For improved interoperability, Windows Server 2003
Communicates natively with UNIX and Novell Netware systems, using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Provides services for file and print sharing with UNIX, NetWare, and Macintosh systems.
Supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) software, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) technology, and many standard communication protocols, such as File Tranfer Protocol (FTP), Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), so that new applications can interoperate with existing software and data.
Security is available in Windows Server 2003 for every configuration, from a simple workgroup to enterprise server systems.
Windows Server 2003 includes full support for the MIT Kerberos version 5 security protocol, (Kerberos is the name of a computer network authentication protocol, which allows individuals communicating over an insecure network to prove their identity to one another in a secure manner, and also a suite of free software published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which implements this protocol. Kerberos prevents eavesdropping or replay attacks, and ensures the integrity of the data. Its designers aimed primarily at a client-server model, and it provides mutual authentication — both the user and the server verify each other's identity.)
providing a single signon to Windows Server 2003-based enterprise resources. As of Windows 2000, Kerberos replaced NT LAN Manager (NTLM), which was used in Microsoft Windows NT 4 as the primary security protocol. In addition there is built-in support for Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) for users logging on to a secure Web server.
Other security capabilities include
An X.509 based public-key certificate server integrated with Active Directory, allowing the use of public-key certificates for authentication.
Support for tamper-resistant smart cards to store passwords, private keys, account numbers, and other security information. Additional to smart card capability include the ability to log on using Terminal Services.
IPSec, which governs end-to-end secure communication. After IPSec is implemented, communications are secured transparently; no user training or interaction is required.
Many of the security functions in Windows Server 2003 are innate in Active Directory, and full implementation is available only when Active Directory is used. In addition, some security functions cannot be fully realized in a mixed environment of server domains. For example, Windows Server 2003 includes support for transitive trusts, which means that when a Windows Server 2003 domain is joined to a Windows Server 2003 domain forest, a two-way , transitive trust relationship is established automatically. No administrative tasks are required to establish this trust relationship.
Most hardware is supported by Windows Server 2003, including printers, modems, sound devices, etc. There will be occasional hardware devices that will need to be setup explicitly by finding the manufactures device drivers for Windows Server 2003. Overall, most hardware will be compatible without the need to find additional drivers. Since Windows 2000 hardware support for business operating systems has improved dramatically and the stability has been maintained. The same combination, plus a number of improvements in both areas, exists in Windows Server 2003.
Storage and File System Support
Internet Services and .NET Application Services
This chapter has provided only the briefest overview of the Windows Server 2003 system and a look at just a few of the thousands of changes, large and small, that have been made. Deciding how to implement Windows Server 2003 on your system requires thought and planning. The next three chapters are devoted exclusively to planning.