JOHN SAVILL, BS, MCSE, MS ITP Server Administrator, MS ITP Enterprise Administrator, Microsoft MVP, is Central US manager for EMC’s Microsoft technical infrastructure practice and the firm’s chief Microsoft architect. Savill’s Windows NT site evolved into ntfaq.com, the Internet’s most widely used independent NT resource. A frequent writer for Windows IT Pro and TechNetmagazines, Savill spoke at Microsoft Tech Ed 2006, 2007, and 2008. His books include The Windows XP/2000 Answer Book.
Preface Preface
Everyone knows the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” It had long been my goal to write a complete guide to Windows Server, but I never felt I had sufficient time to do justice to the subject. In the middle of 2006, I convinced myself that I could organize my time to allow the undertaking of writing a book on the largest Microsoft server release ever—from scratch. I started writing the book a few months later and finished the final copy editing in June 2008, basically two years from start to finish. Fortunately, Microsoft delayed the release of Windows Server 2008 enough that this book will hit bookshelves while Windows Server 2008 is still new to the market.
With this book, I tried to create a resource that explains the major features of Windows Server 2008, when to use them, how to design the best implementation, and how to manage the deployed environment.
Windows Server 2008 has so many features that I had to leave some out. Those features not discussed are ones I felt would not be interesting to most readers; however, I point out what is not covered and suggest some resources. Windows 2008 is trying to put books out of business; however, although the online help is great, it is task focused. Therefore, I encourage you to follow the online help tool. I concentrate on items that require more design, decision, or are just “cool.”
Windows Server 2008 is very customer focused and focuses on a key number of areas such as virtualization, the Web, and security. Usability is also a major area for Windows 2008. A customer does not point to a server and say "that's my windows server," a customer says "that’s my domain controller” or “that’s my file server." Windows Server 2008 is designed around how the server is used. Only the basic functions are installed; additional components are installed as roles and features are added to the server and their management tools accessed through a single server manager interface.
Design of Microsoft-based systems will change in the future. I predict that the process we perform today to design the best practice implementation for our environment will be automated entirely within ten years—and I’ll need a new day job. Think of the process today: We look at the environment and how to use it, and then create a design following experience and best practices. We have a number of tools today to help with this: Best Practice Analyzers that check that an installation follows guidelines; System Center Capacity Planner that allows a designer to input information about locations, users, servers and bandwidth and then creates a server design that services needs; and Microsoft Solution Accelerators that help create solutions with Microsoft technologies. The next step is bringing these together. System Center Configuration Manager and System Center Operations Manager can ascertain the information needed about an environment. This information can then be automatically fed into Capacity Planner-type solutions to produce a best practice design and periodically verify that the design still meets requirements. With the move to virtualization, the design tools will partner with deployment technologies to automatically build new virtual machines for services, as needed, without administrator intervention. Microsoft already has a direction to this type of environment with the Dynamic Systems Initiative. Our involvement will likely be telling these tools about new initiatives and services needed to know what infrastructure to put in place. New versions of software such as Exchange can be downloaded and applied automatically, assuming organizations still have local servers and software. It’s entirely possible everything will be a service offered by a “cloud” on the Internet which companies subscribe to.
So with all of that, why is there snow on the cover? Snow makes anything look calm and beautiful. I hope the cover is calming. If ever you start panicking about content in this book, just stop and look at the cover. Like they said in the book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't panic."
Audience for This Book
I’ve written this book with the IT administrator and architect in mind. Although a background from Windows and networking in general is advantageous, I introduce the basics of each subject, explain how the technologies work, and then build on that transferred understanding until we get to advanced concepts and best practices.
This is not a Microsoft Certified IT Professional study guide, although I did take the exams for both the MS ITP Server Administrator and Enterprise Administrator without studying. I used what I knew from writing this book and easily passed all the exams with high marks. So if you understand and can apply the information in this book, I would expect you to do well on the Microsoft exams.
This Book’s Organization
It would be great if you could sit and read this book from start to finish. Although you may not be able to learn all the features, you may remember items that are possible in day-to-day work, and then reread details of specific features. In the same manner that a chef expects you to eat all courses of a meal instead of picking at each one, I expect this book to be “digested” more like a buffet. You might want to consume the parts relevant to you. I urge you, however, to read a chapter at a time, and not just part of a chapter because each one builds on a subject. In addition, I typically start each chapter with details in order for you to thoroughly understand the concepts so that we can cover other concepts more quickly.
I want to teach you to drive, not to understand the internal parts of the engine. I’m not big on giving detail on components that don’t do you any good from a design or management perspective, but I do give internal details when it aids in learning a technology.
Structure of This Book
This book is made up of 24 chapters:
- Chapter 1, “Windows 101: Its Origins, Present, and the Services It Provides,” introduces the major new features of Windows Server 2008. It highlights the key differentiators between the editions of Windows Server 2008 from Web edition through Datacenter.
Chapter 2, “Windows Server 2008 Fundamentals: Navigating and Getting Started,” walks you through the key interface and management components of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The log-on experience for Windows in both workgroup and domain environments is detailed along with the changes to how the built-in Administrator account is handled in Vista and 2008. The chapter discusses User Access Control and how it impacts how to use Windows. Also, key Windows elements, including the Start menu, task bar, and the system tray, are examined along with the available customizations.
Most of your time with Windows Server 2008 is spent in Task Manager, Explorer, and the Microsoft Management Console, so Chapter 2 looks at the major elements of these powerful tools and finishes off with a quick look at the Control Panel.
Chapter 3, “Installing and Upgrading Windows Server 2008,” walks you through the basic system requirements of Windows Server 2008 in terms of memory, processor, and disk space. Windows Server 2008 has a number of activation options, and this chapter looks at both Multiple Activation Keys and Key Management Service.
The next section walks through performing an upgrade from Windows Server 2003 SP1 to Windows Server 2008, and the various options and limitations associated with an in-place upgrade. The chapter ends with automating local installations using XML answer files.
Chapter 4, “Securing Your Windows Server 2008 Deployment,” discusses security. It looks at authentication and authorization methods, along with the importance of the physical environment which houses your servers. It also discusses BitLocker and how to use it most efficiently.
This chapter also looks at the built-in certification service in Windows Server 2008, Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS), and how it is used in (and out) of an organization.
Finally, Chapter 4 discusses the Security Configuration Wizard and the Security Configuration and Analysis tool which can increase the security of an environment. Increasing network security is handled via the Windows Firewall and IPSec, which this chapter details, along with more information on the User Access Control.
Chapter 5, “File System and Print Management Features,” looks at the facilities that the Windows Server 2008 platform provides for the critical storing of an organization’s data. After discussing the new capabilities of NTFS, this chapter looks at creating and managing volumes for data storage.
The file permission and ownership capabilities are explained and the concept of shares are introduced and walked through. Then, more advanced subjects are covered, including using quotas to control how much data users can store, file screening technologies to control how the storage is used, and reporting capabilities.
The second section of Chapter 5 deals with print management, which has taken some big steps in Windows Server 2008. For the deployment of printers to users, Group Policy can now be used to assign printers to users based on their physical location so that as a user moves, he can be assigned printers that are physically close to him. The chapter closes with a detailed look at printer configuration o...
