Configuring Networking

   

TCP/IP is the network protocol that provides Internet access. It's the protocol used by most servers, although you can use additional or different network adapters and their associated protocols on your servers. Setup and the Configure Your Server Wizard are designed to make it easy to configure TCP/IP and the services that support it.

To use TCP/IP, make sure that each server is provided with an IP address, either a dynamic address provided through software or a static address that you obtain and set. You will also have to provide users with names that are easy to use. Name resolution can be accomplished by various methods , primarily Domain Name System (DNS) and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS). The following sections provide more information.

For detailed information about TCP/IP, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), DNS, and WINS, see Help and Support Center as well as the Resource Kits for the Windows Server 2003 family. You can also view Help and Support topics on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/.

IP Addresses

As described in the preceding section, using TCP/IP requires an IP address to be provided for each computer. There are two basic approaches for providing an IP address for a server you are installing:

  • DHCP.

    You can provide IP addresses to the computers on your network by configuring one or more DHCP servers, which provide IP addresses dynamically to other computers. A DHCP server must itself be assigned a static IP address.

    One server or several servers can provide DHCP along with one or more name resolution services, which are called DNS and WINS. The name resolution services are described in the next section, "Name Resolution."

    If you want to run Setup before you have finalized your decisions about which server to use as your DHCP server and what static IP address to assign to that server, you can choose Typical Settings in the Networking Settings dialog box during Setup and complete the network configuration later. If you do this and there is no DHCP server on the network, Setup will use a limited IP addressing option called Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). During the time that a server is using APIPA, it can communicate only with other computers using APIPA on the same network segment. A server that is using APIPA cannot make connections to the Internet (for browsing or e-mail) and cannot be used with DNS or Active Directory (which depends on DNS).

    If you know which server you want to use as your DHCP server, when installing that server, in the Networking Settings dialog box in Setup, choose Custom settings, and specify a static IP address and related network settings. After Setup, use Configure Your Server, along with information in Help and Support Center, to install the DHCP component and complete the configuration of the DHCP server.

  • Static IPs.

    For certain types of servers, you must assign a static IP address and subnet mask during or after Setup. These servers include DHCP servers, DNS servers, WINS servers, and any server providing access to users on the Internet. It is also recommended that you assign a static IP address and subnet mask for each domain controller. If a computer has more than one network adapter, you must assign a separate IP address for each adapter.

    If you want to run Setup on a server before you have finalized your decision about the static IP address you want to assign to that server, you can choose Typical Settings in the Networking Settings dialog box during Setup and configure that server later. In this situation, if a DHCP server is on the network, Setup will obtain an IP address configuration from DHCP. If no DHCP server is on the network, Setup will use APIPA. APIPA is described in the preceding item in this list.

    For more information about static IP addresses, including private IP addresses (which you choose from certain ranges of addresses) and public IP addresses (which you obtain from an Internet service provider), see Help and Support Center.

Name Resolution

After you have formed a plan for IP addressing, the next components to consider are those for name resolution, which is the process of mapping a computer name (something that users can recognize and remember) to the appropriate IP address. Name resolution is a process that provides users with easy-to-remember server names instead of requiring them to use the numeric IP addresses by which servers identify themselves on the TCP/IP network. The name resolution services are DNS and WINS:

  • DNS.

    DNS is a hierarchical naming system used for locating computers on the Internet and private TCP/IP networks. One or more DNS servers are needed in most installations. DNS is required for Internet e-mail, Web browsing, and Active Directory. DNS is often used as a name resolution service in domains with clients running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or products in the Windows Server 2003 family.

    DNS is installed automatically when you create a domain controller (or promote a server to become a domain controller) unless the Windows Server 2003 software detects that a DNS server already exists for that domain. You can also install DNS by using Configure Your Server or by using Add/Remove Windows Components, which is part of Add Or Remove Programs in Control Panel.

    If you plan to install DNS on a server, specify a static IP address on that server and configure that server to use that IP address for its own name resolution. For information about assigning a static IP address, see the preceding section, "IP Addresses." For more information about configuring DNS, see Help and Support Center.

  • Windows Internet Naming Service.

    If you provide support for clients running Windows NT or any earlier Microsoft operating system, you might need to install WINS on one or more servers in the domain. You might also need to install WINS if it's required by your applications. You can install WINS after Setup by using Configure Your Server or by using Add/Remove Windows Components, which is part of Add Or Remove Programs in Control Panel.

    If you plan to install WINS on a server, specify a static IP address on that server. For information about assigning a static IP address, see the preceding section, "IP Addresses." For more information about configuring WINS, see Help and Support Center.


   
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Introducing Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Introducing Microsoft Windows Server(TM) 2003
ISBN: 0735615705
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 153

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