Chapter Summary

"Quality is job one" was a common expression used by a major automotive manufacturer in years past. You can now say that, when it comes to Windows Server 2003 networks at least, security is job one. In this chapter, we only scratched the surface of the security pool. Security is a very deep and often misunderstood part of network administration ”and one that you cannot afford to overlook.

KEY TERMS

Before you take the exam, make sure you are comfortable with the definitions and concepts for each of the following key terms. You can use Appendix A, "Glossary," for quick reference.

• Active Directory

• Baseline

• Compatible security template

• Default DC security template

• Discretionary Access Control List

• Domain

• Forest

• Group Policy Editor

• GPO

• Highly Secure security template

• Organizational Unit

• Resultant Set of Policy

• Role-based security

• Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in

• secedit.exe

• Secure security template

• Security template

• Security Templates snap-in

Every security plan must have a starting point. By making use of the preconfigured security templates supplied with Windows Server 2003 and the additional security templates included in the Windows Server 2003 Security Guide, you can quickly and efficiently implement role-based security in your network. By configuring and testing security templates in the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in, you can avoid mistakenly applying them to a large group of computers via Group Policy until you are ready to do so. When you are happy with your security templates, you can quickly apply them to your computers by importing them into Group Policy Objects at the applicable levels within your network's organization. Because security templates are incremental, you can apply general settings at the domain root level and increase the security configuration as you navigate deeper into the network.