Chapter 3: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining the TCPIP Infrastructure

Introduction

The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite is the foundation upon which the Internet runs, and it is the protocol suite of choice for most large, enterprise-level networks today. TCP/IP is the default network and transport protocol stack for a Windows Server 2003 network, and it is important for all network administrators to be intimately familiar with the TCP/IP protocols, IP addressing, and how to plan an IP infrastructure.

This chapter deals with the TCP/IP infrastructure. You will learn about the network protocols supported by Windows Server 2003 and how to identify the protocols to be used in your network environment. We discuss the advantages of the TCP/IP protocol suite, and we also address the multiprotocol environment that is increasingly common in today’s business organizations. We will review TCP/IP basics, and then get into what’s new in TCP/IP for Windows Server 2003. Specifically, we’ll discuss Internet Group Management Protocol version 3 (IGMPv3), IP version 6 (IPv6) support, the alternate configuration feature, and automatic determination of interface metrics.

You’ll find out how to plan an IP addressing strategy, including how to analyze your addressing requirements and how to create an effective subnetting scheme. Then we will address methods for troubleshooting IP addressing problems, both those related to client configuration and those related to Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server issues. You’ll learn about transitioning to the next generation of IP, IPv6, and we’ll introduce IPv6 utilities such as Netsh, IPsec, PING, and Tracert. We’ll discuss 6to4 tunneling, the IPv6 Helper service, and connecting to the 6bone.

Next, we’ll discuss the planning of the network topology. This includes analyzing hardware requirements and planning for the placement of physical resources. You’ll learn how to plan network traffic management, as well as how to monitor network traffic and devices using Network Monitor and System Monitor. We’ll show you how to determine bandwidth requirements and how to optimize your network’s performance.