Chapter 2. Managing Servers Running Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Servers are the heart of any Microsoft Windows network. One of your primary responsibilities as an administrator is to manage these resources. Your key tool is the Computer Management console, which provides a single integrated interface for handling such core system administration tasks as

• Managing user sessions and connections to servers

• Managing file, directory, and share usage

• Setting administrative alerts

• Managing applications and network services

• Configuring hardware devices

• Viewing and configuring disk drives and removable storage devices

Although the Computer Management console is great for remote management of network resources, you also need a tool that gives you fine control over system environment settings and properties. This is where the System utility comes into the picture. You'll use this utility to

• Configure application performance, virtual memory, and registry settings

• Manage system and user environment variables

• Set system startup and recovery options

• Manage hardware and user profiles