Why Use Windows Server 2003?

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Any time a vendor introduces a new version, such as Windows 2003, of a popular product, it has to create inducements for users of the previous version to upgrade. Likewise, the company has to attract new buyers to the new version to keep ramping up sales.

Where Windows Server 2003 is concerned , those inducements can be powerful. Windows Server 2003 systems can function alongside Windows 2000 Server systems as members of the domain or even as domain controllers. Windows Server 2003 also plays well with older Microsoft servers, such as Windows NT 4.0 Server, but note that Microsoft claims that Windows Server 2003 shines best when it plays by itself (in other words, when it's the only server type on the network).

Lowered TCO

Total cost of ownership (TCO) measures what it costs to acquire, install, configure, manage, and maintain a system during its entire productive life. In a magnificent case of making a virtue out of necessity, Microsoft stresses all the ways that Windows 2003 has been engineered to help lower its TCO. In effect, what's happened is that numerous problems with or deficiencies in Windows NT and Windows 2000 have been remedied in Windows 2003.

Here's what falls under this "remedied" umbrella (much of which is sure to be appreciated by systems administrators and users alike, so we don't mean to suggest that these improvements aren't valuable or significant):

  • IntelliMirror management technologies: IntelliMirror is alive and well in Windows 2003. IntelliMirror is not a product in and of itself; rather, it's a term used to describe the overall benefits gleaned from Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 when several of its key features are used in concert. IntelliMirror is possible through the use of Active Directory, Group Policy, roaming profiles, and Remote Installation Services (RIS). IntelliMirror sets up a mechanism to capture updates made to any suitable client machine (which can be on Windows 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP) and save those updates to a network server. This technology not only allows the original desktop to be rebuilt or repaired on an as-needed basis, but also allows users to rove from desktop to desktop, taking their applications, data, preferences, and desktop settings with them wherever they go. Because it reduces the need to re-create complex configurations and setups, IntelliMirror should greatly help reduce the cost of ownership for maintaining complex modern systems.

  • Support for broad and varied management tools: Windows 2003 includes an improved and expanded set of built-in remote management tools for networks, desktops, servers, and other key network components . Windows 2003 also works with management agents and software from other vendors, such as Tivoli Systems, Hewlett-Packard, NetIQ, and Microsoft's own Systems Management Server (SMS). Because the Windows 2003 system works with these other vendors , the cost of ownership for maintaining complex modern systems should be significantly reduced. Plus, many new command-line administration tools can be used to create powerful scripts that automate many tasks .

  • Easy to learn and easy to use: By making Windows 2003 much like a Windows 2000 and Windows XP hybrid, Microsoft hopes to leverage the learning curve for those who have worked with previous versions of Windows. Even better, Windows 2003 includes numerous wizards and other automation tools that store frequently used fields (such as username and password) and can supply them on demand when input context indicates that such data might be helpful. The Windows 2003 desktop is also quite friendly, shows Start menu items based on usage patterns, and is easy to reconfigure and customize. By shortening the learning curve and increasing usability, the overall cost of ownership should be reduced at the user level, which is where costs are typically highest.

  • Remote computing to boost productivity: With its inclusion of terminal server technology, plus Web-based remote management and administration tools that can work on any desktop with a suitable Web browser installed, Windows 2003 is easier to set up, configure, and manage than earlier versions of Windows. This should help manage the cost of ownership for networks; especially for those networks in which local expertise may be missing or low, but in which global expertise can be applied remotely to handle situations and solve problems that may be beyond the abilities of branch office workers.

  • Network-wide availability and access: The combination of Active Directory with its globally available window on network resources, access controls, security, and administration and the Web-based capabilities of Windows 2003's configuration and management tools makes Windows 2003 networks easier to install and maintain for administrators. In addition, it's easier for end users to navigate and use. By lowering the human costs of networking, Windows 2003 promises to significantly lower the costs of ownership and the costs of the equipment and software that make networks work.

There's even more to the capabilities of Windows 2003 to help control TCO than what we cover in the preceding list. By addressing user concerns stemming from earlier implementations and working to improve ease of installation, configuration, and everyday use of Windows 2003, Microsoft has come up with a truly impressive benefits package. Although such benefits can sometimes seem subtle and elusive , they're quite real when it comes to making the job of a network or systems administrator easier and more straightforward.

Faster and more reliable

Faster and more reliable covers a multitude of Windows 2003 features all of which contribute to improved system performance, availability, or reliability. Among the many items that belong to this category, the following are the most noteworthy:

  • Increased levels of system test: Microsoft has performed more in-house testing with more hardware configurations for Windows 2003 than for any previous version. Likewise, it's released many more beta copies (including several to large production network environments) to take advantage of pre-final-release user feedback.

  • Hardened memory management: The Virtual Memory Manager (VMM) in Windows 2003 is more robust than in earlier versions and handles illegal memory references from applications, system components, or device drivers better than ever before. Windows 2003 also includes a signing mechanism for device drivers, so administrators can configure systems to run only those device drivers with valid digital signatures.

  • Fewer reboots and faster restarts: Windows 2003 needs to be rebooted only after completing about seven system-configuration tasks; Windows NT had to be rebooted after running any of forty-odd system configuration tasks. Also, reduced memory dump requirements, safe mode startup options, a faster CHKDSK utility, and automated system recovery tools make it much easier to restart (or rebuild) Windows 2003 systems.

Exploit the full advantages of Active Directory

It's true that Active Directory can emulate the Windows NT domain model to the point of supporting Windows NT-based backup domain controllers (BDCs) in hybrid Windows Server 2003 and Windows NT Server domains. Don't forget that Windows 2000 Server has the capability to emulate a NT PDC as well. Active Directory can also support old-style, NetBIOS-based Windows networking client software and LAN Manager-style authentication models.

Using these features in a hybrid network, however, means that you can't use native Windows 2003 Kerberos- and certificate-based security to their fullest extent. Using these features means also that the complete structure that a forest of Active Directory trees can support won't be available to older clients . (Forests, trees, domains, sites, and organizational units are defined and discussed in Chapter 11.)

After a network switches all its servers from Windows NT to Windows 2003 and Windows 2000, and clients are upgraded to include Active Directory support, the capabilities of Windows Server 2003 can be much more fully exploited. Administrative controls can be defined for individual machines, groups of machines, single domains, or multiple domains. (In Windows NT, domain administration is more an all-or-nothing proposition.)

In fact, Active Directory-enabled applications can use directory data to find network resources (such as files and printers) without requiring any user direction on a pure Windows 2003 network. Best of all, much more powerful, multileveled security controls can be imposed upon resources at the domain, machine, or individual resource level. In addition, Windows 2003 can enforce more rigorous authentication to make sure that the user ID used to request a resource matches the true identity of the actual requester of that resource.

More networking

Windows 2003 supports improved networking access and reliability in a number of ways. Right off the bat, Windows 2003 supports the use of multiple NICs, where one or more NICs function in a hot-standby capacity . This means that failure of the primary interface causes failover to a secondary interface, which helps guarantee the continued availability of important network resources in the event of NIC or media failures. Windows 2003 also shares a common driver model with Windows 2000, XP, and 98, which instantly makes a vast array of high-speed networking technologies and devices available for Windows 2003 to use. This approach also helps assure system administrators that drivers for the latest, fastest , newest networking technologies will be readily available for Windows 2003 when they're released.

Windows 2003 also includes support for high-bandwidth storage area networking technologies, such as Fibre Channel devices. These technologies allow data to be located almost anywhere on a network and still be instantly available to whatever server might be called on to either use that data or provide it to satisfy a client service request.

Windows Server 2003 also includes improved remote access, a better implementation of NAT, and enhanced Terminal Service capabilities.

Improved Internet and network access

Windows Server 2003 includes the latest release of Internet Information Services (IIS), version 6.0. This software takes advantage of the improved performance and reliability of Windows 2003 to provide more uptime for Web-based services. In addition, improved support for Active Server Pages (ASP) technology makes it easy for Windows 2003 to support powerful, Webbased applications. IIS 6.0 has many improvements, including improved authentication, ASP management, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) controls, fault tolerance, command-line administration, resource handling, security, and load balancing.

Windows 2003 also includes an improved set of application services, including interfaces that already support advanced server functions, such as clustering, load balancing, and transaction processing. In plain English, Windows 2003 makes it easier than ever before to create powerful, reliable applications that share data and code across the network. In fact, all Windows 2003 applications services are Internet-ready, which means you can deploy them with equal success on an in-house LAN, across an intranet or extranet, or across the Internet itself.

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Windows Server 2003 for Dummies
Windows Server 2003 for Dummies
ISBN: 0764516337
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 195

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