Choosing to Implement Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 is a versatile operating system, one that meets the needs of various business functions. Like earlier network operating systems such as Novell NetWare or Windows NT that were known best for file/print servers, Windows Server 2003 can provide all that functionality and a lot more.

Because Windows Server 2003 provides many different functions, an organization needs to choose how to best implement Windows Server 2003 and the various networking features that meet its needs. In small network environments with fewer than 20 to 30 users, an organization may choose to implement all the Windows Server 2003 features on a single server. However, in larger environments, multiple servers may be implemented to improve system performance as well as provide fault tolerance and redundancy.

As mentioned in the preceding section, Windows Server 2003 can act as the core operating system to host applications such as utility services, file services, print services, or Web-based services. Some of the other major networking services provided by Windows Server 2003 include running the operating system as the core to an Active Directory environment, as a built-in Windows application server, or as an add-on application server.

Windows Server 2003 Core to an Active Directory Environment

One of the major additions to the network operating system role introduced with the release of the Windows 2000 operating system was the Active Directory. Active Directory is more than a simple list of users and passwords for authentication into a network, but rather a directory that extends to other business applications. When fully leveraged, an organization can have its Human Resources (HR) department add an employee to the organization's HR software. The HR software automatically creates a user in the Active Directory, generating a network logon, an email account, a voicemail account, and remote access capabilities, and then links pager and mobile phone information to the employee. Likewise, if an employee is terminated, a single change in the HR software can issue automated commands to disable the individual's network, email, remote logon, and other network functions.

Windows Server 2003 extends the capabilities of the Active Directory by creating better management tools, provides for more robust directory replication across a global enterprise, and allows for better scalability and redundancy to improve directory operations. Windows Server 2003 effectively adds in more reliability, faster performance, and better management tools to a system that can be leveraged as a true enterprise directory provisioning, resource tracking, and resource management tool. Because of the importance of the Active Directory to the Windows Server 2003 operating system, plus the breadth of capabilities that Active Directory can facilitate, five chapters in Part II of this book are dedicated to Active Directory.

Windows Server 2003 Running Built-in Application Server Functions

Windows Server 2003 comes with several programs and utilities to provide robust networking capabilities. In addition to the basic file and print capabilities covered earlier in this chapter, Windows Server 2003 can provide name resolution for the network and enable high availability through clustering and fault tolerance, mobile communications for dial-up and virtual private network connections, Web services functions, and dozens of other application server functions.

When planning the implementation of Windows Server 2003, a network architect needs to consider which of the server services are desired, how they will be combined on servers, and how they will be made redundant across multiple servers for business continuity failover. For a small organization, the choice to combine several server functions to a single system or to just a few systems is one of economics. However, an organization might distribute server services to multiple servers to improve performance (covered in Chapter 35, "Capacity Analysis and Performance Optimization"), distribute administration (covered in Chapter 19, "Windows Server 2003 Administration"), create redundancy (covered in Chapter 33, "Recovering from a Disaster"), enable security (covered in Chapter 12), or to service users across a diverse geographic area (covered in Chapter 5, "Designing a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory").

Some of the built-in application server functions in Windows Server 2003 include the following:

• Domain controller Like in previous versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, the domain controller allows users to authenticate to the server for access to network resources.

• Global catalog server The global catalog server stores a copy of the user list of the Active Directory network. When an internal or external user with appropriate security rights wants to look at a list of Active Directory users, the global catalog server provides the list.

• DNS server The domain name service (DNS) is a list of network servers and systems, so a DNS server provides information about the devices connected to the network.

• DHCP server The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns network addresses to devices on the network. Windows Server 2003 provides the service function to facilitate DHCP addresses to network devices.

• Cluster server When fault tolerance is important to an organization, clustering provides failover from one system to another. Windows Server 2003 provides the ability to link systems together so that when one system fails, another system takes over.

• Terminal server Instead of having a full desktop or laptop computer for each user on the network, organizations have the option of setting up simple, low-cost terminals for users to gain access to network resources. Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services allows a single server to host network system access for dozens of users.

• Remote access server When a remote user has a desktop or laptop system and needs access to network services, Windows Server 2003 provides remote access services that allow the remote systems to establish a secure remote connection.

• Web server As more and more technologies become Web-aware and are hosted on Web servers, Windows Server 2003 provides the technology to host these applications for browser-based access.

• Media server With information extending beyond text-based word processing documents and spreadsheets into rich media such as video and audio, Windows Server 2003 provides a source for hosting and publishing video and audio content.

• Distributed File System (DFS) server For the past decade, data files have been stored on file servers all around an organization. Windows Server 2003 provides Distributed File Systems that allow an organization to take control of distributed files into a common lookup file directory.

These plus several other functions provide robust networking services that help organizations leverage the Windows Server 2003 technologies into solutions that solve business needs.

Windows Server 2003 Running Add-in Applications Server Functions

In addition to the built-in server application functions such as DNS, DHCP, Global Catalog, Terminal Services, and the like noted in the preceding section, Windows Server 2003 also provides the basis from which add-in applications can be purchased and implemented on the Windows servers. Some of these add-in applications come from Microsoft, such as the Windows Server 2003 versions of the Microsoft Exchange messaging system or Microsoft SQL database system. Other add-ins to Windows Server 2003 are furnished by companies that provide human resource management applications; accounting software; document management tools; fax or voicemail add-ins; or other business, industry, or user productivity capabilities.

In earlier Windows server operating systems, the core operating system provided simple logon and network connectivity functions; however, with Windows Server 2003, the operating system includes many core capabilities built into the Windows Server 2003 operating environment. With integrated fault tolerance, data recovery, server security, remote access connectivity, Web access technologies, and similar capabilities, organizations creating add-ins to Windows Server 2003 can focus on business functions and capabilities, not on core infrastructure reliability, security, and mobile access functionality. This offloading of the requirement of third-party add-in organizations to implement basic networking technologies into their applications allows these developers to focus on improving the business productivity and functionality of their applications. Additionally, consolidating information routing, security, remote management, and the like into the core operating system provides a common method of communication, authentication, and access to users without having to load up special drivers, add-ins, or tools to support each and every new application.

Much of the shift from application-focused infrastructure components to core operating system-focused functionality was built into Windows 2000. There were many challenges when Windows 2000 was first released because of this shift in product functionality; however, after being on the market for more than three years, Windows 2000 add-ins and now Windows Server 2003 add-ins have had several revisions to work through system functionality and component reliability between application and operating system. Fortunately, Windows Server 2003 uses the same application/operating system technology used in Windows 2000, so applications written for Windows 2000 typically need just a simple Service Pack update to be able to run on Windows Server 2003.