Chapter 22. Windows Server 2003 Management and Maintenance Practices

In This Chapter

• Managing Windows Server 2003

• Auditing the Environment

• Managing Windows Server 2003 Remotely

• Identifying Security Risks

• Tracking and Managing Licenses

• Using Microsoft Operations Manager to Simplify Management

• Employing Windows Server 2003 Maintenance Practices

• Keeping Up with Service Packs and Updates

• Maintaining Windows Server 2003

• Summary of Maintenance Tasks and Recommendations

Windows Server 2003 systems are the heart of the IT infrastructure that supports businesses. These servers need to be managed and maintained to keep the businesses running optimally. Server management and maintenance help maximize investment in infrastructure and productivity. They also keep the IT infrastructure running effectively and efficiently to boost availability and reliability.

Server management entails many different tasks; they include, but are not limited to, administering and supervising servers based on functional roles, proactively monitoring the network environment, keeping track of activity, and implementing solid change control practices. These management functions for Windows Server 2003 can be performed both locally and remotely.

As systems' workloads, capacities, and usage change in the environment, the systems need to be maintained so that they operate as efficiently as possible. Without such maintenance, systems become more susceptible to causing slower response times and decreased reliability. Efforts to maintain those systems should be made periodically to avoid any inefficiency. This chapter covers best practices on ways an organization can maintain and manage its Windows Server 2003 environment.