Chapter 7: Using Windows Servers to Share Information

Sharing Files Using Windows A shared folder is a connection point on a file server. Users in a Windows Server 2003 domain are able to map these shared folders as network drives. When creating a share, consider the amount of disk space that the people utilizing the share will need. Do not host a shared folder on the same volume as the operating system. If users fill the shared folder, the operating system may halt. You can have multiple shared folders on a volume.

Sharing Files Using Windows You can assign quotas on a per-volume basis. This will limit the amount of data that an individual user can store on shares. If a volume hosts more than one share, the total amount of disk space that the user uses across all shares on that volume must be less than the quota. Always provision file servers with lots of disk space. Use RAID 1, 5, or 1+0 and back up regularly. Loss of a file server disk can be catastrophic if data can’t be recovered. If you are properly prepared, it will be only an annoyance.

Sharing Files You can limit the maximum number of users that can connect to a share by editing the share’s properties as shown. Permissions allows you to restrict which users and groups can access the share. Offline settings allow users to store shared files on their laptops and have them synchronize with the network version when they next log on.

Shared Printers In Windows terminology, a printer is the software component of the operating system that manages printing. A print server is a computer that hosts and manages more than one printer. A print device is the physical printer which outputs pages. Printer access can be restricted on the basis of time of day.

Shared Printers To restrict some users to printing at a particular time, whilst allowing other users to print normally, create several printers and point them at the same print device. Allow the first group access only to the first printer, the second group to the second printer. A printer can point to multiple print devices. This is called a printer pool. Printer pools appear to clients to be a single printer.

Windows Application Servers Windows Server 2003 can host many types of applications, from database servers, firewalls and proxies, through to electronic data interchange, World Wide Web and servers. As application servers perform processing tasks for many users, they should have lots of RAM and the best possible processor. Consider using a multiprocessor system so that users are less likely to overload the processor. Generally, you should only run one major application on a server. Microsoft has a product called Small Business Server that bundles several important applications together on one server. This would only be appropriate for small LANs rather than corporate networks.

Windows Servers Windows Server 2003 ships with a simple POP3 service. This can provide a basic service to users on the LAN. Users can connect to the POP3 service using most clients. The ultimate server for Windows Server 2003 is Exchange Server Exchange Server 2003 includes POP3 and IMAP4.

Windows Servers Exchange Server 2003 also provides calendaring, public folders, task manager, and address book service. Another benefit of Exchange Server 2003 is Outlook Web Access, a version of Outlook that can be runs in a Web browser. Exchange Server 2003 can also perform anti-virus and spam filtering functions.

Terminal Services Uses remote desktop protocol to allow users to connect to a server to run applications such as Word and Excel. Clients only require a display, keyboard, a mouse, and the terminal services client software. Processing occurs on the server, which means that older computers can be used to access the latest applications. Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars upgrading desktop workstations every few years, organizations can spend less money upgrading their centralized terminal servers. Terminal server client software runs on multiple platforms.

Internet Information Services IIS is included with Windows Server 2003, but not installed by default. Prior versions of Windows had these services installed by default. Administrators were often unaware of this and only found out once their server had been compromised. IIS includes the following servers: World Wide Web (WWW) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)

IIS WWW Server Most people use IIS for its Web server component. IIS Web server is managed through Internet Information Services Manager console. IIS supports multiple Web sites. Sites must be differentiated by either FQDN, IP address, or TCP port number.

IIS WWW Server Access to the Web server can be restricted on the basis of IP address, domain name, user account credentials, or digital certificate. You can restrict the number of users who access a Web site concurrently. The amount of bandwidth a Web site uses can be limited so that your organization’s Internet link isn’t flooded if a page is posted to a popular Web site and you get an influx of visitors. You can configure IIS to automatically restart Web sites that have failed.

Other IIS Services SMTP server supports the sending of . Can be used in conjunction with the POP3 service or Exchange Server NNTP server supports Usenet, a text-based messaging system that was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s. FTP server can be used to transfer files to and from server. FTP is a 30-year-old protocol used for transferring files. It is fast because it has low overhead. IIS also support file transfer with WebDAV technology more securely on the WWW server. Benefits of WebDAV: Authentication and transfers can be encrypted. Disadvantages: Slower than FTP.

Routing and Remote Access RRAS service can be configured to allow users to access the network via modem or VPN through the Internet. VPN (virtual private network) is an encrypted connection through the Internet. Users connect to their ISP normally and then initiate a VPN connection to the Windows Server 2003 RRAS server. Once established, they have normal LAN access. Managed via the RRAS console.

Summary When configuring shared files, be sure not to place the share on the operating system volume. Implement quotas to ensure that the share does not run out of space. A printer is software that points to the hardware print device. An application server needs the best RAM and processor possible to cope with the load of many people using it.

Summary Windows Server 2003 ships with a basic POP3 client. The most extensive server solution for Windows is Exchange Server Internet Information Services includes WWW, NNTP, SMTP, and FTP servers. You can restrict access to the WWW server on the basis of IP address, domain name, username, and digital certificate. You can configure Routing and Remote Access to provide VPN and dial-up access to your organization’s LAN.

Discussion Questions  What methods can you use to limit access to the IIS World Wide Web Server?  What benefits are there of using VPN rather than dial-up connections to your organization’s LAN?  What mail protocols are supported by a native Windows Server 2003 installation?  What should you take into account when setting up a file share?  What are the differences between a printer, a print device, a print server, and a printer pool?