Mastering Windows Network Forensics and Investigation, 2nd Edition

Connecting Computers

The basic unit of any network is the computer. Computers in a Microsoft network can run any of the various Microsoft operating systems—and even open-source or other vendors’ operating systems. When we discuss a Microsoft environment, we are not limiting ourselves to networks that use only Microsoft products, but rather we mean networks that rely primarily on Microsoft-based systems to provide the core structure and function to the network.

Within a network there are two general categories of computers: servers and clients. It is important to understand that these are definitions of each computer’s function, not its specific hardware components. A server is simply a computer that waits for requests from other computers and ...