Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide

Organization and Structure

In structuring the contents of this book I have tried to make a logical progression through the product, from a high-level overview through complete discussions and treatments of all its major components. Here's how this book is organized:

Chapter 1

Covers the product on a very general basis, from Microsoft's philosophy behind the product itself and the different versions of the product that are available, to an overview of the features in this release that are new or otherwise improved and a complete overview of the system design. This chapter is designed to give the administrator a complete and systematic overview of the product.

Chapter 2

Provides a detailed guide to installing the product in a variety of environments. I also include information on mass deployments using Windows Deployment Services, a vast improvement over previous image installation options offered in the box.

Chapter 3

Discusses the file services built into Windows Server 2008. The chapter begins with an overview of sharing and a guide to creating shares, publishing them to Active Directory, mapping drives, using the My Network Places applet, and accessing shares from the Start → Run command and from within Internet Explorer. Then I dive into a detailed discussion of the Windows permission structure, including permission levels, "special" permissions, inheritance, and ownership. Here, you'll also find a guide to settings permissions. Also covered in this chapter is an overview of the Distributed File System (DFS), and how to set it up and manage it.

Chapter 4

Covers the domain name system, or DNS. Because DNS is such a fundamental component of Active Directory, I wanted to include a separate treatment of how it works, including a discussion of the different types of resource records and zone files supported, integration with Active Directory, the split DNS architecture, and backup and recovery of DNS data.

Chapter 5

Most installations of Windows Server 2008 will include installation of the Active Directory technology because so many products that require the server OS are tightly integrated with Active Directory. Chapter 5 provides a complete guide to the technical portion of Active Directory, including its logical and physical structure, hierarchical components (domains, trees, forests, and organizational units), scalability, and replication. Coverage of the LDAP standards is included, as well as a discussion of migration and security considerations. Then I move into planning strategies, installing Active Directory onto Windows Server, and the day-to-day administrative tools.

Chapter 6

Discusses Group Policy (GP), one of the most underappreciated management technologies in any server product. Chapter 6 is dedicated to introducing GP and its structure and operation. I begin with a survey of GP and Active Directory interaction, objects, and inheritance. Then I provide a practical guide to implementing GP through user and computer policies and administrative templates, installing software through GP, administration through scripting, and redirecting folders and other user interface elements. I also discuss IntelliMirror, a cool technology for application distribution (similar to ZENworks from Novell).

Chapter 7

Helps ensure that you are well versed in locking down your systems to protect both your own computers and the Internet community as a whole. I cover security policy, including ways to manage it using predefined templates and customized policy plans, and an overview of the Security Configuration and Analysis Tool, or SCAT. Then I provide a complete procedural guide to locking down both a Windows network server and a standard Windows client system (despite the fact that this is a server book, administrators often are responsible for the entire network, and client and server security go hand in hand).

Chapter 8

Covers the details of the major IIS revamp in this release. In version 7, IIS is arguably the best web server software available. I cover the architectural improvements and new features in this release, and then move on to a practical discussion of daily IIS administration.

Chapter 9

Covers the new Server Core editions of Windows Server 2008, including deployment, activation, and using these new GUI-less versions of the operating system.

Chapter 10

Provides a guide to Terminal Services, including an overview from the server administrator's perspective and a similar overview from a typical user's point of view. Then I cover how to install both Terminal Services itself and applications such as Microsoft Office and other tools inside the Terminal Services environment. A guide to configuring Terminal Services follows, including procedures for general configuration, remote control options, environment settings, logons, sessions, and permission control. Concluding the chapter is a guide to daily administration using Terminal Services Manager, the Active Directory user tools, Task Manager, and command-line utilities.

Chapter 11

Covers the standard networking architecture of the operating system, including addressing and routing issues. Then I move into a discussion of the various network subsystems: the Domain Name System (DNS), the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and a discussion of VPN connectivity, the different phases of VPN, tunneling and encryption, and the RADIUS server bundled with .NET Server, the Internet Authentication Service (IAS). Finishing up the chapter, I discuss IPSec, its support from within the OS, and how to install, configure, use, and administer it. Coverage of client quarantining is also included.

Chapter 12

Covers Windows clustering services. First, a discussion of the different types of clustering services is provided, and then I cover successfully planning a basic cluster and its different elements: the applications, how to group the machines, capacity and network planning, user account management, and the possible points of failure. A treatment of Network Load Balancing clusters follows, and I round out the chapter with a guide to creating and managing server clusters, as well as an overview of the administrative tools bundled with the OS.

Chapter 13

Discusses Windows PowerShell, the powerful object-based scripting and command-line technology now bundled with Windows Server 2008.

Chapter 14

Covers the fundamentals of Microsoft's currently prerelease virtualization solution called Hyper-V, including its structure, operation, and setup on Windows Server 2008. We'll also look at creating virtual machines, and we'll wrap up with what to expect upon Hyper-V's official release.