Download Chapter 7 - CIS Home Page

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 e-mail
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 E-Mail Servers
• Windows Server 2003 ships with a simple POP3 service. This can
provide a basic e-mail service to users on the LAN.
• Users can connect to the POP3 service using most e-mail clients.
• The ultimate e-mail server
for Windows Server 2003
is Exchange Server 2003.
Exchange Server 2003
includes POP3 and IMAP4.
Windows E-Mail 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 e-mail. Can be used in
conjunction with the POP3 service or Exchange Server 2003.
• 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 e-mail server solution for Windows is
Exchange Server 2003.
• 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?