WINDOWS SERVER 2008 BASIC CONCEPTS

After the success story of Windows Server 2003 Microsoft introduces Windows Server 2008 on Feb 27, 2008. Then on July 22, 2009 an upgrade version is released ie Windows Server 2008 R2 which is based on Windows NT 6.X.

There are so many advance features in Windows Server 2008 which will be discussed later. Now let us go through the flavors available.

Windows Web Server 2008 This version is designed especially for Web Services. Compared to other versions this includes web hosting specific features IIS, ASP.NET etc.

Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition This is a basic version of Server 2008 & it includes features such as .NET framework, IIS7 and Active Directory for small to medium size business solutions. It supports up to two (2) Processors & 4 GB of memory.

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition This version is designed for companies which needs enterprise level of systems. It includes all the features of standard edition. It supports up to eight (8 ) processors & 64 GB of RAM for x86 versions and up to 2 TB of RAM for x64 versions & hot swappable memory.

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition

As the name shows it is used for data centers & having all the features of Enterprise edition. It is having hot swappable memory facilities along with it supports 8 to 32 processors.

Now let us go to the Active Directory Part

The directory is stored in a single file named ntds.dit & is located by default in the %SystemRoot%\Ntds folder.

WHA T A R E T HE P R ER EQU ISI TES TO INS TA LL A C TIV E D IR ECTOR Y?

     Windows server 2008 DVD. NTFS Partition with enough free space atleast 250mb. An NIC Properly configured TCP/IP address (Not through DHCP). System should be in a LAN or it should be connected to another system through a cross over cable.

STEPS TO CONFIGURE IP ADDRESS

Step 1

Step 2

Now Step 3

click the

Manage Network Connections.

Step 4

Step 5

After this let us start the installation part

In windows Server 2008, unlike to the previous version of windows we have to install the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) role on the server. In fact the AD DS role is what enables the server to act as a Domain Controller, but we will still need to run the DCPROMO as in regular way.

AD DS can be installed in one of 3 methods. Let us first see the best method.

METHOD -1 SERVER MANAGER / INITIAL CONFIGURATION TASKS

1. Open Server Manager by clicking the icon in Quick Launch bar / from the Administrative Tool Folder / from the start menu. Fig 1.1 2. Then click on the Role in left panel & click on Add Roles. Fig 1.2 3. After that a window will open as shown in fig 1.3. 4. Now select the Server Role from right hand side pan ie Active Directory Domain Services. 5. Now click Next-> Next -> Install 6. Wait for some time and then click Close. Fig 1.4

Fig 1.1

Fig 1.2

Fig 1.3

Fig 1.4

7. Now if you go to Server Roles again then it will tell you that dcpromo is not installed and you need to install it. The screenshot is as below. Fig 1.5

Fig 1.5

8. Now you can either click on the link or go to run and type DCPROMO and click ok. The wizard will appear for easy installation of AD. The wizard is as in fig 1.6. Now click on next and it will show you the Operating system compatibility. As shown in fig 1.7.

Fig 1.6

Fig 1.7

9. In the choosing Deployment Configuration window, click the choice as per your requirements. Here we are creating a new set up ie a new domain in a new forest. Click on next.

Fig 1.8

10. Enter an appropriate domain name and click NEXT. Don t use single label domain name such as MYDOMAIN , use always full name domain names such as MYDOMAIN.COM OR MYDOMAIN.LOCAL .

Fig 1.9

This wizard will perform checks to see if the domain name is not already in use on the local network.

Fig 1.10

11. After this checking part completion we have to check the important portion ie. SET FOREST FUNCTIONAL LEVEL .

Fig 1.11

12. Pick the right forest function level. Windows 2000 is the default, and it allows the addition of windows server 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers to the forest you are creating.

We will discuss it later

Note: If you select Windows Server 2008 for the forest function level, you will not be prompted to pick a domain function level.

13. The wizard will perform check to see if DNS is properly configured in local network. In this case the DNS is not configured in our local network; hence it will offer us to install automatically the DNS in this server.

Fig 1.12

Fig 1.13

Note: The first DCs must also be a Global Catalog. And also the First DCs in a forest cannot be a Read Only Domain Controller.

14. Now click on Next. You will get a warning message saying that the server has one or more dynamic IP address. We already given the static IP address in first step, you can confirm it also. Then why it is showing this message????? Because we given the static IP address for IPV4 & the error message is coming for IPV6, as we have not mentioned any IP address for this. As I am not using the IP V6 in my network I can safely ignore this and continue it. See the below fig 1.14.

Fig 1.14

15. After Clicking the 1st Option as shown in above figure you will find another warning message. Since no DNS configured yet. You can ignore the message and click Yes.

Fig 1.15

16. Next it will ask for the location of Database, Log Files & SYSVOL path. If this is your large organization then in order to give a better performance change the path to some other mass storage location.
Fig 1.16

17. Now in next step it will ask for Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password. This password must be kept confidential and it should meet complexity having atleast 7 character length. You can give any password but you have to remember it.

Fig 1.17

18. In next step you will find the summary. You can save it to an unattended text file for any AD Configuration with same criteria.

Fig 1.18

19. After clicking on Next button the wizard start to create Active Directory Domain, and when finished you have to restart your computer.
Fig 1.19

Fig 1.20

Fig 1.21

METHOD

2 SERVERMANAGERCMD.EXE

Servermanagercmd.exe is the command prompt equivalent of the Add Roles and Add Features wizards in Server Manager. Through the use of various command line options, you can quickly and easily add or remove features and roles to or from your server, including the AD-DS role. To install AD-DS by using Servermanagercmd.exe, simply enter the following command in the Command Prompt window:

Servermanagercmd.exe I ADDS-Domain-Controller
Let the command run and when it finishes, AD-DS will be installed on the server.

METHOD

3 LETTING DCPROMO DO THE JOB

Oh yes. If you forget to install AD-DS or simply want to skip clicking on some windows, you can run DCPROMO from the Run command and before it is executed, the server will check to see if the AD-DS binaries are installed. Since they are not, they will auto-install.

After you complete the Add Roles Wizard, either click the link to start the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard, or close Server Manager and manually run DCPROMO from the Run command. RUNNING DCPROMO

After installing the AD-DS role, we need to run DCPROMO to perform the actual Active Directory database and functions installation.

UNDERSTANDING WINDOWS SERVER 2008 SERVER CORE

One of the most exciting new features of Windows Server 2008 is its ability to install as a server core machine. A Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces maintenance & management requirements. A server running on Server Core installation supports the following Server roles.

         

Active Directory Domain Servers (AD DS) Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Active Directory Light Weight Directory Services (AD LDS) DHCP Server DNS Server File Services Print Services Streaming Media Services Internet Information Services (IIS) Hyper V

In server core installation it does not required the traditional Graphical User Interface (GUI). However you can use some GUI tools in Server Core such as task manager, Notepad, time, date & Time Zone control panel applet, regional settings control panel applet. The rest is all CLI and remote management.

WHAT IS NEW IN SERVER CORE INSTALLATION OPTION? A server core installation option in windows server 2008 requires initial configuration at a command prompt. A server core installation doesn t include the traditional GUI mode. Once you have configured the server you can manage it locally using command prompt or else remotely using Terminal Server Connection. You can also manage the server remotely using MMC (Microsoft Management Console) or Command Line tools that supports remote use. In R2 Power Shell can also be used locally or remotely.