An overview of windows server
2008 features
Chapter 2
Objectives
• Understanding the new features of windows
server 2008
• Choosing the right Windows Server 2008
edition
Windows server 2008 features
1. BitLocker drive encryption:
– This particular feature has the potential to improve
system security Because Windows encrypts the entire
hard drive
– In addition, someone can’t even start the server
without the required information because the hard
drive encryption keeps the data completely locked
until you provide the required code.
– using BitLocker means that you don’t have to worry as
much about someone gaining access to company data
when you perform an upgrade of the hardware
Windows server 2008 features
2. Enhanced Windows Firewall:
–
The Windows Firewall in Windows Server 2008
is considerably easier to use than in previous
versions of Windows
– The initial display says it all by providing you with
a quick indicator of firewall status, as shown in
the Figure next slide
– Windows Firewall is also considerably easier to
configure than in the previous versions of
windows server.
Windows server 2008 features
3. Improved failover clustering:
– Failover clustering is an important feature for a
multiserver network, where one server can take over
for another when a failure occurs
– You have to have the right hardware and software to
create a clustered network, which means having
knowledge of precisely what Windows is looking for in
a cluster. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to make
this determination in the past. Microsoft has fixed this
problem in Windows Server 2008 by providing
validation tests you can use to ensure that your setup
will work as a cluster.
Windows server 2008 features
• 3. Improved failover clustering:
– The biggest improvement in failover cluster
management is the way in which you can interact
with hard drives. For example, you can now add a
hard drive resource while the cluster is serving
applications
Windows server 2008 features
4. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6):
– The world is running out of Internet Protocol (IP)
addresses because every device requires one
– The old IP version 4 (IPv4) originally appeared on
the scene with 4,294,967,296 possible address
combinations and now a days this is not enough
– The IPv6 provides a significantly larger address
space of
3.4028236692093846346337460743177e+38
possible addresses
Windows server 2008 features
5. .NET Framework 3.0:
– The .NET Framework is a technology that supports
building and running the next generation of
applications and XML Web services.
– It is a software framework developed
by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft
Windows
– The .NET Framework is now part of Windows when
you install it. The main reason for this change from
previous versions is that Microsoft is using the .NET
Framework more and more within Windows
applications.
Windows server 2008 features
6. Network access protection (NAP) and
enforcement:
– NAP provides the means to check the health of
any client ( clients with no viruses) connecting to
your network.
– When NAP detects an unhealthy client:
1.
it can act by limiting access until the client receives
the necessary updates and configuration changes.
2. In addition, it can specify a means of fixing the client
to place it in a healthy state again.
Windows server 2008 features
7. New printer and storage options:
1. XML Paper Specification (XPS) Document Support:
An advanced way of printing documents for
multiple purposes, including viewing electronic
pages and printing pages in a polished format.
– XPS is a concept similar to using PDF files
– Using XPS printing is similar to saving a file with
XPS extension
Windows server 2008 features
7. New printer and storage options:
2. New print paths: A print path defines the software
and actions that the operating system uses to process
a document and send printer-ready data to the printer
for output
– The XML Paper Specification (XPS) print path is a new
Windows feature that redefines how printing is
handled in Windows applications.
– Microsoft now provides the XPS Driver (XPSDrv)
software to process XPS documents more efficiently
Windows server 2008 features
7. New printer and storage options:
3. Scalability improvements: Normally, when a client
makes a print request, the server performs all the
required processing. Of course, placing the burden
on the server reduces overall performance of the
system for a very small gain in network
performance. Windows Server 2008 now places
the burden of printing on the client.
Windows server 2008 features
8. Read-only domain controller (RODC):
– A Domain Controller is a server that responds to
security authentication requests (logging in, checking
permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain.
– A network my have more than one domain controller
– Even though the domain controller maybe considered
safe from external influences, someone could
potentially break into it and make changes to your
setup
– Using an RODC makes Active Directory a read-only
environment, which means that any changes that
anyone makes are automatically overwritten with the
original data. No changes occur to the server unless
the administrator make them.
Windows server 2008 features
8. Read-only domain controller (RODC):
– the domain controller can make requests for data
from a writeable domain controller
– For example, when a user tries to authenticate
against the domain controller the first time, the
RODC sends the authentication request to a
writeable domain controller. If the authentication
is successful, the RODC can request a copy of the
credentials from the writeable domain controller
and store them locally.
Windows server 2008 features
9. Windows Deployment Services:
– Use this new service to deploy Windows
operating system over a network on computers
that have no operating systems installed
– you can perform the deployment without being
physically present at the remote machine
– An installation DVD is not necessary
• The installation files are sent over a network from the
Windows Server 2008 Windows Deployment Services
server
Windows server 2008 features
9. Windows Deployment Services:
– Multicast deployment: Using a multicast
deployment technique lets the server install
Windows on more than one client at a time
• This approach improves overall performance and
makes it possible to update the clients quickly.
Windows server 2008 features
10. Internet Information Server (IIS):
– Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows®
Server is a flexible, secure and manageable Web
server for hosting anything on the Web. From
media streaming to web applications.
– Make it easier for network programmers to write
network applications for the Web.
Windows Server 2008 Editions
• Windows Server 2008 comes in a number of
versions and a number of editions.
• A version affects functionality in some way. For
example, if your server requires a 32-bit
operating system, you use the 32-bit version of
the product.
• An edition defines the feature set of a particular
version of the operating system. The Standard
edition offers a different feature set from the
Enterprise edition. You can get both editions in
32-bit versions.
Windows Server 2008 Editions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Standard
Enterprise
Datacenter
Itanium Processor
Web server
Storage Server
Standard Edition
• The Standard edition provides functionality that
the average work center, small business, or even
medium-size business requires
• The most basic server version
• Provides file and print services, secure Internet
connectivity, and centralized management of
network resources
• The main limitations for the Standard edition are
the number of processors (up to four processors
in a single server) and the amount of memory
you can use.
Enterprise Edition
• Designed to meet the everyday needs of
networks with applications and Web services
• Intended for midsized and large organizations
that want the option to continue scaling their
server operations upward
• Enable multiprocessor computers (up to eight
processors in a single server)
• Enables clustering
• Enable hot Add memory
Enterprise Edition
• Hot-add memory
– The ability to add RAM without shutting down the
computer or operating system
Datacenter Edition
• Designed for environments with missioncritical applications, very large databases, and
information access requiring high availability
• Supports clustering for up to 16 computers
• Enables hot-add memory and hot-add/replace
processor support.
Datacenter Edition
• Hot-add processor
– Can be added to an empty processor slot while
the system is running
• Hot-replace processor
– Can replace a processor in a multiprocessor
system without taking the system down
Web server edition
• Designed for hosting and deploying Web
services and applications
• Supports multiprocessor computers
• Optimized to run Microsoft Internet
Information Services (IIS)
• Intended for small to large companies, or
departments within an organization that
develop and deploy a single Web site
Itanium-processor Edition
• Supports hot-add memory, hot-add processor,
hot-replace processor, and multiprocessor
computers
• Supports server clustering for up to eight
servers in one cluster
Windows Server 2008 Server Core
• Windows Server 2008 Server Core starts with
nothing more than a command prompt. It
doesn’t include much in the way of graphical
tools for interaction, so you need to know the
command line utilities to use it.
Windows Server 2008 Server Core
Windows Server 2008 Server Core
• Why?
– Resource Usage:
• Microsoft recommends 2 GB of RAM for Windows
Server 2008, but you can get by with 1 GB in Windows
Server 2008 Server Core.
• The hard drive requirements are also less — you need
only 10 GB for Windows Server 2008 Server Core, but
Microsoft recommends 40 GB for Windows Server
2008.
• The GUI in Windows Server 2008 consumes a
considerable amount of resources
Windows Server 2008 Server Core
• Why?
– Windows Server 2008 Server Core can execute
some tasks considerably faster because it doesn’t
have the overhead of a GUI to consider.
Neither version of the product is demonstrably
better , only better for a given set of tasks.
Determining Whether to Install Server
Core or the Full Version
• Some scenarios for a Server Core installation:
– Your organization is medium or large in size and
wants to dedicate one server to operate as a
DHCP
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server: is
a server that automatically assign an IP address to a
computer in network.
– Your organization offers many shared folders to
users for their work and the organization wants
to centralize all of the shared folders on one
computer
Determining Whether to Install Server
Core or the Full Version
• Some scenarios for a Server Core installation:
– The server contains only centralized databases
accessed by users
– The server holds critical files for the organization
and needs to have the smallest attack surface
– The server is dedicated to one task
Determining Whether to Install Server
Core or the Full Version (continued)
• Sample scenarios for installing the full version
are:
– Your organization is a small or medium-size
business
– You prefer to work in a GUI environment
– The server administrator is relatively new to
Windows Server 2008 and wants to use wizards for
guidance
34
Windows Server Virtualization (WSV)
• Virtualization is: the ability to run two or more
operating systems on a single computer
• Many organizations today need to run
multiple servers to provide separation
between groups of users. In some cases, the
server may use a different operating system
than Windows, such as Linux.
• It’s important to note that the WSV won’t ship
with Windows Server 2008 Core
Windows Server Virtualization (WSV)
• Benefits:
– the ability to run multiple servers on a single piece
of hardware
– The virtual server is more reliable and secure
because it has an underlying operating system
monitoring it:
• The underlying, or host, operating system isn’t visible
to the outside world, so no one can tamper with it. The
host operating system is also invisible to a guest
operating system (the virtual server), so no one can
gain access to the host through the guest.
Windows PowerShell
• Windows PowerShell
– A command-line interface that offers an environment
for executing commands and scripts.
– Windows PowerShell is a new kind of command
prompt based on .NET technology, Anything you can
do with the .NET Framework, you can also do with
Windows PowerShell
• Can perform many tasks with PowerShell such as:
– Work with files and folders
– View information about the local computer, including
user accounts
– Install, list, and remove software applications
Windows PowerShell (continued)