Project 1 Phillip Foster What is Windows Server? Windows Server 2008 is one of Microsoft Windows server line of operating systems. Released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and officially released on February 27, 2008, it is the successor to Windows Server 2003, released nearly five years earlier. A second release, named Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009.
Like Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 was built on Windows NT 6. x. Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation is a cost-effective, entry-level technology foundation targeted at small business owners and IT generalists supporting small businesses. Windows Server 2008 was built from the same code base as Windows Vista; therefore, it shares much of the same architecture and functionality.
Since the code base is common, it automatically comes with most of the technical, security, management and administrative features new to Windows Vista such as the rewritten networking stack, native IPv6, native wireless, speed and security improvements; improved image-based installation, deployment and recovery; improved diagnostics, monitoring, event logging and reporting tools; new security features such as BitLocker and ASLR; improved Windows Firewall with secure default configuration; . NET Framework 3. technologies, specifically Windows Communication Foundation, Microsoft Message Queuing and Windows Workflow Foundation; and the core kernel, memory and file system improvements. Processors and memory devices are modelled as Plug and Play devices, to allow hot plugging of these devices. This allows the system resources to be partitioned dynamically using Dynamic Hardware Partitioning; each partition has its own memory, processor and I/O host bridge devices independent of other partitions What are the different editions of Windows Server?
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard is the most robust Windows Server operating system to date. With built-in, enhanced Web and virtualization capabilities, it is designed to increase the reliability and flexibility of your server infrastructure while helping save time and reduce costs. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise is an advanced server platform that provides more cost-effective and reliable support for mission-critical workloads. Windows Web Server 2008 R2 is a powerful Web application and services platform. Featuring Internet Information Services (IIS) 7. and designed exclusively as an Internet-facing server, it offers improved administration and diagnostic tools to help reduce infrastructure costs when used with a variety of popular development platforms. With included Web Server and DNS Server roles, as well as improved reliability and scalability, this platform allows you to manage the most demanding environments — from a dedicated Web server to an entire Web server farm. Windows HPC Server 2008, the next generation of high-performance computing (HPC), provides enterprise-class tools for a highly productive HPC environment.
Windows HPC Server 2008 can efficiently scale to thousands of processing cores and includes management consoles that help you to proactively monitor and maintain system health and stability. Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems delivers an enterprise-class platform for deploying business-critical applications. Scale database, line-of-business, and custom applications to meet growing business needs. Help improve availability with failover clustering and dynamic hardware partitioning capabilities.
Virtualized deployments with rights to run an unlimited number of virtual instances of Windows Server. What are the limitations of the various editions? Physical Memory Limits: Windows Server 2008 R2 in 64-bit; Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter 2TB Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 2TB Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems 2TB Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation 8TB Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard 32TB Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 128TB Windows Web Server 2008 R2 32TB Processor Windows Web Server 2008 R2 1 GHz (x86) or 1. 4 GHz (x64) (x64 required for R2) 2 GB RAM or higher Maximum (32-bit systems): 4 GB RAM (Standard) or 64 GB RAM (Enterprise, Datacenter) * Maximum (64-bit systems): 8 GB (Foundation) or 32 GB RAM (Standard) or 2 TB RAM (Enterprise, Datacenter and Itanium-Based Systems) * 30 GB or higher disk space * Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging and dump files. What are the advantages / disadvantages of using Windows Server versus other server operating systems – such as UNIX or Linux’stability: UNIX systems (we actually use Linux but for comparison purposes, they are identical) are hands-down the winner in this category.
There are many factors here but to name just a couple big ones: in our experience, UNIX handles high server loads better than Windows and UNIX machines seldom require reboots while Windows constantly needs them. Servers running on UNIX enjoy extremely high up time and high availability/reliability. Performance: While there is some debate about which operating system performs better, in our experience both perform comparably in low-stress conditions however, UNIX servers under high load (which is what is important) are superior to Windows.
Scalability: Web sites usually change over time. They start off small and grow as the needs of the person or organization running them grow. While both platforms can often adapt to your growing needs, Windows hosting is more easily made compatible with UNIX-based programming features like PHP and MySQL. UNIX-based web software is not always 100% compatible with Microsoft technologies like . NET and VB development. Therefore, if you wish to use these, you should choose Windows web hosting.
What is Active Directory and how is it used? Active Directory provides the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up your organization’s network. Integrated with Windows Server 2008 R2, Active Directory gives you out-of-the-box functionality needed to centrally configure and administer system, user, and application settings. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) stores directory data and manages communication between users and domains, including user logon processes, authentication, and directory searches.
An Active Directory domain controller is a server that is running AD DS What are the benefits of utilizing Active Directory? Active Directory is a state-wide authentication directory that supports enterprise systems, provides contact information and scheduling integration, along with providing mechanisms for centralized desktop management. Single user name and password Central storage provided for individuals and departments Improve workstation security Improve services through centralized management capabilities
