How to's... for Server owners

Your Sever	Or Mine	Or a bunch of 'em

DIY-Computer-Repair can help!

Portions of the Server section were extracted from Build a Server Guide.

Owning and Configuring Servers some How to's...

In the computing world there are two types of computers, Workstations and Servers.

What is the definition of a server? Well the official definitions such as 2003 Server is: A computer that serves files, applications, and data and more to multiple computers called clients.

What is the definition of a workstation (or client) such as XP: A workstation is a computer that modifies data, be it a spread sheet, a text file, a database, a movie, a graphic, surfing the web, or playing a game.

There are different types of servers, data base servers, file storage servers, print servers, Domain Controllers, and web servers to mention a few of the most common or well know.

Server hardware is normally more robust than a workstation, has more hard drives, processors, and sometimes more memory and is more expensive. Servers also come in two types, Towers and Rack mount. You would use a tower when you only need one or two servers in a fairly small space. You would use rack mount servers when you have more servers and want them to occupy the smallest space possible. You can put more than ten rack mount servers in the same space as two tower servers. The rack mount server chassis is manufactured different than the tower server case, no frills. I worked in a data center that had over two thousand servers in a 7000 sq. foot space, rows and rows of servers!

The main difference between a workstation and a server in the Windows world is how the Operating System is used. Both Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server use the same underlying engine to operate. The difference comes with how the OS (Operating System) is configured and the options that are installed. Even though both XP and 2003 Server come on a different CD or DVD the basics are the same.

When you load a server with 2003 Server you have more steps to complete than you would with say XP. The reason is that the server OS runs almost all programs as a service with out user intervention. Whereas XP runs most programs where the user can interact with them.

A few of the things that you would do when installing a server OS that you would not do to a workstation is:

Install a 'Static IP'  - This allows the server to be at the same IP at all times.

Install more than one NIC - This allows for what is known as Teaming, where two or more NIC (Network Interface Card) are set with the same MAC (Machine Address Code) and IP. Thus increasing the local LAN speed by the factor of the card's speed and cards. Such as two Identical NIC's running at 100 MBPS would yield 200 MBPS for the server to communicate with other servers/workstations on the LAN.

Install  a RAID configuration - Redundant Array of Independent Disks - To do this you require a RAID Controller, once you have the controller configured you have to setup the partitions and volumes on the server. RAID controllers also come with an Accelerator, the accelerator caches the data for read/write operations making the data transfer faster.

Install any special services that the Server will preformed - DNS, DHCP, Domain Controller, Web Server, or any of the other functions the server requires to do it's job.

This article is not meant to be a short cut past the MCSE or the numerous guides for instilling and configuring a server. It is a series of 'How to's...' of problems and configurations I have came across in my career that I had to research to resolve.

How to..

Hardware considerations for a server - Processor, memory, drives, services	Servers - Hardware considerations
Configuration considerations for your server - Designing your network and adding additional servers	Servers - Configuration considerations
Configuring the RAID for a sever	Servers - RAID Configurations
Configuring Teaming for NIC's	Servers - Teaming NICS
Configuring your IP	Servers - Configuring your IP
Configuring DNS	Servers - Configuring DNS
Configuring WINS	Servers - Configuring WINS
Configuring a Domain Controller	Servers - Configuring a Domain Controller
Configuring  Active Directory Users and Computers	Servers - Configuring Active Directory
Configuring DHCP	Servers - Configuring DHCP
Configuring a Web Server	IIS -Configuring a Internet Information Service
Software and Applications	Software and Applications Installation
Tools

This is a short guide not to be construed as a complete working of server and domain functions.  If you need more help it is available with the help function. There are very comprehensive books available for a complete run down on how to use Active Directory.

Having a problem? I have answered technical questions at AllExperts, if you are having a problem check out the answers there.

Q and A This site contains a lot of information. As with any publication not all information is available due to space, time, or subject constraints. If you have a question that you did not find the answer on this web site  you a can ask your question here and we will endeavor to get you the most up to date answer possible!

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