Riguy Index and Archive:
Windows Server 2003 Arrives - Part II
General Observations of Windows Server 2003. After a 180 Day Evaluation on a home SOHO network, here are some general observations, in no particular order, from simple appearances, or changes in Notepad, to Local Area Network Connection changes.
--> Disk Management. There are some simple view changes within Disk Management in Windows Server 2003.
Under Computer Management (Local), then the Storage tab, go to Disk Management. This disk is 'Basic' NTFS. In other words, Basic disks are more in line with the older NT 4.0 model: primary and extended partitions can be created and deleted. With Dynamic Disks, simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, or RAID 5 volumes can be created or deleted.
--> Per MS Help: Dynamic = "A physical Disk that is managed by Disk Management. Dynamic Disks can contain only dynamic volumes (that is, volumes created with Disk Management). Dynamic Disks cannot contain partitions or logical drives, nor can they be accessed by MS-DOS."
-->To change it to Dynamic, right-click the "Disk 0" area, and "Convert to Dynamic Disk":
--> In My Computer or in Disk Management, right-click the C:\ drive of this monster 3.2 GB HDD (my very first computer), and most of the tabs are simliar to the W2K:
--> "Shadow Copies" is a new technology for me. A quick search in the Windows 2000 Help reveals no such entry. I thought I had missed something. But no, it is new. It seems to be aimed at the folks who edit files, save them, but then, damn....they realize the original (before save) version was better. In the past Windows world that file would be history, gone (updated).
--> In Windows 2003, select Shadow Copies from the disk options:
--> Shadow Copies "allow users to view the contents of shared folders as the contents existed at previous points in time", per the description seen when opening the tab. So, it resembles a snapshot of a file taken at a certain time, which can be reverted back to in case of some type of failure or problem with the file. This is analogous then to "Last Known Good", the old standby in case of a failed video card install or similar disaster, for instance.
--> The client software is located in \\%systemroot%\system32\clients\twclient.
--> The Shadow Copies are referred to by Micsosoft as "previous versions" of a file, for simplicty sake.
--> In the Shadow Copies window tab, Shadow Copies must be enabled. After a warning, a storage area to be shadowed needs to be chosen and set up/scheduled, etc:
That's all for Shadow Copies.
Help and Support Center
--> Excellent Help! Contains a highly searchable wealth of info. Some focal points are Windows Update, Campatible Hardware and Software, and Tools:
--> For example, go to Tools, and the System Information link, and from there check out the command-line reference. It is very good:
That's all for Help.
--> Useless tidbit?:
Guest User:
In Local Users and Groups, Microsoft's "vendor's account" is visible:
Hmm. This account is present as it is evaluation OS software.
--> Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) is something brand new for Windows Server 2003. It seems to provide a decent overview of Group Policies:
--> I had added Resultant set of Policy to my custom MMC (MY_MMC). As the above image shows, "Select 'Generate RSoP Data" '... from the Action Menu. After the first introductory Resultant Set of Policy Wizard window, I chose to simulate policy implemtation (Logging Mode):
--> After this, I chose "This Computer" to view settings. There are more advanced options, especially if Planning Mode is chosen from above. Here, in Logging Mode, I simply went with, "Do not display user policy settings in the results". Then I finished up the Wizard with another 2 clicks. A query is generated.
--> This basically ends up being a more advanced view of Group Policies from what I can gather. Another thing learned: the RSOP service needs to be started. It is 'manual' by default.
--> Back to the MMC from 2 images above, the RSoP now fills in with the data just arrrived at. I browse below the server RSoP, to right-click Computer Configuration, to get to the General tab. This one summarizes the various GPOs, which can be edited right there.
--> The other tab, Error Information, tells me some good details, like the fact that I need a reboot (lol), in this case:
That's all for RSoP.
Some of the more interesting items I snipped from the "Release Notes for the Windows 2003 Family", all in italics:
[%CD-ROM/DVD drive%\DOCS\RELNOTES.HTM]:
-->"The Windows Server 2003 family includes the following products:
Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition"
--> The 64-bit version is the "next big thing"...
--> Bye Bye DOS apps; Byw Bye 32-bit device drivers:
"Products: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (64-bit version only); Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (64-bit version only)
These products do not support most 16-bit applications."
--> Products: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (64-bit version only); Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (64-bit version only)
"These products do not support 32-bit device drivers. Applications that depend on 32-bit device drivers will not function correctly and might cause an error during installation or operation. Most 32-bit antivirus programs are affected and should not be installed on computers that are running these products." Use Last Known Good if trouble ensues.
--> Microsoft Exchange Server tidbit:
"Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit version only); Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit version only)
You cannot install Exchange Server 2000 on a server that is running any product in the Windows Server 2003 family."
That's what Exchange Server 2003 is for then!?
--> Redirection of new account locations to organizational units:
"To simplify domain management, you should redirect the default locations for newly created user and computer accounts from the common name to organizational units within the domain."
This makes sense.
--> Clustering
"After you upgrade a cluster node from Windows 2000 to one of these products, you must log on with an account that is a member of both the Domain Admins group and the Administrators group on each cluster node before you can restart the Cluster service. This step is required even if the Domain Admins group is already a member of the Administrators group on each cluster node."
--> Upgrading Windows 2000 DCs
"When using the Active Directory administration tools that are included with the Windows Server 2003 family to access domain controllers in a Windows 2000 domain, you must upgrade the domain controllers to Windows 2000 Service Pack 3".
--> No IIS running by default!
Products: Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition -
"Because of increased security measures, the World Wide Web Publishing Service (WWW service) is not enabled by default in these products after you upgrade from the Windows 2000 Server family..."
There is a way to have it run automatically (see
--> IE security restrictions-
"The default settings in Internet Explorer are more restrictive in the Windows Server 2003 family than in earlier versions of Windows. When you upgrade, any settings that do not match the new default settings will be overwritten. These changes decrease the exposure of your servers to attacks that are launched through Web content. However, users will not be able to view many Web pages correctly when using the default security settings"
That's enough for now.