Vincent Perella Research Assignment I March 1, 2012 Microsoft Network Operating Systems

1. Windows Server 2008 comes in 10 different versions, most of these editions are available in x86 and x64 CPU architecture. The 10 different versions provide different/more features (or features not included) to compliment the needs of different types of users/organizations. Size of network and features needed are two of the many criteria in deciding which version is best for you or your business. Windows Server 2008: a. Datacenter- Optimized for your large-scale virtualization of workloads that require the highest levels of scalability, reliability, and availability to support large, mission-critical applications. Includes unlimited virtualization rights. These rights enable you to run an unlimited number of Hyper-V virtual machines on physical servers licensed with Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter. b. Enterprise- provides high availability for mission-critical applications such as databases, messaging systems, and file and print services through such features as failover clustering and the Server Core installation option. It also includes Hyper-V, a flexible high-performance hypervisor for cost-effective virtualization. c. Standard- Provides organizations with the ability to deliver rich web-based experiences efficiently and effectively, with improved administration and diagnostics, advanced development and application tools, and lower infrastructure costs. d. Web Server- Optimized specifically for Internet-facing web-serving environments and built on industry standards allowing organizations to easily build new, or integrate into existing, server infrastructure environments. Web developers can build web pages and services that can communicate with other platforms using standards-based interfaces like XML and SOAP. e. Windows HPC Server 2008- Microsofts third generation High Performance Computing (HPC) solution is a comprehensive and cost effective solution for harnessing the power of high performance computing. Out-of-the-box, world-class performance and scalability enables organizations of all sizes to rapidly deploy solutions ranging from personal HPC workstations to large clusters spanning thousands of nodes. f. Itanium-Based Systems- Provides a fault-resistant platform suitable for high-end RISC/UNIX system replacement, floating-point intensive applications, and applications that share data extensively among processes. Migrating proprietary RISC/UNIX and mainframe solutions onto Itanium-based servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 helps

to improve performance, reduce costs, and increase scalability. You benefit from the RAS features of the Itanium platform with a mainstream Windows-based server. g. Foundation- An affordable platform for the core portfolio of IT capabilities, including file and print sharing, remote access and security. Lets employees exchange data securely, without requiring email or Internet access. Also supports your core Line of Business (LOB) applications. Windows Server Foundation is built on the simplicity and technical capabilities that Windows Server 2008 R2 provides. h. Windows Small Business Server- Integrated server suite from Microsoft designed for running network infrastructure (both intranet management and Internet access) of small and medium enterprises having no more than 75 workstations or users. Application server technologies are tightly integrated to enable small businesses with targeted solutions such as the Remote Web Workplace, and offer management benefits such as integrated setup, enhanced monitoring, a unified management console, and remote access. Windows Small Business Server is technically not an 'edition' of the Windows Server operating system but rather a customized SKU of server technologies targeted specifically at small businesses. i. Essential Business Server- Features a single administration/management console, through which the collection of managed clients and servers can be monitored and managed. Third party software can also utilize the same console to present an administration interface to their software. Discontinued March 5th 2010 due to low demand. j. Storage Server- Provides file storage and print server capabilities for client and server
computers in your network environment. Storage appliances running Windows Storage Server 2008 can be used in failover clusters, providing high availability storage for application servers and file storage.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/2008-r2-editions.aspx 2. Windows Server 2008 includes many new and enhanced features ranging from security to management to active directory enhancements. New virtualization capabilities include Live Migration, Cluster Shared Volumes using Failover Clustering, and Hyper-V. Also reduced power consumption, a new set of management tools and Active Directory capabilities such as a recycle bin for deleted Active Directory object. It also includes IIS 7.5 which includes FTP server services. Security enhancements include the addition of DNSSEC support for DNS Server Service, although only one signature algorithm is available (RSA/SHA-1). DHCP server enhancements include3 MAC address based control filtering, converting active leases into reservations, IPv4 address exhaustion, DHCP Name protection for non-Windows machines to prevent name squatting. The main difference between 2003 and 2008 is Virtualization, management, and power saving. Server 2008 as stated above introduces Hyper-V, but only can be used on the x64 platform. As for power management, it introduces advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI), processor power management (PPM) features, including support for processor performance states (P-States) and processor idle sleep states.

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/enUS/searchserverinstallconfigandadminstration/thread/b8f9d862-e67e-44a7-824d-4afa7fbd3d0d http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/2008-r2-overview.aspx 3. 64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. A 64-bit register can store 264 = 18446744073709551616 different values, a number in excess of 18 quintillion. Hence, a processor with 64-bit memory addresses can directly access 264 bytes of byte-addressable memory. A 64-bit CPU can calculate individual tasks two times as fast as a 32-bit model and can address significantly more random access memory (RAM) than the 4-gigabyte (GB) limit imposed by 32-bit processors, a 64-bit system architecture that is running a 64-bit edition of Windows Server can support up to 1,024 GB of both physical and addressable memory. Some various pros to 64-bit architecture are better parallel processing, faster bus architecture, more secure (buffer overflow protection, data execution protection, patch guard), better scalability, and lower total cost of ownership. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd630755(v=office.12).aspx 4. New Features of Server 2008: a. Virtualization- MS Server 2008 introduces Hyper-V, Microsofts hypervisor which provides you with a scalable, reliable, and highly available virtualization platform. You can run multiple servers inside of one server. This feature will allow you to consolidate many servers onto fewer servers. Like other virtualization products, Hyper-V can provide more efficient use of hardware and administrative resources. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Understanding-WindowsServer-2008-Windows-Server-Virtualization-WSV.html b. Server Core- Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles. The main benefits are reduced maintenance, reduced attack surface, reduced management, and less disk space required for installation. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753802(v=ws.10).aspx c. PowerShell- Version 2.0 is integrated with Windows Server 2008 R2, PowerShell V2 includes changes to the scripting language and hosting API, in addition to including more than 240 new cmdlets. New features in PowerShell V2: PowerShell Remoting, Background Jobs, Transactions, ScriptCmdlets, SteppablePipelines, Modules, Data Language, Script Debugging, Eventing, Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), Network File Transfer, New Cmdlets, New Operators, Exception Handling with Try-Catch-Finally, Nestable Here-Strings, Block Comments, and New APIs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_PowerShell#Version_3.0 d. These new features will allow better productivity and will lower hardware costs by using virtualization. Also it will allow server admins to work remotely on servers lessening labor costs. It also brings more manageability to Server 2008 and allows better control of the OS.

5. A RODC is a new domain controller implements in Windows Server 2008. An RODC hosts readonly partitions of the Active Directory Domain Services database. The main benefits of using an RODC are improved security, faster logon times, and more efficient access to resources on the network. An RODC provides a way to deploy a domain controller more securely in locations that require fast and reliable authentication services but cannot ensure physical security for a writable domain controller. You can grant a non-administrative domain user the right to log on to an RODC while minimizing the security risk to the Active Directory forest. Unidirectional replication, special krbtgt account, password replication policy (PRP), and RODC filtered attribute set (FAS) are all aspects of security an RODC can provide to an existing deployment. Another key benefit is that it contains both the File Replication Service (FRS) and Distributed File System (DFS) Replication for replicating SYSVOL. For DFS replication to be used, the domain functional level must be Windows Server 2008. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732801(v=ws.10).aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770320(WS.10).aspx