Managing and Monitoring a Windows Server

2008 Network
 Objectives
• Use management consoles to maintain Windows Server 2008
• Update and maintain your clients using Windows Server Update
Service
• Monitor Windows Server 2008 using built-in and downloadable
utilities
• Perform backup and restore tasks with Windows Server 2008

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 Managing Windows Server 2008

• Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0

– Improved version of the MMC that has been used in past
versions of Windows Server
• Building custom MMCs
– You can create a custom snap-in console for the following
reasons
• To centralize tools you use on a regular basis
• To provide access to users that need to use specific snap-
ins to perform their jobs

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 Server Manager Console

• Server Manager lets you manage components in the following

sections
– Roles
– Features
– Diagnostics
– Configuration
– Storage

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 Server Manager Console (continued)

• Servermanagercmd.exe
– Provides a command-line utility so that
you can perform automated installations
or removals of roles, role services, and
features

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 Updating Windows Server 2008

• Windows Update
– Suite of tools and services provided by Microsoft for
applying updates to systems
– Responsible for managing the download and installation
process of updates from Microsoft
– Requires access to the Internet

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 Windows Server Update Services

• Centralizes the updating tasks for client and server computers

• Benefits of WSUS
– Centralizes update management
– Minimizes effects on the WAN connection
– Improves network security and reliability
– Improves installation of relevant updates
– Targets updates to specific computers and computer groups

10
 Windows Server Update Services
(continued)

• Basic requirements before installing WSUS 3.0 SP1

– Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0
– Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2005
– Minimum of 6 GB of free space for storing downloaded
updates

11
 Windows Server Update Services (continued)

• Working with WSUS

– WSUS Administrative console allows you to:
• Generate reports
• Manage updates
• Monitor the computer through the console

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MCTS Guide to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration 15
 Windows Server Update Services
(continued)

• Configuring clients
– After WSUS has been installed and
configured in the WSUS console
• Your clients need to be configured to use
the WSUS server for updates

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 Windows Server Update Services
(continued)
• Approving and deploying updates
– Using the Update Services console, you can control
• Which updates are applied
• Which computers receive the updates
• When the updates are distributed

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 Monitoring Windows Server 2008

• Windows Server 2008 utilities

– Event Viewer
– Reliability and Performance Console
– Network Monitor
– Task Manager
– Disk Management

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 Working with Event Viewer

• Each event in Event Viewer is classified by severity

• Event Viewer Console
– Sections include:
• Custom Views
• Windows Logs
• Applications and Services Logs
• Subscriptions
• Windows Remote Management (WinRM)
– Command-line tool service used to configure a computer to
accept WS-Management requests

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 Reliability and Performance Console

• Provides a suite of utilities for monitoring and capturing

performance data for local and remote systems
• Divided into the following areas
– Resource Overview
– Monitoring Tools including Performance Monitor and
Reliability Monitor
– Data Collector Sets
– Reports

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 Reliability and Performance Console
(continued)
• Resource Overview
– Provides a real-time summary based on the four key
components: CPU, disk, network, and memory
• Performance Monitor
– Can display real-time or historical data of local or remote
computers
• Reliability Monitor
– Provides an overview of system stability

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 Reliability and Performance Console
(continued)
• Data Collector Sets
– Acts as a central repository for gathering information for
Reliability and Performance Monitor
• Generating Reports
– Reports section provides a central reporting location for the
information gathered by the Data Collector Sets

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 Network Monitor
• Built-in utility for capturing and viewing network traffic as it
arrives or leaves a server
• Helps you determine whether traffic is reaching a destination
• Lets you view encrypted ESP packets to verify that Internet
Protocol Security policies are being properly applied

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 Disk Management
• Disk Management console
– Provides central location for administering the physical hard
disks and disk-based devices attached to a server
• NTFS Disk Quotas
– Allow you to track disk usage by users and enforce disk
space limits on disk volumes
• Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS)
– Allows you to set up manual or automatic backup copies of
files or folders

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 Backup and Restore in Windows Server
2008
• Windows Server Backup (WSB)
– Provides backup and recovery of your files, folders, volumes,
and application data on Windows Server 2008
– Works by using VSS and the Block Level Backup Engine
service
• Installing Windows Backup
– Add this feature through the Add Features Wizard using
servermanagercmd.exe

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 Backup and Restore in Windows Server
2008 (continued)
• Configuring Windows Backup
– Choices include: Backup Schedule, Backup Once, Recover
• WSB supports three backup options
– Always perform full backup
– Always perform incremental backup
– Custom
• Restoring with WSB
– Bare-metal backup: process where a server can be restored
to a clean machine in a single step

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 Summary
• MMC 3.0
– Provides a framework for tools, referred to as snap-ins, to
add to the console
• Server Manager
– Lets you manage roles, features, diagnostics, configuration,
and storage
• Use Windows Update to update your system to correct security
holes

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 Summary (continued)
• WSUS
– Centralizes the updating tasks for client and server
computers
• You can configure WSUS by running the WSUS Server
Configuration Wizard
• MBSA 2.1
– Tool for beginning to analyze your current security posture
• When monitoring Windows Server 2008
– Event Viewer allows you to review and manage events for
local and remote computers

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 Summary (continued)
• The Reliability and Performance console
– Provides a suite of utilities for monitoring and capturing
performance data for local and remote systems
• Reliability Monitor
– Provides an overview of system stability by listing details
about events that have affected reliability
• Data Collector Set
– Acts as a central repository for gathering information for
Reliability and Performance Monitor

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 Summary
• Network Monitor
– Built-in utility for capturing and viewing network traffic as it
arrives or leaves a server
• VSS
– Allows you to set up manual or automatic backup copies of
files
• WSB
– Provides backup and recovery of your files, folders, volumes,
and application data

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