Default path for OE and MS Outlook

OE

C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Mail

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{30D56BD2-51B0-42A4-

98BE-2E0C2564FA7C}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Inbox.dbx
MS Outlook
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
Personal Folders File (PST).

Default size of PST file

MS Outlook2002 and earlier2gb

MS Outlook2003 and above 20 GB

Difference between 2000 & 2003

Application Server mode is introduced in windows 2003

Possible to configure stub zones in windows 2003 DNS

Volume shadow copy services is introduced

Windows 2003 gives an option to replicate DNS data b/w all DNS servers inforest or All DNS servers in the domain.

ACTIVE DIRECTORY
Easier Deployment and Management
ADMT version 2.0—migrates password from NT4 to 2000 to 20003 or from 2000 to 2003
Domain Rename--- supports changing Domain Name System and/or NetBios name
Schema Redefine--- Allows deactivation of attributes and class definitions in the Active directory
schema
AD/AM--- Active directory in application mode is a new capability of AD that addresses certain
deployment scenarios related to directory enabled applications
Group Policy Improvements----introduced GPMC tool to manage group policy
UI—Enhanced User Interface
Grater Security
Cross-forest Authentication
Cross-forest Authorization
Cross-certification Enhancements
IAS and Cross-forest authentication
Credential Manager
Software Restriction Policies
Improved Performance and Dependability
Easier logon for remote offices
Group Membership replication enhancements
Application Directory Partitions
Install Replica from media
Dependability Improvements--- updated Inter-Site Topology Generator (ISTG) that scales better by
supporting forests with a greater number of sites than Windows 2000.
FILE AND PRINT SERVICES
Volume shadow copy service
NTFS journaling file system
 EFS
Improved CHDSK Performance
Enhanced DFS and FRS
Shadow copy of shared folders
Enhanced folder redirection
Remote document sharing (WEBDAV)
IIS
Fault-tolerant process architecture----- The IIS 6.0 fault-tolerant process architecture isolates Web sites and
applications into self-contained units called application pools
Health Monitoring---- IIS 6.0 periodically checks the status of an application pool with automatic restart on
failure of the Web sites and applications within that application pool, increasing application availability. IIS
6.0 protects the server, and other applications, by automatically disabling Web sites and applications that fail
too often within a short amount of time

Automatic Process Recycling--- IIS 6.0 automatically stops and restarts faulty Web sites and applications
based on a flexible set of criteria, including CPU utilization and memory consumption, while queuing requests
Rapid-fail Protection---- If an application fails too often within a short amount of time, IIS 6.0 will
automatically disable it and return a "503 Service Unavailable" error message to any new or queued requests
to the application
Edit-While-Running

The Five FSMO Roles

There are just five operations where the usual multiple master model breaks down, and the Active Directory
task must only be carried out on one Domain Controller. FSMO roles:

1. PDC Emulator - Most famous for backwards compatibility with NT 4.0 BDC's. However, there are
two other FSMO roles which operate even in Windows 2003 Native Domains, synchronizing the
W32Time service and creating group policies. I admit that it is confusing that these two jobs have
little to do with PDCs and BDCs.
2. RID Master - Each object must have a globally unique number (GUID). The RID master makes sure
each domain controller issues unique numbers when you create objects such as users or computers.
For example DC one is given RIDs 1-4999 and DC two is given RIDs 5000 - 9999.
3. Infrastructure Master - Responsible for checking objects in other other domains. Universal group
membership is the most important example. To me, it seems as though the operating system is
paranoid that, a) You are a member of a Universal Group in another domain and b) that group has
been assigned Deny permissions. So if the Infrastructure master could not check your Universal
Groups there could be a security breach.
4. Domain Naming Master - Ensures that each child domain has a unique name. How often do child
domains get added to the forest? Not very often I suggest, so the fact that this is a FSMO does not
impact on normal domain activity. My point is it's worth the price to confine joining and leaving the
domain operations to one machine, and save the tiny risk of getting duplicate names or orphaned
domains.
5. Schema Master - Operations that involve expanding user properties e.g. Exchange 2003 /
forestprep which adds mailbox properties to users. Rather like the Domain naming master, changing
the schema is a rare event. However if you have a team of Schema Administrators all experimenting
with object properties, you would not want there to be a mistake which crippled your forest. So its a
case of Microsoft know best, the Schema Master should be a Single Master Operation and thus a
FSMO role.

Global catalog

By default, a global catalog is created automatically on the initial domain controller in the forest. It stores a full
replica of all objects in the directory for its host domain and a partial replica of all objects contained in the directory
of every other domain in the forest. The replica is partial because it stores some, but not all, of the property values for
every object in the forest. The global catalog performs two key directory roles:
  It enables network logon by providing universal group membership information to a domain controller when a
logon process is initiated.
 It enables finding directory information regardless of which domain in the forest actually contains the data.

When a user logs on to the network, the global catalog provides universal group membership information for the
account sending the logon request to the domain controller. If there is only one domain controller in the domain, the
domain controller and the global catalog are the same server. If there are multiple domain controllers in the network,
the global catalog is hosted on the domain controller configured as such. If a global catalog is not available when a
user initiates a network logon process, the user is only able to log on to the local computer.

What is the difference between an Ethernet hub and switch?

When a hub receives a packet (chunk) of data (a frame in Ethernet lingo) at one of its ports from a PC on
the network, it transmits (repeats) the packet to all of its ports and, thus, to all of the other PCs on the
network. If two or more PCs on the network try to send packets at the same time a collision is said to
occur. When that happens all of the PCs have to go though a routine to resolve the conflict. The process
is prescribed in the Ethernet Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol.
Each Ethernet Adapter has both a receiver and a transmitter. If the adapters didn't have to listen with their
receivers for collisions they would be able to send data at the same time they are receiving it (full duplex).
Because they have to operate at half duplex (data flows one way at a time) and a hub retransmits data
from one PC to all of the PCs, the maximum bandwidth is 100 Mhz and that bandwidth is shared by all of
the PC's connected to the hub. The result is when a person using a computer on a hub downloads a large
file or group of files from another computer the network becomes congested. In a 10 Mhz 10Base-T
network the affect is to slow the network to nearly a crawl. The affect on a small, 100 Mbps (million bits
per scond), 5-port network is not as significant.

An Ethernet switch automatically divides the network into multiple segments, acts as a high-speed,
selective bridge between the segments, and supports simultaneous connections of multiple pairs of
computers which don't compete with other pairs of computers for network bandwidth. It accomplishes this
by maintaining a table of each destination address and its port. When the switch receives a packet, it
reads the destination address from the header information in the packet, establishes a temporary
connection between the source and destination ports, sends the packet on its way, and then terminates
the connection.

Different types of back up

The Backup utility supports five methods of backing up data on your computer or network.

Copy backup

A copy backup copies all selected files but does not mark each file as having been backed up (in other words, the
archive attribute is not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal and incremental
backups because copying does not affect these other backup operations.

Daily backup

A daily backup copies all selected files that have been modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-
up files are not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared).

Differential backup

A differential backup copies files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark
files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you are performing a
combination of normal and differential backups, restoring files and folders requires that you have the last normal as
well as the last differential backup.

Incremental backup

An incremental backup backs up only those files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It
marks files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If you use a combination of
normal and incremental backups, you will need to have the last normal backup set as well as all incremental backup
sets in order to restore your data.

Normal backup

A normal backup copies all selected files and marks each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive
attribute is cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the backup file or tape to restore all
of the files. You usually perform a normal backup the first time you create a backup set.

1. What is DNS & WINS

DNS is a Domain Naming System, which resolves Host names to IP addresses. It uses fully qualified domain
names. DNS is a Internet standard used to resolve host names
WINS is a Windows Internet Name Service, which resolves Netbios names to IP Address. This is proprietary
for Windows

2. Types of DNS Servers

Primary DNS
Secondary DNS
Active Directory Integrated DNS
Forwarder
Caching only DNS

On the Internet, the domain name system (DNS) stores and associates many types of information with domain
names; most importantly, it translates domain names (computer hostnames) to IP addresses

DNS allows two main types of queries: forward lookups and reverse lookups. A forward lookup searches for an IP address based on a
provided host name.
A reverse lookup performs the opposite. It queries DNS for a host name based on an IP address

stub - A stub zone is like a slave zone, except that it replicates only the NS records of a master zone instead of the
entire zone.
hint - The initial set of root name servers is specified using a hint zone. When the server starts up, it
uses the root hints to find a root name server and get the most recent list of root name servers.

What is DHCP?

DHCP stands for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol".

What is DHCP's purpose?

DHCP's purpose is to enable individual computers on an IP network to extract their configurations from a server (the
'DHCP server') or servers, in particular, servers that have no exact information about the individual computers until
they request the information. The overall purpose of this is to reduce the work necessary to administer a large IP
network. The most significant piece of information distributed in this manner is the IP address.
 There is a four way negotiation process b/w client and server
DHCP Discover (Initiated by client)
DHCP Offer (Initiated by server)
DHCP Select (Initiated by client)
DHCP Acknowledgement (Initiated by Server)
DHCP Negative Acknowledgement (Initiated by server if any issues after DHCP offer)

1. what is the difference between Authorized DHCP and Non Authorized DHCP

To avoid problems in the network causing by mis-configured DHCP servers, server in windows 2000 must be
validate by AD before starting service to clients. If an authorized DHCP finds any DHCP server in the
network it stop serving the clients
1. What protocol and port does DHCP use?

DHCP, like BOOTP runs over UDP, utilizing ports 67 and 68.

2. What is an IP address?

An IP address (also called an IP number) is a number (typically written as four numbers separated by
periods, i.e. 107.4.1.3 or 84.2.1.111) which uniquely identifies a computer that is making use of the
Internet. It is analogous to your telephone number in that the telephone number is used by the
telephone network to direct calls to you. The IP address is used by the Internet to direct data to your
computer, e.g. the data your web browser retrieves and displays when you surf the net. One task of
DHCP is to assist in the problem of getting a functional and unique IP number into the hands of the
computers that make use of the Internet.

3. What is a MAC address?

A MAC address (also called an Ethernet address or an IEEE MAC address) is a number (typically
written as twelve hexadecimal digits, 0 through 9 and A through F, or as six hexadecimal numbers
separated by periods or colons, i.e. 0080002012ef, 0:80:0:2:20:ef) which uniquely identifes a
computer that has an Ethernet interface. Unlike the IP number, it includes no indication of where your
computer is located. In DHCP's typical use, the server uses a requesting computer's MAC address to
uniquely identify it.

4. What is a DHCP lease?

A DHCP lease is the amount of time that the DHCP server grants to the DHCP client permission to
use a particular IP address. A typical server allows its administrator to set the lease time.

5. What is a Client ID?

What is termed the Client ID for the purposes of the DHCP protocol is whatever is used by the
protocol to identify the client computer. By default, DHCP implementations typically employ the
client's MAC address for this purpose, but the DHCP protocol allows other options. Some DHCP
implementations have a setup option to specify the client ID you want. One alternative to the MAC
address is simply a character string of your choice. In any case, in order for DHCP to function, you
must be certain that no other client is using the client ID you choose, and you must be sure the DHCP
server will accept it.

6. Why shouldn't clients assign IP numbers without the use of a server?

 It is theoretically possible to develop software for client-machines that finds an unused address by
picking them out of the blue and broadcasting a request of all the other client machines to see if they
are using them. Appletalk is designed around this idea, and Apple's MacTCP can be configured to do
this for IP. However, this method of IP address assignment has disadvantages.

1. A computer that needs a permanently-assigned IP number might be turned off and lose its number to a
machine coming up. This has problems both for finding services and for security.
2. A network might be temporarily divided into two non-communicating networks while a
network component is not functioning. During this time, two different client-machines might
end up claiming the same IP number. When the network comes back, they start
malfunctioning.
3. If such dynamic assignment is to be confined to ranges of IP addresses, then the ranges are
configured in each desktop machine rather than being centrally administered. This can lead
both to hidden configuration errors and to difficulty in changing the range. Another problem
with the use of such ranges is keeping it easy to move a computer from one subnet to another.
2. Can DHCP support statically defined addresses?

Yes. At least there is nothing in the protocol to preclude this and one expects it to be a feature of any
DHCP server. This is really a server matter and the client should work either way. The RFC refers to
this as manual allocation.

3. what is the database files used for Active Directory

The key AD database files—edb.log, ntds.dit, res1.log, res2.log, and edb.chk—all of which reside in \
%systemroot%\ntds on a domain controller (DC) by default. During AD installation, Dcpromo lets you
specify alternative locations for these log files and database files

NTDS.DIT

4. What is the location of AD Database

%System root%/NTDS/NTDS>DIT

5. What is the authentication protocol used in NT

NTLM (NT LAN Manager)

6. What is subnetting and supernetting

Subnetting is the process of borrowing bits from the host portion of an address to provide bits for identifying
additional sub-networks

Supernetting merges several smaller blocks of IP addresses (networks) that are continuous into one larger
block of addresses. Borrowing network bits to combine several smaller networks into one larger network does
supernetting

2. Difference between inter-site and intra-site replication. Protocols using for replication.

Intra-site replication can be done between the domain controllers in the same site. Inter-site replication can be
done between two different sites over WAN links
BHS (Bridge Head Servers) is responsible for initiating replication between the sites. Inter-site replication can
be done B/w BHS in one site and BHS in another site.
We can use RPC over IP or SMTP as a replication protocols where as Domain partition is not possible to
replicate using SMTP
The Internet Message Access Protocol (commonly known as IMAP or IMAP4, and previously called Internet Mail
Access Protocol, Interactive Mail Access Protocol (RFC 1064), and Interim Mail Access Protocol [1] ) is an
application layer Internet protocol that allows a local client to access e-mail on a remote server.

In computing, local e-mail clients use the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3), an application-layer Internet
standard protocol, to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the de facto standard for e-mail transmissions across the Internet.The
simple network management protocol (SNMP) SNMP is used by network management systems to monitor
network-attached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention. It consists of a set of standards for
network management, including an Application Layer protocol, a database schema, and a set of data objects

The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the core routing protocol of the Internet. It works by maintaining a table of
IP networks or 'prefixes' which designate network reachability among autonomous systems (AS). It is described as a
path vector protocol. BGP does not use traditional IGP metrics, but makes routing decisions based on path, network
policies and/or rulesets. BGP supports Classless Inter-Domain Routing and uses route aggregation to decrease the
size of routing tables.

The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a method for implementing virtual private networks

In computer networking, the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a tunneling protocol used to support virtual
private networks (VPNs).

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet protocol suite, often simply
referred to as TCP/IP. Using TCP, applications on networked hosts can create connections to one another, over which
they can exchange streams of data using Stream Sockets. The protocol guarantees reliable and in-order delivery of
data from sender to receiver. TCP also distinguishes data for multiple connections by concurrent applications

Te User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet protocol suite. Using UDP, programs
on networked computers can send short messages sometimes known as datagrams (using Datagram Sockets) to one
another. UDP is sometimes called the Universal Datagram Protocol.UDP does not provide the reliability and
ordering while TCP does

Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol (IP) and it is the first version of the
protocol to be widely deployed. IPv4 is the dominant network layer protocol on the Internet and apart from IPv6 it is
the only protocol used on the Internet. The entire purpose of IP is to provide unique global computer addressing to
ensure that two computers communicating over the internet can uniquely identify one another

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer protocol for packet-switched internetworks. It is designated as
the successor of IPv4, the current version of the Internet Protocol, for general use on the Internet.The main
improvement brought by IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the increase in the number of addresses available for
networked devices

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is the method for finding a host's hardware address when only its network layer
address is known ARP is primarily used to translate IP addresses to Ethernet MAC addresses

ARP is used in four cases of two hosts communicating:

1. When two hosts are on the same network and one desires to send a packet to the other
2. When two hosts are on different networks and must use a gateway/router to reach the other host
3. When a router needs to forward a packet for one host through another router
4. When a router needs to forward a packet from one host to the destination host on the same network
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is a network layer protocol used to resolve an IP address from a
given hardware address (such as an Ethernet address). It has been rendered obsolete by BOOTP and the more modern
DHCP, which both support a much greater feature set than RARP.The primary limitations of RARP are that each
MAC must be manually configured on a central server, and that the protocol only conveys an IP address. This leaves
configuration of subnetting, gateways, and other information to other protocols or the user.

The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It is
chiefly used by networked computers' operating systems to send error messages—indicating, for instance, that a
requested service is not available or that a host or router could not be reached.

PING(Packet Internet Groper) A utility to determine whether a specific IP address is accessible. It works by sending a packet to the
specified address and waiting for a reply. PING is used primarily to troubleshoot Internet connections. There are many freeware and
shareware Ping utilities available for personal computers

The Internet Group Management Protocol is a communications protocol used to manage the membership of
Internet Protocol multicast groups. IGMP is used by IP hosts and adjacent multicast routers to establish multicast
group memberships

IPsec (IP security) is a suite of protocols for securing Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating
and/or encrypting each IP packet in a data stream. IPsec also includes protocols for cryptographic key establishment

Fiber-Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) provides a standard for data transmission in a local area network that can
extend in range up to 200 kilometers (124 miles). The FDDI protocol uses as its basis the token ring protocol.

frame relay (also found written as "Frame-relay") consists of an efficient data transmission technique used to send
digital information quickly and cheaply in a relay of frames to one or many destinations from one or many end-points

Point-to-Point Protocol, or PPP, is commonly used to establish a direct connection between two nodes. It can
connect computers using serial cable, phone line, trunk line, cellular telephone, specialized radio links, or fiber optic
links.

Event Viewer
In Windows XP, an event is any significant occurrence in the system or in a program that requires users to be notified, or an
entry added to a log. The Event Log Service records application, security, and system events in Event Viewer. With the event logs in
Event Viewer, you can obtain information about your hardware, software, and system components, and monitor security events on
a local or remote computer. Event logs can help you identify and diagnose the source of current system problems, or help you
predict potential system problems.

Event Log Types

A Windows XP-based computer records events in the following three logs:
• Application log
The application log contains events logged by programs. For example, a database program may
record a file error in the application log. Events that are written to the application log are
determined by the developers of the software program.
• Security log
The security log records events such as valid and invalid logon attempts, as well as events related
to resource use, such as the creating, opening, or deleting of files. For example, when logon
auditing is enabled, an event is recorded in the security log each time a user attempts to log on to
the computer. You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators
group in order to turn on, use, and specify which events are recorded in the security log.
• System log
The system log contains events logged by Windows XP system components. For example, if a
driver fails to load during startup, an event is recorded in the system log. Windows XP
predetermines the events that are logged by system components.
Domino and Notes ID files

Domino uses ID files to secure the access of a client to servers. Every Domino server and Notes user must have an ID
file. An ID file is a unique binary file that identifies a legal Domino server and Notes user. ID files are created at the
time of user or server registration. An ID file contains the following information:

 The hierarchical name of the owner

 A license number that indicates that the owner uses a legal Lotus Notes license: You cannot change a license
number associated with an ID

 A public key and a private key

 At least one certificate from a certifier ID: A certificate is an electronic stamp added to a user ID or server ID.
This stamp is generated using the private key of a certifier ID and verifies that the name of the owner of the
ID is correctly associated with a specific public key.

 Optionally one or more encryption keys, created and distributed by users that allow users to encrypt and
decrypt fields in a document

network address translation (NAT, also known as network masquerading, native address translation or IP-
masquerading) involves re-writing the source and/or destination addresses of IP packets as they pass through a
router or firewall. Most systems using NAT do so in order to enable multiple hosts on a private network to access the
Internet using a single public IP address

Port Address Translation (PAT) is a feature of a network device that translates TCP or UDP communications made
between a host and port on an outside network, and a host and port on an inside network. It allows a single IP address
to be used for many internal hosts.

7. What are the port numbers for FTP, Telnet, HTTP, DNS

FTP-21, Telnet – 23, HTTP-80, DNS-53, Kerberos-88, LDAP-389 RDP-3389

8. what are the different types of trust relationships

Implicit Trusts
Explicit Trusts—NT to Win2k or Forest to Forest

Active Directory is an implementation of LDAP directory services by Microsoft for use in Windows environments.
Active Directory allows administrators to assign enterprise-wide policies, deploy programs to many computers, and
apply critical updates to an entire organization. An Active Directory stores information and settings relating to an
organization in a central, organized, accessible database. Active Directory networks can vary from a small installation
with a few hundred objects, to a large installation with millions of objects.Active Directory was previewed in 1996,
released first with Windows 2000 Server edition, and revised to extend functionality and improve administration in
Windows Server 2003.Active Directory was called NTDS (NT Directory Service) in older Microsoft documents.
This name remains in some AD binaries as well.

SYSVOLIn a nutshell, Sysvol is where group policy data is stored. Every policy stores the templates (adm files)
and config settings in a folder under sysvol which is the guid of the policy data in AD.Sysvol is replicated
independently of AD by the NTFRS service. NTFRS uses site topology data from AD to generate a replication
topology, though.
Basic Disk Storage

Basic storage uses normal partition tables supported by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98,
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Server
2003 and Windows XP. A disk initialized for basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk contains basic volumes,
such as primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives. Additionally, basic volumes include multidisk
volumes that are created by using Windows NT 4.0 or earlier, such as volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, and stripe
sets with parity

Dynamic Disk Storage

Dynamic storage is supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. A disk
initialized for dynamic storage is called a dynamic disk. A dynamic disk contains dynamic volumes, such as simple
volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes. With dynamic storage, you
can performdisk and volume management without the need to restart Windows

A volume is a storage unit made from free space on one or more disks. It can be formatted with a file system and
assigned a drive letter. Volumes on dynamic disks can have any of the following layouts: simple, spanned,
mirrored, striped, or RAID-5.

A simple volume uses free space from a single disk. It can be a single region on a disk or consist of multiple,
concatenated regions. A simple volume can be extended within the same disk or onto additional disks. If a
simple volume is extended across multiple disks, it becomes a spanned volume.

A spanned volume is created from free disk space that is linked together from multiple disks. You can extend a
spanned volume onto a maximum of 32 disks. A spanned volume cannot be mirrored and is not fault-tolerant.

A striped volume is a volume whose data is interleaved across two or more physical disks. The data on this type
of volume is allocated alternately and evenly to each of the physical disks. A striped volume cannot be mirrored
or extended and is not fault-tolerant. Striping is also known as RAID-0.

A mirrored volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is duplicated on two physical disks. All of the data on
one volume is copied to another disk to provide data redundancy. If one of the disks fails, the data can still be
accessed from the remaining disk. A mirrored volume cannot be extended. Mirroring is also known as RAID-1.

A RAID-5 volume is a fault-tolerant volume whose data is striped across an array of three or more disks. Parity
(a calculated value that can be used to reconstruct data after a failure) is also striped across the disk array. If a
physical disk fails, the portion of the RAID-5 volume that was on that failed disk can be re-created from the
remaining data and the parity. A RAID-5 volume cannot be mirrored or extended.

The system volume contains the hardware-specific files that are needed to load Windows (for example, Ntldr,
Boot.ini, and Ntdetect.com). The system volume can be, but does not have to be, the same as the boot volume.

The boot volume contains the Windows operating system files that are located in the %Systemroot% and
%Systemroot%\System32 folders. The boot volume can be, but does not have to be, the same as the system
volume.

RAID 0 – Striping
RAID 1- Mirroring (minimum 2 HDD required)
RAID 5 – Striping with Parity (Minimum 3 HDD required)
RAID levels 1 and 5 only gives redundancy
OSILAYERS
7) Application : Provides different services to the applications

The Application layer provides a means for the user to access information on the network through an application.
This layer is the main interface for the user(s) to interact with the application and therefore the network. Some
examples of application layer protocols include Telnet, applications which use File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
applications which use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and applications which use Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP).

6) Presentation : Converts the information

The Presentation layer transforms data to provide a standard interface for the Application layer. MIME encoding,
data compression, data encryption and similar manipulation of the presentation is done at this layer to present the data
as a service or protocol developer sees fit. Examples of this layer are converting an EBCDIC-coded text file to an
ASCII-coded file, or serializing objects and other data structures into and out of XML.

5) Session : Handles problems which are not communication issues

The Session layer controls the dialogues/connections (sessions) between computers. It establishes, manages and
terminates the connections between the local and remote application. It provides for either full-duplex or half-duplex
operation, and establishes checkpointing, adjournment, termination, and restart procedures. The OSI model made this
layer responsible for "graceful close" of sessions, which is a property of TCP, and also for session checkpointing and
recovery, which is not usually used in the Internet protocols suite.

4) Transport : Provides end to end communication control

The Transport layer provides transparent transfer of data between end users, thus relieving the upper layers from any
concern while providing reliable data transfer. The transport layer controls the reliability of a given link through flow
control, segmentation/desegmentation, and error control. Some protocols are state and connection oriented. This
means that the transport layer can keep track of the packets and retransmit those that fail. The best known example of
a layer 4 protocol is the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The transport layer is the layer that converts messages
into TCP segments or User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), etc. packets.
Perhaps an easy way to visualize the Transport Layer is to compare it with a Post Office, which deals with the
dispatching and classification of mail and parcels sent.

3) Network : Routes the information in the network

The Network layer provides the functional and procedural means of transferring variable length data sequences from
a source to a destination via one or more networks while maintaining the quality of service requested by the Transport
layer. The Network layer performs network routing functions, and might also perform segmentation/desegmentation,
and report delivery errors. Routers operate at this layer—sending data throughout the extended network and making
the Internet possible. This is a logical addressing scheme – values are chosen by the network engineer. The
addressing scheme is hierarchical. The best known example of a layer 3 protocol is the Internet Protocol (IP). Perhaps
it's easier to visualize this layer as the actual Air Mail or Consolidated Carrier that transfers the mail from Point A to
Point B.

2) Data Link : Provides error control between adjacent nodes

The Data Link layer provides the functional and procedural means to transfer data between network entities and to
detect and possibly correct errors that may occur in the Physical layer. The best known example of this is Ethernet.
Other examples of data link protocols are HDLC and ADCCP for point-to-point or packet-switched networks and
Aloha for local area networks. On IEEE 802 local area networks, and some non-IEEE 802 networks such as FDDI,
this layer may be split into a Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the IEEE 802.2 Logical Link Control (LLC)
layer. It arranges bits from physical layer into logical chunks of data, known as frames.This is the layer at which the
bridges and switches operate. Connectivity is provided only among locally attached network nodes forming layer 2
domains for unicast or broadcast forwarding. Other protocols may be imposed on the data frames to create tunnels
and logically separated layer 2 forwarding domain.

Physical : Connects the entity to the transmission media

The Physical layer defines all the electrical and physical specifications for devices. This includes the layout of pins,
voltages, and cable specifications. Hubs, repeaters, network adapters and Host Bus Adapters (HBAs used in Storage
Area Networks) are physical-layer devices. The major functions and services performed by the physical layer are:

 Establishment and termination of a connection to a communications medium.

 Participation in the process whereby the communication resources are effectively shared among multiple
users. For example, contention resolution and flow control.
 Modulation, or conversion between the representation of digital data in user equipment and the corresponding
signals transmitted over a communications channel. These are signals operating over the physical cabling
(such as copper and fiber optic) or over a radio link.
Parallel SCSI buses operate in this layer. Various physical-layer Ethernet standards are also in this layer;
Ethernet incorporates both this layer and the data-link layer. The same applies to other local-area networks,
such as Token ring, FDDI, and IEEE 802.11, as well as personal area networks such as Bluetooth and IEEE
802.15.4.

Windows Server 2003 R2

An update of Windows Server 2003, officially called R2, was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005. It is
distributed as a second CD, with the first CD being Windows Server 2003 SP1. This release adds many optionally
installable features for Windows Server 2003 including SP1.

[edit] New features

 Branch Office Server Management
o Centralized management tools for file and printers
o Enhanced Distributed File System (DFS) namespace management interface
o More efficient WAN data replication with Remote Differential Compression
 Identity and Access Management
o Extranet Single Sign-On and identity federation
o Centralized administration of extranet application access
o Automated disabling of extranet access based on Active Directory account information
 o User access logging
o Cross-platform web Single Sign-On and password synchronization using Network Information Service
(NIS)
 Storage Management
o File Server Resource Manager (storage utilization reporting)
o Enhanced quota management
o File screening limits files types allowed
o Storage Manager for Storage Area Networks (SAN) (storage array configuration)
 Server Virtualization
o A new licensing policy allows up to 4 virtual instances (on Enterprise Edition and above versions)
 Utilities and SDK for UNIX-Based Applications add-on, giving a relatively full Unix development
environment.
o Base Utilities
o SVR-5 Utilities
o Base SDK
o GNU SDK
o GNU Utilities
o Perl 5
o Visual Studio Debugger Add-in

[edit] Service Pack 2

This article or section contains information about computer software currently in development.
The content may change as the software development progresses.

Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 is currently in Release Candidate status. It has a scheduled release date for
the first quarter of 2007.[9] The release date was originally scheduled for the first half of 2006.[9] On June 19, 2006,
Microsoft made an initial test version of Service Pack 2 available to Microsoft Connect users, with a build number of
2721. This was followed by build 2805, known as Beta 2 Refresh. The latest build is the Release Candidate (RC)
refresh 1 build 2845. Microsoft has described Service Pack 2 as a "standard" service pack release containing
previously-released security updates, hotfixes, and reliability and performance improvements. [10] In addition, Service
Pack 2 contains Microsoft Management Console 3.0, Windows Deployment Services (which replaces Remote
Installation Services), support for WPA2, and improvements to IPSec and MSConfig.

[edit] Variants

This Microsoft server comes in several variants, each targeted towards a particular size and type of business: See
Compare the Editions of Windows Server 2003 for a concise comparison. In general, all variants of Windows Server
2003 have the ability to share files and printers, act as an application server, and host message queues, provide email
services, authenticate users, act as an X.509 certificate server, provide LDAP directory services, serve streaming
media, and to perform other server-oriented functions.

[edit] Small Business Server

SBS includes Windows Server and additional technologies aimed at providing a small business with a complete
technology solution. The technologies are integrated to enable small business 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.

The Standard Edition of SBS includes Windows SharePoint Services for collaboration, Microsoft Exchange server
for e-mail, Fax Server, and the Active Directory for user management. The product also provides a basic firewall,
DHCP server and NAT router using either two network cards or one network card in addition to a hardware router.
The Premium Edition of SBS includes the above plus Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Internet Security
and Acceleration Server 2004.

SBS has its own type of Client Access License (CAL), that is different and costs slightly more than CALs for the
other editions of Windows Server 2003. However, the SBS CAL encompasses the user CALs for Windows Server,
Exchange Server, SQL Server, and ISA Server, and hence is less expensive than buying all the other CALs
individually.

SBS server has the following design considerations:[11]

 Only one computer in a domain can be running Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server must be the root of the Active Directory forest.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server cannot trust any other domains.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server is limited to 75 users or devices depending on which type of
CAL.
 A Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server domain cannot have any child domains.
 Terminal Services only operates in remote administration mode on the server running SBS 2003, and only two
simultaneous RDP sessions are allowed. (Change from SBS 2000 policy)[12]
 To remove the limits from SBS server and upgrade from Small Business Server to regular Windows Server,
Exchange Server, SQL and ISA server versions there is a Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Transition
Pack. For more info:

SBS Transition Pack

[edit] Web Edition

Windows Server 2003, Web Edition is mainly for building and hosting Web applications, Web pages, and XML Web
Services. It is designed to be used primarily as an IIS 6.0 Web server and provides a platform for rapidly developing
and deploying XML Web services and applications that use ASP.NET technology, a key part of the .NET
Framework. This edition does not require Client Access Licenses and Terminal Server mode is not included on Web
Edition. However, Remote Desktop for Administration is available on Windows Server 2003, Web Edition. Only 10
concurrent file-sharing connections are allowed at any moment. 'It is not possible to install Microsoft SQL Server
and Microsoft Exchange software on this version of Windows, although MSDE and SQL Server 2005 Express are
fully supported after service pack 1 is installed.' Despite supporting XML Web Services and ASP.NET, UDDI
cannot be deployed on Windows Server 2003, Web Edition. The .NET Framework version 2.0 is not included with
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, but can be installed as a separate update from Windows Update. The most
important limitation of Web edition is a maximum memory of 2 GB RAM. Additionally, Windows Server 2003, Web
Edition cannot act as a domain controller.[13]

[edit] Standard Edition

Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition is aimed towards small to medium sized businesses. Flexible and versatile,
Standard Edition supports file and printer sharing, offers secure Internet connectivity, and allows centralized desktop
application deployment. This edition of Windows will run on up to 4 processors with up to 4 GB RAM. 64-bit
versions are also available for the AMD64 architecture and the Intel clone of that same architecture, EM64T (called,
collectively, x64 by Microsoft). The 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition is capable of
addressing up to 32 GB of RAM and it also supports Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA), something the 32-bit
version does not.

[edit] Enterprise Edition

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition is aimed towards medium to large businesses. It is a full-function server
operating system that supports up to eight processors and provides enterprise-class features such as eight-node
clustering using Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) software and support for up to 32 GB of memory. Enterprise
Edition also comes in 64-bit versions for the Itanium and x64 architectures. The 64-bit version of Windows Server
2003, Enterprise Edition [64-bit] is capable of addressing up to 1 Terabyte (1024 GB) of RAM. Both 32-bit and 64-
bit versions support Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA). It also provides the ability to hot-add supported
hardware.

[edit] Datacenter Edition

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition is designed[14] for infrastructures demanding high security and reliability.
Windows Server 2003 is available for x86 32-bit, Itanium, and x64 processors. It supports a minimum of 8 processors
and a maximum of 64 processors, however it is limited to 32 processors when run on 32-bit architecture. 32-bit
architecture also limits memory addressability to 64GB, while the 64-bit versions support up to 512 GB. Windows
Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, also allows limiting processor and memory usage on a per-application basis.

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition also supports Non-Uniform Memory Access. If supported by the system,
Windows, with help from the system firmware creates a Static Resource Affinity Table, that defines the NUMA
topology of the system. Windows then uses this table to optimize memory accesses, and provide NUMA awareness to
applications, thereby increasing the efficiency of thread scheduling and memory management.

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter edition has better support for Storage Area Networks (SAN). It features a service
which uses Windows sockets to emulate TCP/IP communication over native SAN service providers, thereby allowing
a SAN to be accessed over any TCP/IP channel. With this, any application that can communicate over TCP/IP can
use a SAN, without any modification to the application.

Windows Server 2003, Datacenter edition, also supports 8-node clustering. Clustering increases availability and fault
tolerance of server installations, by distributing and replicating the service among many servers. Windows supports
clustering, with each cluster having its own dedicated storage, or all clusters connected to a common Storage Area
Network (SAN), which can be running on Windows as well as non-Windows Operating systems. The SAN may be
connected to other computers as well.

It is important to note that Datacenter Edition can only be purchased preinstalled on OEM equipment and is not
available separately.

[edit] Compute Cluster Server

Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, released in June 2006, is designed for high-end applications that require
high performance computing clusters. It is designed to be deployed on numerous computers to be clustered together
to achieve supercomputing speeds. Each computer cluster server network comprises at least one controlling head
node and subordinate processing nodes that carry out most of the work. Compute Cluster Server uses the Microsoft
Messaging Passing Interface v2 (MS-MPI) to administer the network.

[edit] Storage Server

Windows Storage Server 2003, a part of the Windows Server 2003 series is a specialized server Operating System for
Network Attached Storage (NAS). It is optimized for use in file and print sharing and also in Storage Area Network
(SAN) scenarios. It is only available through OEMs. Unlike other Windows Server 2003 editions that provide file and
printer sharing functionality, Windows Storage Server 2003 does not require any Client access licenses.

Windows Storage Server 2003 NAS equipment can be headless, which means that they are without any monitors,
keyboards or mice, and are administered remotely. Such devices are plugged into any existing IP network and the
storage capacity is available to all users. Using NAS devices means that data is decentralized and shared amongst all
users of the network, even though access through the data can be controlled. Windows Storage Server 2003 can use
RAID arrays to provide data redundancy, fault-tolerance and high-performance. Multiple such NAS servers can be
clustered to appear as a single device. This allows for very high performance as well as allowing the service to remain
up even if one of the servers goes down.

Windows Storage Server 2003 can also be used to create a Storage Area Network, in which the data is transferred in
terms of chunks rather than files, thus providing more granularity to the data that can be transferred. This provides
higher performance to database and transaction processing applications. Windows Storage Server 2003 also allows
NAS devices to be connected to a SAN.

Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, as a follow-up to Windows Storage Server 2003, adds file-server performance
optimization, Single Instance Storage (SIS), and index-based search. Single instance storage(SIS) scans storage
volumes for duplicate files, and moves the duplicate files to the common SIS store. The file on the volume is replaced
with a link to the file. This substitution reduces the amount of storage space required, by as much as 70%. [15]

Windows Storage Server R2 provides an index-based, full-text search based on the indexing engine already built-in
Windows server.[15] The updated search engine speeds up indexed searches on network shares. Storage Server R2 also
provides filters for searching many standard file formats, such as .zip, AutoCAD, XML, MP3, and .pdf, and all
Microsoft Office file formats.

Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 includes built in support for Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft
SharePoint Portal Server, and adds Storage Management snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console. It can be
used to centrally manage storage volumes, including DFS shares, on servers running Windows Storage Server R2.

Windows Storage Server R2 can be used as an iSCSI target with standard and enterprise editions of Windows Storage
Server R2 through the WinTarget technology recently acquired by Microsoft. This will be an add on feature available
for purchase through OEM partners as an iSCSI feature pack.

[edit] Home Server

Windows Home Server is an upcoming operating system from Microsoft based on Server R2. Announced on January
7, 2007 at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for
homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups, and remote access.

[edit]

DOMAIN

A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures.
Within the Internet, domains are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are
said to be in the same domain.

DOMAIN CONTROLLER

As defined by Microsoft, in Active Directory server roles, computers that function as servers within a domain can
have one of two roles: member server or domain controller. Abbreviated as DC, domain controller is a server on a
Microsoft Windows or Windows NT network that is responsible for allowing host access to Windows domain
resources. The domain controllers in your network are the centerpiece of your Active Directory directory service. It
stores user account information, authenticates users and enforces security policy for a Windows domain.

Active Directory Service

directory service from Microsoft that is a part of Windows 2000. It is an implementation of Internet standard
directory and naming protocols that uses a database engine for transactional support, and also supports a variety of
application programming interface standards.