Windows Server 2003 Technology Primer - Choosing to Implement Windows Server 2003
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Windows Server 2003 is a versatile operating system, one that meets the needs of various business functions. Like earlier network operating systems such as Novell NetWare or Windows NT that were known best for file/print servers, Windows Server 2003 can provide all that functionality and a lot more.
Because Windows Server 2003 provides many different functions, an organization needs to choose how to best implement Windows Server 2003 and the various networking features that meet its needs. In small network environments with fewer than 20 to 30 users, an organization may choose to implement all the Windows Server 2003 features on a single server. However, in larger environments, multiple servers may be implemented to improve system performance as well as provide fault tolerance and redundancy.
As mentioned in the preceding section, Windows Server 2003 can act as the core operating system to host applications such as utility services, file services, print services, or Web-based services. Some of the other major networking services provided by Windows Server 2003 include running the operating system as the core to an Active Directory environment, as a built-in Windows application server, or as an add-on application server.
Windows Server 2003 Core to an Active Directory Environment
One of the major additions to the network operating system role introduced with the release of the Windows 2000 operating system was the Active Directory. Active Directory is more than a simple list of users and passwords for authentication into a network, but rather a directory that extends to other business applications. When fully leveraged, an organization can have its Human Resources (HR) department add an employee to the organization's HR software. The HR software automatically creates a user in the Active Directory, generating a network logon, an email account, a voicemail account, and remote access capabilities, and then links pager and mobile phone information to the employee. Likewise, if an employee is terminated, a single change in the HR software can issue automated commands to disable the individual's network, email, remote logon, and other network functions.
Windows Server 2003 extends the capabilities of the Active Directory by creating better management tools, provides for more robust directory replication across a global enterprise, and allows for better scalability and redundancy to improve directory operations. Windows Server 2003 effectively adds in more reliability, faster performance, and better management tools to a system that can be leveraged as a true enterprise directory provisioning, resource tracking, and resource management tool. Because of the importance of the Active Directory to the Windows Server 2003 operating system, plus the breadth of capabilities that Active Directory can facilitate, five chapters in Part II of this book are dedicated to Active Directory.
 This chapter is from Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, by Rand Morimoto, et al. (Sams Publishing, 2004, ISBN: 0672326671). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today.
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