Windows Server 2003 Technology Primer - Windows Server 2003 Running Built-in Application Server Functions
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Windows Server 2003 comes with several programs and utilities to provide robust networking capabilities. In addition to the basic file and print capabilities covered earlier in this chapter, Windows Server 2003 can provide name resolution for the network and enable high availability through clustering and fault tolerance, mobile communications for dial-up and virtual private network connections, Web services functions, and dozens of other application server functions.
When planning the implementation of Windows Server 2003, a network architect needs to consider which of the server services are desired, how they will be combined on servers, and how they will be made redundant across multiple servers for business continuity failover. For a small organization, the choice to combine several server functions to a single system or to just a few systems is one of economics. However, an organization might distribute server services to multiple servers to improve performance (covered in Chapter 35, "Capacity Analysis and Performance Optimization"), distribute administration (covered in Chapter 19, "Windows Server 2003 User, Group, and Site Administration"), create redundancy (covered in Chapter 33, "Recovering from a Disaster"), enable security (covered in Chapter 12), or to service users across a diverse geographic area (covered in Chapter 5, "Designing a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory").
Some of the built-in application server functions in Windows Server 2003 include the following:
Domain controller—Like in previous versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, the domain controller allows users to authenticate to the server for access to network resources.
Global catalog server—The global catalog server stores a copy of the user list of the Active Directory network. When an internal or external user with appropriate security rights wants to look at a list of Active Directory users, the global catalog server provides the list.
DNS server—The domain name service (DNS) is a list of network servers and systems, so a DNS server provides information about the devices connected to the network.
DHCP server—The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns network addresses to devices on the network. Windows Server 2003 provides the service function to facilitate DHCP addresses to network devices.
Cluster server—When fault tolerance is important to an organization, clustering provides failover from one system to another. Windows Server 2003 provides the ability to link systems together so that when one system fails, another system takes over.
Terminal server—Instead of having a full desktop or laptop computer for each user on the network, organizations have the option of setting up simple, low-cost terminals for users to gain access to network resources. Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services allows a single server to host network system access for dozens of users.
Remote access server—When a remote user has a desktop or laptop system and needs access to network services, Windows Server 2003 provides remote access services that allow the remote systems to establish a secure remote connection.
Web server—As more and more technologies become Web-aware and are hosted on Web servers, Windows Server 2003 provides the technology to host these applications for browser-based access.
Media server—With information extending beyond text-based word processing documents and spreadsheets into rich media such as video and audio, Windows Server 2003 provides a source for hosting and publishing video and audio content.
Distributed File System (DFS) server—For the past decade, data files have been stored on file servers all around an organization. Windows Server 2003 provides Distributed File Systems that allow an organization to take control of distributed files into a common lookup file directory.
These plus several other functions provide robust networking services that help organizations leverage the Windows Server 2003 technologies into solutions that solve business needs.
 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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