Atlanta (ip-192.com): Windows Server 2008 is one of Microsoft’s most advanced server operating system. WS8 allows users to develop and manage applications, provide a secure network infrastructure, and increase management efficiency. Active Directory gives the functionality needed to configure and administer system, user, and application settings. Server Core and IIS 7.0 represent radical changes to WS8.
Administrators will find that placing Server Core (SC) machines in branch offices to perform domain controller functions is an excellent use of slightly older hardware. The smaller footprint of SC allows the OS to do more with less system resources, and the reduced attack surface and stability make it an excellent choice for an appliance-like machine.
Server Core machines can participate in Microsoft clusters, use network load balancing, host Unix applications, encrypt their drives with BitLocker, be remotely managed using Windows PowerShell on a client machine and be monitored through Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
Additionally, Server Core can be configured to the following roles:
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server;
- Domain Name System (DNS) server;
- File server, including the file replication service, the distributed file system (DFS), distributed file system replication (DFSR), the network file system and single instance storage (SIS);
- Print services;
- Domain controller, including a read-only domain controller;
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) server;
- Windows server virtualization;
- IIS, although only with a portion of its normal abilities - namely, only static HTML hosting, and no dynamic Web application support;
- Windows Media Services (WMS).
IIS 7 is now fully extensible and componentized - install only what’s needed. This makes the service lighter, more responsive and less vulnerable to attack. The administrative interface for IIS has also been completely redesigned.
WS8 boosts dual-IP layer architecture for native IPv4 and IPv6 support together, simultaneously. Intelligent tuning and optimization algorithms run regularly to ensure efficient communication, and APIs to the network stack are more exposed, making it easier for developers to interact with the stack.
Windows Server 2008 supports offloading network processing functions from the CPU itself to the processing circuitry on the network interface card, freeing up the CPU to manage other processes.
It also supports scaling NICs and their associated traffic among multiple CPUs. This allows much higher amounts of traffic to be received by one NIC on a highly loaded server - a benefit to multiprocessor servers, since more scale can be added simply by adding processors or NICs and not by adding entirely new servers.
Hyper-V is Microsoft’s version of a virtual environment (you will need additional license keys to use the feature), and Windows deployment service is the updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services. WS8 shares quite a bit of fundamental code with Windows Vista, which was derived directly from the secure development model.
In closing, Windows Server 2008 is a robust successor to earlier Windows server versions. Manageability, security, performance, reliability and efficiency were all paramount concerns to the development team. The operating system feels cohesive, unified, and ready to perform.
Illustration: Gemini · www.ip-192.com
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