Introduction to Computer Hardware and Networking

7/31/2019 Introduction to Computer Hardware and Networking

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Tutorial By: Sunilkumar DubeyLocation: India (Mumbai)

Contact: +91-8007846661Email: [email protected]


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Microsoft Certified Professional MCP

Obtaining a Microsoft Certified Professional certification is the first step into proving your

skills with Microsoft products.

Includes following Modules:

Windows Quickstart XP-Server 2003 Overview Managing Disks Installations Local Users and Groups Shared Folders NTFS Printing Windows Hardware Monitoring and Optomisation Local Security TCP-IP Interoperability Remote Desktop and Terminal Services


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ATX Motherboards

The ATX-style motherboards are a result of

the industrys push for standardization and are

found in most systems today. Most moderncomputers contain an ATX motherboard. ATX

boards can use Advanced Power Management.

Distinguished by having more than just one

external connector ATX boards have

Keyboard, Mouse, Serial, Parallel and USB

connectors.

ATX boards can also be distinguished by the monoblock power connectors. Also available in

micro ATX enabling the use of smaller cases.

Motherboard Components

There are two types of receivers for CPUs

Zero insertion force or ZIF sockets. With a ZIF socket, before the CPU is inserted, a lever or

slider on the side of the socket is moved, pushing all the sprung contacts apart so that theCPU can be inserted with very little force (generally the weight of the CPU itself is sufficient

with no external downward force required). The lever is then moved back, allowing the

contacts to close and grip the pins of the CPU, often with a fan attached for cooling.

Single Edged Contact (SEC) cartridge slot or Slot 1 seen on PII and PIIIs. Developed by Intel

to add Cache memory for the processor cheaply The processor is mounted on a Single Edge

Connector Cartridge (SECC), much like a PCI slot, but with a 242-lead edge-connector.

Bridges

There are two main bridges on a motherboard the Northbridge and the Southbridge. Bridges

control access to the processor from the peripherals.

The Northbridge, also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH), is traditionally one of

the two chips in the core logic chipset on a PC motherboard. The Northbridge typically

controls communications between the CPU, RAM, AGP or PCI Express, and the Southbridge..

A Northbridge will typically work with only one or two classes of CPUs and generally only

one type of RAM. There are a few chipsets that support two types of RAM (generally these

are available when there is a shift to a new standard).


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The Southbridge, also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH), is a chip that implements the

slower capabilities of the motherboard in a Northbridge Southbridge chipset computer

architecture. The Southbridge can usually be distinguished from the Northbridge by not

being directly connected to the CPU. Rather, the Northbridge ties the Southbridge to the

CPU. The functionality found on a contemporary Southbridge includes:PCI bus, ISA bus,SMBus, DMA controller, Interrupt controller, IDE, (SATA or PATA) controller ,LPC Bridge,

Real Time Clock, Power management (APM and ACPI) and Nonvolatile BIOS memory

BIOS Chips

The [[BIOS( Basic Input Output System)]] refers to the software code run by a computer

when first powered on. The primary function of BIOS is to prepare the machine so other

software programs stored on various media (such as hard drives, floppies, and CDs) can

load, execute, and assume control of the computer. This process is known as booting up.

The BIOS is stored as a ROM (Read-Only Memory) program and is retained when the

machine is turned off. Settings within the BIOS may be changed by the user and these

changes are stored in the BIOS memory this is maintained by a trickle of charge from the

BIOS battery.

Memory

SIMMS- Single Inline Memory Modules. An older type of memory only seen on very old

motherboards came in 30 pin modules and 72 pin modules.

SDRAM chips are rated according to their maximum clock rate and their read cycle time.

Common clock ratings include 66MHz, 100MHz, and 133MHz. Common read cycle times

include 50ns and 60ns.

DDR SDRAM or double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memory is a type of

memory integrated circuit used in computers. It achieves greater bandwidth than ordinarySDRAM by transferring data on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal (double

pumped). This effectively nearly doubles the transfer rate without increasing the frequency

of the front side bus.

Stick/module specification

PC-1600: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 100 MHz using DDR-200

chips, 1.600 GByte/s bandwidth


chips, 2.133 GByte/s bandwidthPC-2700: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 166 MHz using DDR-333


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Drive Connectors

Integrated Device Electronic (IDE)

[Integrated Device Electronic (IDE)]] connectors connect the motherboard, via a ribbon

cable to various peripherals, the most common being hard drives and CD ROMs. On most

boards there are 2 channels/connectors, each can have 2 devices attached giving a total of

four IDE devices.

If one device is attached to a cable, it should be configured as the master. If two devices

are attached to the same cable then one must be the master device and one the slave.

Master and slave are configured by the use of jumpers. Jumpers are small, insulated sleeves

with a contact inside used to complete a circuit

Hard Disks

Hard disks are used to store data in a non-volatile form within the machine. I.e. the data

remains intact even if the power to the device is cut off. Data is stored as magnetic onesand zeros on a steel platen and is read by pickup arms that scan the drive as the platens

spin

Most major hard drive and motherboard vendors now support self-monitoring, analysis, and

reporting technology (S.M.A.R.T.), by which impending failures can be predicted, allowing

the user to be alerted to prevent data loss.The mostly sealed enclosure protects the drive

internals from dust, condensation, and other sources of contamination. The hard disks read-

write heads fly on an air bearing which is a cushion of air only nanometers above the disk

surface. The disk surface and the drives internal environment must therefore be keptimmaculate to prevent damage from fingerprints, hair, dust, smoke particles, etc., given the

submicroscopic gap between the heads and disk.

Floppy Disks

The floppy disc controller is generally situated near the IDE controllers and in fact looks like

a small IDE slot


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The ribbon has a twist and the first floppy drive (A: drive) should be placed after the twist if

the cable has more than three connectors. If the cable is really old it may have a connector

for a 5 1/4 Floppy drive.

SCSI

SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface, and is a standard interface and

command set for transferring data between devices on both internal and external computer

buses. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape storage devices, but also

connects a wide range of other devices, including scanners, printers, CD-ROM drives, CD

recorders, and DVD drives. In fact, the entire SCSI standard promotes device independence,

which means that theoretically SCSI can be used with any type of computer hardware.

On a parallel SCSI bus, a device (e.g. host adapter, disk drive) is identified by a SCSI ID,

which is a number in the range 0-7 on a narrow bus and in the range 0-15 on a wide bus.

SATA

Serial ATA (SATA) is a computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to

and from a hard disk. It is the successor to the legacy AT Attachment standard (ATA). This

older technology was retroactively renamed Parallel ATA (PATA) to distinguish it from Serial

ATA. Both SATA and PATA drives are IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) drives, although IDE

is often misused to indicate PATA drives.

The two SATA interfaces, SATA/150, runs at 1.5 GHz resulting in an actual data transfer rate

of 1.2 Gigabits per second (Gb/s), or 150 megabytes per second (MB/s). SATA II 3Gb/s

resulting in an actual data transfer rate of 2.4 Gb/s, or 300 MB/s.

Motherboard Slots

To add more functionality to a computer,cards such as network or video cards can be

added. Sometimes these functions are built

into the motherboard. There are several

types of expansion slots:

The PCI (Peripheral Component

Interconnect) The PCI bus is common in

modern PCs, where it has displaced ISA as

the standard expansion bus, but it also appears in many other computer types.


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PCI 2 33.33 MHz clock with synchronous transfers peak transfer rate of 133 MB per second

for 32-bit bus.

PCI 2.2 allows for 66 MHz signalling (requires 3.3 volt signalling) (peak transfer rate of 503

MB/s) PCI 2.3 permitted use of 3.3 volt and universal keying, but did not support 5 voltkeyed add in cards.

PCI 3.0 is the final official standard of the bus, completely removing 5 volt support.

ISA/EISA; Industry Standard Architecture and Extended Industry Standard Architecture An

older type of bus connector. Considered obsolete

PCI Express, PCIe, or PCI-E is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing

PCI programming concepts, but bases it on a completely different and much faster serial

physical-layer communications protocol. PCIe transfers data at 250 MB/s (238 MiB/s), per

channel to a maximum of 16 channels, a total combined transfer rate of 4GB/s (3.7 GiB/s).

Almost all of the high end graphics cards being released today use PCI Express. NVIDIA

uses the high-speed data transfer of PCIe for its newly developed Scalable Link Interface

(SLI) technology, which allows two graphics cards of the same chipset and model number to

be run at the same time, allowing increased performance.

The Accelerated Graphics Port (also called Advanced Graphics Port) is a high-speed point-to-

point channel for attaching a graphics card to a computers motherboard, primarily to assist

in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. Some motherboards have been built with

multiple independent AGP slots. AGP is slowly being phased out in favour of PCI Express.

AGP 1x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 266

megabytes per second (MB/s), doubled from the 133 MB/s transfer rate of PCI bus 33 MHz /

32-bit; 3.3 V signaling.

AGP 2x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz double pumped to an effective 133 MHz

resulting in a maximum data rate of 533 MB/s; signaling voltages the same as AGP 1x;

AGP 4x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz quad pumped to an effective 266 MHz

resulting in a maximum data rate of 1066 MB/s (1 GB/s); 1.5 V signaling;

AGP 8x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz, strobing eight times per clock,

delivering an effective 533 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 2133 MB/s (2 GB/s);

0.8 V signaling.

Peripheral Connections

There are a number of ports on the motherboard for the connection of additional devices:


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Serial ports connected the computer to devices such as terminals or modems. Mice,

keyboards, and other peripheral devices also connected in this way.

Parallel ports are most often used to communicate with peripheral devices. The most

common kind of parallel port is a printer port, such as a Centronics connector based portwhich transfers eight bits at a time. Disk drives are also connected via special parallel ports,

such as those used by the SCSI and ATA technlogies. However, when people refer to a

parallel port, they are usually referring to a printer port, either on a printer or a PC.

A USB system has an asymmetric design, consisting of a host controller and multiple daisy-

chained devices. Additional USB hubs may be included in the chain, allowing branching into

a tree structure, subject to a limit of 5 levels of branching per controller. No more than 127

devices, including the bus devices, may be connected to a single host controller. Modern

computers often have several host controllers, allowing a very large number of USB devicesto be connected. USB cables do not need to be terminated.

USB supports three data rates.

A Low Speed rate of 1.5 Mbit/s (183 KiB/s) that is mostly used for Human Interface Devices

(HID) such as keyboards, mice, and joysticks.

A Full Speed rate of 12 Mbit/s (1.5 MiB/s). Full Speed was the fastest rate before the USB

2.0 specification and many devices fall back to Full Speed. Full Speed devices divide the USB

bandwidth between them in a first-come first-served basis and it is not uncommon to runout of bandwidth with several isochronous devices. All USB Hubs support Full Speed.

A Hi-Speed rate of 480 Mbit/s (57 MiB/s).


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Networking

Why use a Network?

Quite simply explained we use networks for communication between computers, sharing of

data and peripherals. In the business world we use networks for ease of administration and

to cut costs.

Sharing data example imagine an office with 5 secretaries working on 5 different computers,

one requires a file from another computer in a non networked office this file would have to

be written to a portable media then loaded onto the computer. In a networked office the file

could be accessed via the network from a shared folder.

Sharing peripherals example the same office with 5 secretaries working on 5 different

computers, in order to print their work each computer would need to have a printer

attached. In a networked office you could have one shared printer, cutting costs.

What do you need?

A common language or protocol (TCP/IP IPX/SPX, APPLE TALK) is a convention or standard

that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two

computing endpoints.

A common language or protocol (TCP/IP IPX/SPX, APPLE TALK) is a convention or standard

that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two

computing endpoints.

Cabling BNC,Cat5, fibre optic

Hardware NIC(Network Interface Card), router, switch, hub, modem wireless access point.

Network Service (DNS, WINS, DHCP).


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Wireless

Wireless Access Point (WAP) A wireless access point (AP) connects a group of wireless

stations to an adjacent wired local area network (LAN). An access point is similar to an

Ethernet hub, but instead of relaying LAN data only to other LAN stations, an access pointcan relay wireless data to all other compatible wireless devices as well as to a single

(usually) connected LAN device, in most cases an Ethernet hub or switch, allowing wireless

devices to communicate with any other device on the LAN.

Wireless Routers A wireless router integrates a wireless access point with an Ethernet switch

and an Ethernet router. The integrated switch connects the integrated access point and the

integrated Ethernet router internally, and allows for external wired Ethernet LAN devices to

be connected as well as a (usually) single WAN device such as a cable modem or DSL

modem. A wireless router advantageously allows all three devices (mainly the access pointand router) to be configured through one central configuration utility, usually through an

integrated web server. However one disadvantage is that one may not decouple the access

point so that it may be used elsewhere.

Cables

Cable Terminology

10BASE2 (also known as cheapernet or thinnet) is a variant of Ethernet that uses thin

coaxial cable. The 10 comes from the maximum transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s (millions of

bits per second). The BASE stands for baseband signaling, and the 2 represents a rounded

up shorthand for the maximum segment length of 185 metres (607 feet).

10BASE5 (also known as thicknet) is the original full spec variant of Ethernet cable. The 10

refers to its transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s. The BASE is short for baseband signalling as

opposed to broadband, and the 5 stands for the maximum segment length of 500 metres.

10BASE-T is an implementation of Ethernet which allows stations to be attached via twisted

pair cable. The name 10BASE-T is derived from several aspects of the physical medium. The

10 refers to the transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s. The BASE is short for baseband.The T

comes from twisted pair, which is the type of cable that is used

100BASE-T is any of several Fast Ethernet 100 Mbit/s CSMA/CD standards for twisted pair

cables, including: 100BASE-TX (100 Mbit/s over two-pair Cat5 or better cable). The segment

length for a 100BASE-T cable is limited to 100 metres


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Coaxial

Coaxial cable is an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an

insulating spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, usually surrounded by a

final insulating layer. It is used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal.

BNC connectors were commonly used on 10base2 thin Ethernet networks, both on cable

interconnections and network cards, though these have largely been replaced by newer

Ethernet devices whose wiring does not use coaxial cable.

CAT 5

Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded twisted pair cable type

designed for high signal integrity. Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e

specification. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks

such as Gigabit Ethernet, although they are also used to carry many other signals such as

basic voice services, token ring.

Category 5 cable included four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. It was most commonly

used for 100 Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX Ethernet

Cat5 cable uses an RJ-45 (Registered Jack-45) connector at each end of the cable with a

fixed wiring scheme. The ends are then crimped on to the cable


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Name service for name registration and resolution Session service for connection-oriented communication Datagram distribution service for connectionless communication.

Name service In order to start Sessions or distribute Datagrams, an application must registerits NetBIOS name using the Name service. NetBIOS names are 16 bytes in length

Session service Session mode lets two computers establish a connection for a

conversation, allows larger messages to be handled, and provides error detection and

recovery. In NBT, the session service runs on TCP port 139.

Datagram distribution service Datagram mode is connectionless. Since each message is

sent independently, they must be smaller; the application becomes responsible for error

detection and recovery. In NBT, the datagram service runs on UDP port 138.

IPX/SPX (NWLINK)

Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX

protocol stack. The IPX/SPX protocol stack is supported by Novells NetWare network

operating system. Because of Netwares popularity through the late 1980s into the mid

1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking protocol. Novell derived IPX from Xerox

Network Services IDP protocol. IPX usage is in general decline as the boom of the Internet

has made TCP/IP nearly universal. Computers and networks can run multiple network

protocols, so almost all IPX sites will be running TCP/IP as well to allow for Internet

connectivity. It is also now possible to run Novell products without IPX, as they have

supported both IPX and TCP/IP since NetWare reached version 5.

Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX) is a transport layer protocol (layer 4 of the OSI Model)

used in Novell Netware networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3 the

network layer) and provides connection-oriented services between two nodes on the

network. SPX is used primarily by client/server applications.

NWLink is a IPX/SPX-compatible protocol developed by Microsoft and used in its Windows

NT product line.NWLink is Microsofts version of Novells IPX/SPX Protocol. The Microsoft

version of NWLink includes the same level of functionality as the Novell Protocol. NWLink

includes a tool for resolving NetBIOS names.NWLink packages data to be compatible with

client/server services on NetWare Networks. However, NWLink does not provide access to

NetWare File and Print Services. To access the File and Print Services the Client Service for

NetWare needs to be installed.

AppleTalk


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AppleTalk is a suite of protocols developed by Apple Computer for computer networking. It

was included in the original Macintosh (1984) and is now used less by Apple in favour of

TCP/IP networking.

AppleTalk contains two protocols aimed at making the system completely self-configuring.The AppleTalk address resolution protocol (AARP) allowed AppleTalk hosts to automatically

generate their own network addresses, and the Name Binding Protocol (NBP) was

essentially a dynamic DNS system which mapped network addresses to user-readable

names.

For interoperability Microsoft maintains the file services for Macintosh and the print services

for Macintosh

TCP/IP

The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols that implement the

protocol stack on which the Internet and most commercial networks run. It is sometimes

called the TCP/IP protocol suite, after the two most important protocols in it: the

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were also the first

two defined.The Internet protocol suite like many protocol suites can be viewed as a set of

layers, each layer solves a set of problems involving the transmission of data, and provides a

well-defined service to the upper layer protocols based on using services from some lower

layers. Upper layers are logically closer to the user and deal with more abstract data, relying

on lower layer protocols to translate data into forms that can eventually be physically

transmitted.The OSI model describes a fixed, seven layer stack for networking protocols.

Comparisons between the OSI model and TCP/IP can give further insight into the

significance of the components of the IP suite, but can also cause confusion, as TCP/IP

consists of only 4 layers.

The four layers in the DoD model, from bottom to top, are:

The Network Access Layer is responsible for delivering data over the particular hardwaremedia in use. Different protocols are selected from this layer, depending on the type of

physical network.

The Internet Layer is responsible for delivering data across a series of different physicalnetworks that interconnect a source and destination machine. Routing protocols are

most closely associated with this layer, as is the IP Protocol, the Internets fundamental

protocol.

The Host-to-Host Layer handles connection rendezvous, flow control, retransmission oflost data, and other generic data flow management. The mutually exclusive TCP andUDP protocols are this layers most important members.


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The Process Layer contains protocols that implement user-level functions, such as maildelivery, file transfer and remote login.

Network Services

DNS (Domain Naming System)

The Domain Name System (DNS) stores and associates many types of information with

domain names, but most importantly, it translates domain names (computer hostnames) to

IP addresses. It also lists mail exchange servers accepting e-mail for each domain. In

providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection service, DNS is an essential component of

contemporary Internet use.

The DNS pre-eminently makes it possible to attach easy-to-remember domain names (such

as es-net.co.uk) to hard-to-remember IP addresses (such as 270.146.131.206). People

take advantage of this when they recite URLs and e-mail addresses.

WINS (Windows Internet Naming Service)

Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) is Microsofts implementation of NetBIOS Name

Server (NBNS) on Windows, a name server and service for NetBIOS computer names.

Effectively, it is to NetBIOS names what DNS is to domain names a central mapping ofhost names to network addresses. However, the mappings have always been dynamically

updated (e.g. at workstation boot) so that when a client needs to contact another computer

on the network it can get its up-to-date DHCP allocated address. Networks normally have

more than one WINS server and each WINS server should be in push pull replication; the

favoured replication model is the hub and spoke, thus the WINS design is not central but

distributed. Each WINS server holds a full copy of every other related WINS systems

records. There is no hierarchy in WINS (unlike DNS), but like DNS its database can be

queried for the address to contact rather than broadcasting a request for which address to

contact. The system therefore reduces broadcast traffic on the network, however replicationtraffic can add to WAN / LAN traffic.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automates the assignment of IP

addresses, subnet masks, default routers, and other IP parameters. The assignment usually

occurs when the DHCP configured machine boots up or regains connectivity to the network.

The DHCP client sends out a query requesting a response from a DHCP server on the locally

attached network. The DHCP server then replies to the client with its assigned IP address,


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subnet mask, DNS server and default gateway information.The assignment of the IP address

usually expires after a predetermined period of time, at which point the DHCP client and

server renegotiate a new IP address from the servers predefined pool of addresses.

Configuring firewall rules to accommodate access from machines who receive their IP

addresses via DHCP is therefore more difficult because the remote IP address will vary fromtime to time. Administrators must usually allow access to the entire remote DHCP subnet for

a particular TCP/UDP port. Most home routers and firewalls are configured in the factory to

be DHCP servers for a home network. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) generally use DHCP

to assign clients individual IP addresses.DHCP is a broadcast-based protocol. As with other

types of broadcast traffic, it does not cross a router.

APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing)

If computers are unable to pick an address up from a DHCP server they use AutomaticPrivate IP Addressing (APIPA). This means the computer will assign itself a random address

between 169.254.0.1 169.254.254.254/16, allowing it to communicate with other clients

who are also using APIPA.

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), this allows unknowledgeable users to connect

computers, networked printers, and other items together and expect them to work. Without

Zeroconf or something similar, a knowledgeable user must either set up special servers, like

DHCP and DNS, or set up each computer by hand.

Networks

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home,

office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. Current LANs are most

likely to be based on switched Ethernet or Wi-Fi technology running at 10, 100 or 1,000

Mbit/s.The defining characteristics of LANs in contrast to WANs (wide area networks) are:

their much higher data rates; smaller geographic range; and that they do not require leased

telecommunication lines.

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is a computer network used for communication among

computer devices (including telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person.

The reach of a PAN is typically a few metres and may use Bluetooth, wireless or USB for

connection.

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network covering a wide geographical area,

involving a vast array of computers. This is different from personal area networks (PANs),

metropolitan area networks (MANs) or local area networks (LANs) that are usually limited toa room, building or campus. The most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet. WANs


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are used to connect local area networks (LANs) together, so that users and computers in

one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations.


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Introduction To Windows

Operating Systems

The most important piece of software on any computer is the operating system. The

operating system gives the framework upon which all other services and applications run.

The majority of home users use a Windows based machine. Most of todays applications and

games are designed to run solely on Microsoft systems.

Microsoft Windows is extremely popular in schools and colleges, many businesses also use

Windows.

Introduction to Microsoft Windows

The oldest of all Microsofts operating systems is MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating

System). MS-DOS is a text-based operating system. Users have to type commands rather

than use the more friendly graphical user interfaces (GUIs) available today. Despite its very

basic appearance, MS-DOS is a very powerful operating system. There are many advanced

applications and games available for MS-DOS. A version of MS-DOS underpins Windows.

Many advanced administration tasks in Windows can only be performed using MS-DOS.

The history of Microsoft Windows dates back to

1985, when Microsoft released Microsoft

Windows Version 1.01. Microsofts aim was to

provide a friendly user-interface known as a

GUI (graphical user interface) which allowed for

easier navigation of the system features.

Windows 1.01 never really caught on. (The

amazing thing about Windows 1.01 is that it

fitted on a single floppy disk!). In 1987

Microsoft revamped the operating system and

released Windows 2.03. The GUI was very slightly improved but still looked too similar to

Windows 1.01. The operating system again failed to capture a wide audience.

Microsoft made an enormous impression with Windows 3.0 and 3.1. Graphics and

functionality were drastically improved. The Windows 3.x family provided multimedia

capabilities as well as vastly improved graphics and application support.

Building on the success of Windows 3.x, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows For

Workgroups 3.11. This gave Windows the ability to function on a network. It is not

uncommon to find companies still using Windows 3.11.


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based on the Windows 9x line. Windows 9x/ME systems are not as secure and stable as

Windows NT and 2000 systems.

Because of the stability of Windows NT/2000, Microsoft decided to end the development of

the Windows 9x line, and merge both the consumer and business products. MicrosoftWindows XP comes as the Home Edition and Professional, each is based on Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 Server has been upgraded to Windows 2003. This appears in four variants:

Web Server, Standard Server, Enterprise Server and Datacenter Server, each fulfilling a

different business role. Windows XP has a very polished look, but the overall functionality is

very similar to Windows 2000.

Other Operating Systems

The Windows family is the most widely used Operating System. There are other operating

systems in the computing world, and some are a lot older than Microsoft Windows. Luckily

most operating systems can interoperate with each other. Many of todays larger networks

contain a variety of operating systems.

UNIX

A big advantage of UNIX is that it can be run on nearly every computer hardware platform

including Apple Macintosh machines. The UNIX operating system is one of the oldest andmost powerful operating systems. It was developed by Bell Laboratories. There are many

variants of UNIX available.

Novell NetWare

Novell NetWare is an advanced network operating system. It has an advanced directory

service structure similar to Microsofts Active Directory. Fortunately both directory services

are interoperable as both directories use the x500 directory service standard.

Linux/FreeBSD

Two of the most popular variations of UNIX come in the form of Linux and FreeBSD. A big

advantage of both Linux and FreeBSD is that they are both open-source, that is, any user

can contribute to the development of the OS. Versions of both operating systems are

completely free.

Linux and FreeBSD can easily take the role of a server or client machine. However, they areconsidered to be more difficult to master as both utilize the command line rather than a user


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friendly GUI. There are several different distributions of Linux, but for each the underlying

operating system remains the same.

Apple Macintosh machines offer high performance sound and graphics editing and are

therefore extremely popular in the design industry. Apple have developed their ownoperating system, the newest version of which is the Mac OS X, which is based on UNIX.

Mac OS X is a very user friendly operating system and is increasingly popular for home PCs.


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Managing Files And Folders

A file is a collection of numbers which have been written to your computers hard drive.

These numbers can be converted into a picture, a sound, text, or a set of instructions for a

program to perform certain actions. A clue to a files type is given by its Icon or by its fileextension. Folders are containers for anything on a computer including files and other

folders. A path lists the folders that have to be opened to get to the required file. Folders

were called directories on older Microsoft systems.

These are some typical file icons. They help the user to identify the file type. There are

innumerable file types, some of the common ones are represented here:

1. .bmp a bitmap image2. .doc a Word document3. .wav a sound file4. .ppt animated slides5. .txt plain text6. .xls a spreadsheet7. .dbf a database file8. A shortcut (note the arrow)9. .exe an application (a program)Windows allows you to view information about files in different ways. the icon view the

default used by Windows XP.


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To change the icon view, click on View on the menu bar. Select the required view from the

available list.

By default if a file type is a known one, such as a Microsoft Word Document, Windows wont

display its file extension. To view all file extensions click on Tools on the menu bar.

Various options can be configured. e.g. Display compressed files and folders with alternate

colours. To display all file extensions, untick the Hide file extensions for known file types

box.

File extensions are best left alone. Opening a file with the wrong application can sometimes

damage the file. However you may at some stage need to change a files extension.

Folders

Each of these is a folder. They may contain files or other folders (called subfolders) or both.

There may be many nestings of folders within folders.

Files and folders are located on the computer by using a file path. The James folder is

located inside a folder called Home, which is located inside a folder called es-net, which

is located on the C: drive. The file path will be C:\es-net\Home\James.

Moving and Copying

To move a file or folder, either right click on its icon OR left click on the Edit option on the

toolbar. Choose cut to move or copy to copy!


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At this point the item has been placed onto a clipboard an area of memory accessible from

nearly any application in Windows. Right click (or open Edit in the toolbar) in an open

destination folder and choose Paste (or use drag and drop) .

When an attempt is made to move an item between volumes, it is effectively copied, andthe original remains.

Creating Files and Folders

This is mercifully easy. Simply right-click on some empty space in any suitable folder or the

desktop and choose to create a new object from the choices offered.

Be careful not to alter the file extension, as this can render the file unreadable. File

extensions are usually hidden for this reason.


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Desktop and My Documents

The Windows desktop provides a convenient location for storing files and folders. The

desktop can contain shortcuts to applications and documents that you access frequently.

This is the Desktop. It is a folder just like any other and it can be manipulated to contain

whatever the administrator requires for each user.

The My Documents Folder is the default destination for a users work. It can be placed,

separately from the desktop, on any server in the network.

In this guise it can still appear to the user as what is known as a local resource!

In another course would-be administrators will move home folders to remote servers. They

will also have a good reason for doing so.


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Server Roles

The term server refers to a machine that is providing a service for other machines, e.g. A

computer which shares files on the network would be classed as a file server. For example,

A Domain Controller is classed as a server because it is providing a service for the rest of theclients on the network. Windows 2003 can take several different server roles. These are as

follows:

File Server

A File Server stores files and folders that are used by other machines on the network. It can

hold applications, text documents, or a users My Documents Folder. For security, many

shared folders are housed on file servers. A distributed file system is housed on more thanone file server for the sake of fault-tolerance and ease of access.

A Windows XP Professional machine may act as a limited File Server.

A Windows Server 2003 Computer can also act as a file server for different operating

systems, e.g. Apple Macintosh.

Print ServerA Print Server is a computer that has a printer attached to it and shares the printer for use

on the network.

A Windows XP Professional Machine can be a reasonably capable Print Server.

Application Server

Besides being a Domain Controller, Windows Server 2003 can also be a host to many

different services e.g. as a Database Server and a Terminal Server.


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Windows XP Server 2003 Overview

In September 2001 Microsoft released an upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional called

Windows XP Professional. Windows XP comes in four variants, Windows XP Professional,

Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Centre Edition and Windows XP Tablet PCEdition. Unlike Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition has limited networking

support and is designed solely for home users.

Windows XP Professional offers all of the features of Windows 2000 with many

improvements. Windows XP Professional can easily integrate into existing Windows 2000

networks.

In April 2003 Microsoft released the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family as an upgrade to

Windows 2000 Server. Windows Server 2003 offers improvements over Windows NT

4.0/2000 server products. These include many security and reliability enhancements.

Windows XP/Server 2003 represents Microsofts shift towards the more stable and secure NT

kernel. Windows Server 2003 provides enhanced security and control over networks using a

feature called Active Directory. This enables companies to reduce running costs and improve

work performance.

Active Directory

Active Directory is a fundamental features of Windows 2003 domains. Active Directory is

essentially a detailed database containing information about every object on the network.

These objects include computers, users, groups, printers and even shared folders.

This feature might seem of little importance until you look at how this information is

organised. Active Directory can group objects and place restrictions upon them, for example

a group of users might be restricted from using the control panel. Essentially every object

can be controlled and similar objects may be grouped into manageable units. As you will

later learn Active Directory greatly simplifies network administration.

IntelliMirror

Windows 2003/XP networks use a feature called IntelliMirror. IntelliMirror allows users to

move freely around the network whilst maintaining their own settings, preferences,

applications and documents.

For example a users desktop wallpaper will follow him from machine to machine. The

benefits of IntelliMirror and Active Directory can only be fully utilised on Windows2000/2003/XP networks.


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Enhanced User Interface

Windows XP has an enhanced user interface where many common tasks are grouped into

easy to find locations. This makes Windows easier and more pleasant to use.

The Microsoft Management Console

Windows XP/2003 also provides a utility called the Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

The MMC provides a single, consistent interface for all aspects of administration.

Applications built for Windows 2003 such as Exchange Server also use the MMC. The MMC

can also be used to manage other machines on the network running Windows 2000/2003

and XP. This eases the job of the Administrator who doesnt have to present himself

physically at each machine, thus improving response times and reducing the general

administrative load.

Remote Desktop Connection

Windows XP/2003 contains a feature known

as Remote Desktop which enables a computer running Windows XP/2003 to be remotely

controlled or viewed over a network. Remote Desktop Connection is useful since it allows an

administrator to troubleshoot a users problems remotely, thus helping to improve response

time and increasing productivity.

Internet Information Services

Windows Server 2003 ships with Internet information Services v6.0 (IIS). IIS allows a

computer to securely host web based services such as Web and FTP Sites. Unlike Windows

2000, IIS is not installed by default on Windows Server 2003. Windows XP Professional also

includes a limited version of IIS that can host a single Web or FTP site.


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Storage Options

Windows Server 2003 provides a feature called Shadow Copy. This feature stores point-in-

time versions of files in network shares. This allows an administrator to view or recover

folder contents as they existed at certain points in time. Windows XP/2003 allows a user todirectly copy files to a CD-R without the use of any third-party CD-Burning application.

ClearType Support

Windows 2003/XP supports anti-aliased fonts using the Microsoft Cleartype technology. With

Cleartype technology text becomes sharper and brighter, especially on Laptop displays.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 OverviewAs a network administrator you will need to know which product to use in a certain

situation. This is important as the cost of different Windows Server 2003 OSs differs

considerably.

Windows Server 2003 Web Edition; Designed solely as a Web Server.

Cannot function as a Domain Controller. Can act as a File/Print or Web server

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition; Supports Active Directory. Used in small tomedium environments. Ideal for File and Print services

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition; Supports Active Directory. Used in large

organizations. Ideal for Application/Web servers

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition; Supports Active Directory. Used in very

large organizations. Ideal for Database Servers (SQL)

Windows 2003/XP Capabilities

Each version of Windows Server 2003 has varying capabilities. Below is a list of those

capabilities that may be supported in one version but not in another.

Network Load Balancing Clustering Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) Pre-emptive Multitasking Remote Access


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Network Load Balancing

Network Load Balancing is a feature ofWindows Server 2003 Enterprise/Datacenter. This allows network traffic to be distributed

between servers each running the same website. Up to 32 machines can be linked together

using the same IP address.

If a machine fails, no clients will be connected to it until it is restored. The service to the

client remains unimpaired throughout. As the client may connect to one of the other

machines

Clustering

Clustering means having more than one server dedicated to running a particular application.

This is only supported in Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003

Datacenter Edition.

There are two types of clustering:

1. Active/Active

2. Active/Passive

Active/Passive Clustering

In Active/Passive Clustering, One machine is running an application, while the other sits

quietly watching it. In this format, all machines in a cluster are connected to an external

hard-drive. The fact that the passive server merely waits in case of a failure, this can be a

very expensive implementation. If the active machine fails, the passive machine takes over

the running of the application from the failed machine. This is known as Redundancy.

Active/Active Clustering


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Here, both machines are running different applications. However each machine constantly

monitors the other. If one of the servers fail, the other machine will take over whatever

application the failed machine was running providing fault tolerance.

Multi-Processing

Some computers (especially Servers) need a lot of Processing Power. Installation of

additional processors allows machines to perform more tasks and calculations in a given

period of time. There are two different types of Multi Processing, SMP and ASMP.

Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP)

An application is started and its demands are spread evenly across both processors. A

second application is started and its demands are also spread evenly across both

processors.

Asymmetric Multi- Processing (ASMP)

With this system one processor is dedicated to the computers internal operations, including

managing the other CPU. The other CPU handles user applications. An application is started

and it runs solely on the first processor. Other applications are then started and will continue

to run on the first processor. Only when the first processor is fully loaded will another be

processor utilised.

Multi-Tasking

Windows XP/2003 allows Multi-Tasking. Multi-Tasking allows the user to run multiple

applications at the same time. There are two types of multi-tasking: Co-operative and Pre-

emptive.

Cooperative Multi-tasking

This is the form of Multi-tasking found in Windows 95, 98 and NT. Subsequent processes

rely upon either the first process finishing, or it choosing to share resources. Not only is this

inefficient, it can be dangerous. If the first process hangs without completion it still retains

those resources, then NOBODY gets to use the processor and a restart is usually required.

When a process starts, it keeps hold of the processors resources until it chooses to release

them.

Pre-emptive Multi-tasking


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This is the form of Multi-tasking found in Windows 2000/XP/2003. In this system the

operating system is responsible for the allocation of processor resources. Should a second

process (also called a thread) start before a first has finished, it is the OS which

determines how much of the processor time is given to each thread. The Operating Systems

choices are influenced by the priority settings of each process.

Remote Access

Many people work away from their offices, so Windows provides the Routing and Remote

Access Service, (installed by default with Windows 2000/2003 Server) which lets users

connect to their office machines. The Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) allows a

client machine to connect to the network from a remote location either using a standard

dial-up connection or via the internet. Once the client has connected to the network from

the remote location, he/she will be able to access the network resources as though theywere on the same physical network.

Windows Server 2003 Capabilities

When designing and building networks you will need to evaluate the companys

requirements and choose the right product for the right situation. The following is a list of

the the capabilities of Windows XP Professional and the four different versions of Windows

Server 2003:

Supports 2-way SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) Supports 4GB of memory (RAM) Supports up to 10 client connections Supports one RAS (Remote Access Server) Connection

Windows Server 2003 Web Editions Capabilities

Supports 2-way SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing)

Supports 2GB of memory (RAM) 10 Remote Access connections File and Print Services No 64Bit processor Support Unable to function as a Domain Controller Unlimited web connections

Windows Server 2003 Standard Editions Capabilities

4-Way SMP (Symmetric-Multi Processing) i.e. 4 processors


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Supports 4GB of Memory (RAM) Unlimited Client Connections 256 RAS (Remote Access) Connections No 64Bit Itanium Support. 5 connections to the built in SQL engine Network load balancing POP3 and SMTP mail server

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Editions Capabilities

8 CPUs (Intel 32-Bit), 8 CPUs (Itanium 64-Bit) Supports 32GB of Memory (RAM), 64 GB of Memory on Itanium 64-Bit systems. Unlimited Client Connections 256 RAS (Remote Access) Connections Network Load Balancing 8-Node Clustering

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Editions Capabilities

32 CPUs (Intel 32-Bit), 64 CPUs (Itanium 64-Bit)- can be grouped to provide 128 waySMP

Supports 64GB of Memory (RAM), 512 GB of Memory on Itanium 64-Bit systems. Unlimited Client Connections 256 RAS (Remote Access) Connections Network Load Balancing 8-Node Clustering

Windows Accessibility

Microsoft Windows supports users with limited sight, hearing or mobility through

accessibility options. These facilities include:

The Accessibility Wizard The Magnifier Utility The Narrator Utility The On-Screen Keyboard The Utility ManagerTo view the various Accessibility utilities available, click on Start.

Select All Programs.


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Accessories.

Accessibility.

The various options are then shown.

The Accessibility Wizard

The Accessibility Wizard configures a computer based on the users vision, hearing and

mobility needs. The user selects the text size that is easiest to read. It also collects

information about the users difficulty with vision, hearing and mobility. Windows will

remember the accessibility options for each user. In a network environment these options

can be configured to follow the user if they move from computer to computer.

e.g. A user who is visually impaired might choose options to create a desktop that looks like

this screenshot.

The Windows magnifier utility helps people with poor vision by placing a magnified view of

the cursor location at the top of the screen. Various options such as the colour and zoom

level can be configured.

NarratorNarrator provides voice feedback to visually impaired users. Narrator can be configured to

read out screen events and keystrokes, it can also be configured to move the mouse pointer

to the active screen item. Narrator may not work correctly if it is used with 3rd party

applications i.e. non Microsoft applications and only works well when used with Windows

programs such as Notepad.

The on-screen keyboard utility displays a keyboard image which lets the user type by using

the mouse. When using the on-screenkeyboard ensure the application, e.g.

Notepad, is in focus rather than the

keyboard.

The Utility Manager can be used to specify

which utilities will be started when Windows

starts.

To configure the various Accessibility options

the Accessibility applet is used. Click on Start.


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Windows Task Scheduler

Microsoft Windows includes a Task Scheduler utility that allows you to run programs

automatically at a specific time and at a set interval. This is useful for scheduling important

administration tasks such as Windows Backup.

To create a new scheduled task, click on Start.

Select Control Panel.

Select Switch to Classic View.

Double-click the Scheduled Tasks Folder.

Select the Add Scheduled Task Icon.

The Scheduled Task Wizard will appear. Click on Next to continue.

Select the Application from the list, if the application is not on the list then click on Browse.

For the sake of illustration the Windows calculator has been selected. Click on One time only

to specify that this task should run once only.

Click on Next to continue.

Select a start date and time and click Next.

When the task starts it will run as if it was started by the displayed user. This can be

changed here if needed, e.g. An administrative task may need to use the Administrator

Account. Click on Next to continue.

Click on Finish to create the new task.

Right-click on the new task to view its advanced properties.

Select Properties.

The information and user you specified about the Task is displayed in the Task tab.


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The Schedule tab can be used to change or

fine-tune the time that you specified

previously.

The options in the Scheduled TaskCompleted section allows you to delete the

task if it will not be run again and specify

how long the task should be allowed to run

before it is stopped.

The options in the Idle Time section are a way to make use of otherwise non-productive PC

time. You can specify how long the computer must be idle before the task begins, and

whether to stop the task if the computer ceases to be idle.

Windows also provides a command line utility called AT for scheduling tasks. For more

information on the AT utility type AT with the /? switch from the command prompt. You

can also schedule tasks over the network on remote machines as long as you have

permission to do so on that machine. To open the schedule tasks folder on a remote

machine type in its UNC path \\computername and open the scheduled tasks folder.


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Multi-Language and Regional Support

Windows XP/2003 can support multiple languages. With multiple language support installed

documents can be created and read in foreign languages.

Microsoft provides localized editions of Windows XP/2003. For example users in Japan can

buy a Japanese version. There is also a Multi language version of Windows XP/2003 which

provides user interfaces in a number of different languages. This is useful in a multinational

organisation where users speak different languages but must use the same computers.

When using a multi language version of Windows XP/2003 you must specify which

languages to use. Windows XP/2003 uses approximately 45MB of disk space for each

language installed. Multiple language support can be configured by using the Muisetup.exe

utility from a command prompt.

N.B. Muisetup.exe will only work on multi language versions of Windows XP/2003.

Code Pages

Traditionally computers have used tables called code pages. A code page is a table of

characters. Each character has a number. Due to the way a computer works a code page

can have a total of 256 numbers. A single code page doesnt contain enough characters to

support all the possible characters in all possible languages.

Because of this computer systems use different code pages for different languages. In order

to be able to read and write with other characters the correct code page/pages will need to

be installed on the system.

In a system which uses code pages, a program will need to know two pieces of information

to correctly display a character: the number of the character and the code page to use.

Since different languages have different code pages, problems may arise when a user isviewing a document intended for a different code page. The document may then be

unreadable.

Unicode

Because of these limitations a standard was

introduced known as Unicode. Unicode is an

international-standard character table that

has extra characters that dont appear in


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the standard ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) character set.

This works because unlike ASCII codes, Unicode uses a double-byte character code. This

means that Unicode can support more than 256 characters in a set.

Windows XP/2003 and 2000/NT 4.0 all support Unicode version 2.0, which has around40,000 possible characters. Windows 95 and 98 however do not.

To configure language options the Windows regional options utility is used. Click on Start.

Select Control Panel.

Select Switch to Classic View to enable all Control Panel options.

Select The Regional and Language Options icon.

The Regional Options Tab displays which Standards and Formats are currently used. Click on

Customize to fine-tune these settings.

The Numbers tab allows you to configure how numbers are displayed on the system.

The Currency Tab allows you to configure how currency is displayed by the system. e.g. A

French user would change these settings to use Euros.

The Time Tab allows you to configure how the time is displayed.

The Date Tab allows you to configure how the Date is displayed.

Click on OK to close the Customize Regional Options dialog box.

Select the Languages Tab to configure the Keyboard Layout and Languages used by the

system.

Select the Details button to view or change the languages and input methods used.

Currently the UK and US input languages are installed. Click on Add to add an additional

input language.

Select your choice from the drop-down list.

For Example French(France) for a French user.


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Click on OK to add the new French input language.

French support has now been added to the computer. N.B. This will not change the user

interface to French but will allow the use of French characters and French keyboards.

The Input language can be changed at any time by clicking on the language bar on the

taskbar.

Troubleshooting Regional Options

On a machine with multiple languages and locales installed, problems may sometimes arise.

You should ensure that, when adding additional languages, the computer and applications

are restarted.Verify the applications you are using support Unicode. If they dont you may

need to change the system locale from the regional options. When moving documentsbetween PCs, ensure that both have the same language groups installed.


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The Microsoft Management Console

The MMC utility provides tools for managing system functions, such as Users and Groups,

Disk Management and Security Settings. In many respects the MMC resembles an empty

toolbox. An administrator can choose which tools it contains, and set up further toolboxesfor different tasks if required. These toolboxes are referred to as Consoles. Tools are added

to the console as snap-ins. This is intended to be a common environment for all utilities for

the management of Windows XP/2003/2008 computers.

Consoles can be created and configured to suit different purposes. They can be saved under

descriptive names. Saved consoles appear in the Administrative Tools folder and can be

accessed through Start>All Programs>Administrative tools. Consoles can be exported for

use by other administrators or assistants for monitoring common tasks. Consoles are also a

way for administrators to manage remote machines without having to leave their ownworkstations.

Computer Management provides a toolbox for managing common administrative tasks.

There are three main sections in the computer management console; System Tools,

Storage, Services and Applications.

Frequently the management console appears already expanded. Many exam questions

however refer to the three primary divisions. Be familiar with the contents of all three

sections.

Creating a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)

Click START then RUN. Type MMC.

As many Consoles as are required can be created, containing the tools needed for a range

of tasks. This is a Console. It can be tailored to display the tools an administrator requires

for a particular job. Click the File button to add tools.

Choose to Add/Remove a Snap-in.

Currently this Console has no snap-ins. Click Add.

Highlight a choice

and click Add.


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It is possible to make a single console which can manage many computers. This can save an

administrator a lot of effort over time.

Most MMCs can be used with computers other than the local machine. Make a choice and

click Finish.

Further Snap-ins can be added to a console..

When all the required snap-ins have been added click OK.

Finally, save the newly created Console with a meaningful name.

Note the file extension for MMC files.

Before the new Console is employed, some options should be examined.

Anybody can use the new Console, but it may need protecting from misuse or alteration.

There are four modes of operation for a Console to aid this control:

1. Author Mode: Grants users every permission including adding or deleting snap-ins.2. User Mode Full Access: Grants users every permission except adding or deleting snap-

ins.

3. User Mode Limited Access single window: User must use the console as it is.4. User Mode Limited Access full window: User cannot close any windows previously

saved, but can create new windows for own use.

Remote Administration

The MMC utility can also be used to

administer other machines over a network. You can remotely administer both Windows 2000

and Windows XP Professional computers as long as you have a suitable user account on the

machine you are administering. You can also administer a Windows 2000 Server/Server

2003 computer from Windows XP Professional by installing the i386/adminpak.msi file on

the Windows Server CD-ROM.


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In this example, a new console will be created to administer three separate machines on a

network

In order to administer server side components, you will need to install the

I386/ADMINPAK.MSI file on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM.

The Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack Setup Wizard is launched. Click on

Next to continue.

The Server Administration Tools are then installed.

Once the Administration tools are installed you will need to create a new MMC. Click on

Start.

Select Run

Type in MMC into the Run command-line box.

Click on OK to continue.

A new blank console is launched. Select File to begin adding new snap-ins.

Select Add/Remove Snap-in

Click on Add

Select Active Directory Users and Computers.

Click on Add. The snap-in will automatically connect to a domain controller. N.B. You will

need to be connected to a domain and have sufficient privileges in order to perform

administration of Active Directory.

The Active Directory Users and Computers console has been added. Scroll down to find the

Computer Management snap-in.

Select Computer Management.

Click on Add.


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The Computer Management utility will prompt you for which machine you wish to

administer. Select Another computer.

Specify or Browse for the machine you wish to administer and click Finish.

The computer management utility for 10.0.0.1 has been added. N.B. You cannot use Disk

Defragmenter or Add and Remove hardware remotely using an MMC. Select the Event

Viewer console and click Add to continue.

As before, select the Another computer option and choose or specify the machine you wish

to administer.

With the machine specified, click on Finish.

Once you have added all of the relevant snap-ins, click on Close.

Hit OK to close the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box.

The new console is then shown. You can now administer three separate machines from one

location.

e.g. You can administer users and groups on the Domain Controller.

..stop and start services on 10.0.0.1

And view the Event Logs on 10.0.0.8

Remote Shutdown

Using the Computer Management MMC you can shutdown, logoff or reboot a remote

machine. This is a highly useful feature, but can also cause security issues. You shouldalways ensure that the Administrator password is hidden. A user with administrative rights

can potentially destroy a computer remotely.

Launch Computer Management and right-click on Computer Management (Local).

Select Connect to another computer. N.B. This function will work with most MMC snap-ins.

Browse for or specify the remote machine.


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Click OK to continue.

The console is now connected to 10.0.0.1. Right-click on Computer Management (10.0.0.1).

Select Properties.

Information about the remote computer is shown. Click on Advanced.

Select Settings from Startup and Recovery.

This powerful page allows you to configure the machines boot order and memory dump file

location. Click on Shut Down.

Select the action you would like to perform and click OK.


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Partitions and Volumes

Hard Disks perform a very simple function to store data and then reliably retrieve it on

command. However, before any information can be stored on a hard disk it must be both

partitioned and formatted with a file system. A hard disk can contain multiple partitions andfile-systems. As you will learn later this can be extremely useful.

A partition is a persistent division of a physical hard drive into logical segments. Each

partition appears to the user like a separate hard drive. Volume is the terminology used by

post-Windows 2000 machines for partition. Volumes are much more flexible in their

configuration than the more rigid partitions.

Partitioning a hard drive makes each segment behave like a separate disk. This is ideal for

dual-booting different operating systems.

Basic Partitions

Primary Partitions

There may be up to 4 Primary Partitions per physical disk. The Boot partition may only be located on a primary partition.

Extended Partitions

Extended Partitions can use up any free space not used by the Primary Partitions. You may have up to 3 Primary partitions and one extended partition on any physical

disk.

Extended Partitions need to be further divided into Logical DOS drives.

Logical-DOS Partitions

Logical Partitions are placed inside the extended partition. The number of Logical partitions you may have is only limited by the number of free

drive letters.

The boot partition cannot be placed on a logical partition.

Basic Partitions

The oldest Windows operating system is always installed first as the newer operating system

normally writes a new boot record.


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A Logical Drive can contain an operating system but never the System partition.

Different Partitions may contain a File Systems not used by Windows, so if an additional

operating system is required it can also be installed on the non Windows partition.

Creating a Primary Partition

To create a Primary Partition from within Windows 2003/XP, the Disk Management Utility is

used. To access Disk Management, click on Start.

Right-click on My Computer.

Select Manage.

Computer Management will appear. Click on Disk Management.

Disk Management will appear. From this screen you may view, create and delete partitions.

To create a new Primary partition on Disk 1 right-click on the unallocated space on Disk 1.

From the choices menu, select New Partition.

The New Partition Wizard will appear. Select Next to continue.

The Partition Type page will appear. Select the type of partition required. Primary Partition is

selected here. Click Next to continue.

Select a size for the new partition, in this case we will chose 2048MB.

Click on Next to Continue.

A drive may be made to appear as a folder on an existing drive (This is called Mounting).

The Default Drive is the next available drive letter, in this case D. Select Next to continue.

You can also choose a Volume Label, which can be used to identify the volume. In order for

the partition to be used by the operating system it will have to be formatted with a file

system. NTFS is the file-system of choice for a Windows Server 2003 system. Click Next to

accept the default values.

The summary page will appear. To close the wizard and create the partition click Finish.


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The new Primary partition is now displayed on Disk 1 and has been assigned the drive letter

D:.

The new partition also appears in My Computer.

Creating an Extended Partition

To create a new Extended Partition the Disk Management Utility is used. To create a new

Extended Partition on Disk 1, right-click on the Unallocated space on Disk 1.

Select New Partition.


The Partition Type page will appear. Select Extended Partition.

and then hit Next.

Specify the size of the partition. The maximum amount of space available on this disk is

2039 MB. To accept the default click Next.

The summary page will appear. To close the wizard and create the partition click Finish.

The new Extended Partition is displayed on Disk 1. In order to use the partition, logical

drives will have to be created inside it.

N.B. The extended partition does not appear in My Computer as an extended partition

without any formatted logical drives cannot hold any data.

Creating a Logical Drive

To create a new Logical Drive within the Extended Partition, right click on the Extended

Partition on Disk 1.

Select New Logical Drive.


Logical Drive is selected, click Next to continue.


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To specify the Logical Drive size click in the Partition size in MB box and change the value.

1024MB will create a 1GB Logical Drive . Click Next to continue.

A drive may be made to appear as a folder on an existing drive (This is called Mounting).The Default Drive is the next available drive letter, in this case E.

Select Next to continue.

NTFS has been selected for the file system. Select Volume label in order to give the new

partition a recognizable name.

The new Logical Drive has been named WebSite, this describes the data the Logical Drive

may contain. Click Next to continue

The summary page will appear. To close the wizard and create the Logical Drive , click

Finish.

The new Logical Drive is now displayed inside the Extended Partition on Disk 1 and has been

labeled WebSite (E:).

Similarly, the new Logical Drive appears in My Computer and is ready for use.

Dynamic VolumesBecause of the limitations of basic partitions, dynamic volumes where

introduced in Windows 2000 and continue to be supported in Windows XP

and Windows Server 2003.

Dynamic volumes offer more flexibility than standard partitions. One of the

main reasons for using dynamic volumes is to make use of volume sets

(which are covered later).


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Unfortunately pre-Windows 2000 computers cannot read or utilise dynamic volumes,

furthermore you should not use dynamic volumes in a dual-boot environment even if all the

operating systems are capable of supporting dynamic disks.

Dynamic Volumes are only supported on Windows 2000/XP/2003.

There is no limit to the number of volumes you may have on a disk.

Dynamic Volumes may be fault tolerant.

There are no Primary, Logical or Extended volumes.


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Converting to Dynamic Disks

In order to use a dynamic volume on a Windows XP/2003 system the original basic disk will

need to be converted to a dynamic disk. Existing basic partitions on the disk will be

upgraded to volumes, however upgraded volumes may not then be extended. To convert adisk to dynamic there must be at least 1MB of unpartitioned space available on the disk.

To convert a basic disk to dynamic the disk management utility is used.

Right Click on Disk 1 to upgrade the disk to dynamic.

Select Convert to Dynamic Disk.

Select the disks to be upgraded to dynamic disks, in this case Disk 1 then click OK.

Disk 1 has now been upgraded to a dynamic disk. N.B. This is a one way conversion i.e. the

disk cannot now be converted back to a basic disk without first repartitioning the disk.


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and this can be searched in the same manner as a phone directory. Each search is fast as

a character-alphabetical search.

Transaction-Based Writes (NTFS)

Unlike FAT/FAT32, NTFS records the progress of an event into a transaction log, this allows

data to be recovered if there is a power failure whilst a file is being copied or moved.

On the downside, NTFS requires a little more resource overhead than FAT and FAT32.

Disk Fragmentation on a NTFS Partition.

Under NTFS, when a file is written to the disk, space is left after the last

used cluster and the next file on the disk. NTFS will always presume that a

file will increase in size. Therefore when any file increases in size, the extra

data can be written to the space between the end of the original file and the

start of the next. This method lessens the fragmentation of the drive.

CDFS and UDF

CDFS is the File System used by CD-ROM drives and is compatible with most operating

systems. DVD drives use a file-system called UDF (Universal Disk Format).

File Systems

Considerable care should be taken when using a dual-boot system, i.e. A computer that has

more than one operating system installed

For example, if you are dual-booting a computer between Windows 98 and Windows XP and

you convert the partition Windows 98 uses to NTFS, Windows 98 will no longer be able read

the partition and be unable to boot.

Dual Booting

Dual booting allows you to install two or more operating system on the same machine.

It is ideal for testing other operating systems, without deleting the original.

As a rule, the older operating system should be installed first, e.g. Install Windows 98 before

you install Windows 2000.


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If dual-booting with non-Windows operating systems, e.g. Linux, install the Microsoft system

first.

You mustEnsure that the file-systems are compatible.

If using Windows NT 4.0 with NTFS 5.0, upgrade NT 4.0 to Service Pack 4.

If you are dual-booting between Windows 9x and 2000, ensure that the boot partition

remains FAT or FAT32, otherwise you will be unable to boot into Windows 9x.

When dual-booting between different operating systems a boot-menu is created. From the

boot-menu you may select which operating system to boot.

Converting to NTFS

In order to use native compression, encryption, disk quotas, shadow copies and security.

FAT/FAT32 partitions will need to be converted to NTFS.

Converting to NTFS is a one-way conversion. You cannot convert NTFS back to FAT/FAT32

without reformatting the drive.

If dual-booting with Windows NT 4.0, ensure that it has been upgraded to Service Pack 4.

Remember!! Window 9x/3.x and MS-DOS cannot read NTFS partitions.

This is the command you need to remember: convert /fs:ntfs


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Volume Sets

Fault-Tolerance/Redundancy of data and high speed data access are essential requirements

in many of todays businesses. Using dynamic disks in Windows 2003 enables the use of

Volume Sets. A volume consists of a part or parts of one or more physical disks grouped ineither a simple, spanned, mirrored, striped, or RAID-5 configuration.

Simple, Spanned, RAID-0 (Disk Striping) Not-Fault Tolerant -Supported in Windows

XP Professional and Windows Server 2003.

RAID-1 (Disk Mirroring), RAID-5 (Disk Striping with

Parity) These are Fault Tolerant only supported in the

Windows Server 2003 Family.

Striping is designed solely to improve the speed of read &

write access to data. Stripping improves response time as

each drive in the set is performing fewer operations and

thus the time required to deliver the data is reduced.

Spanned Volumes are designed solely to use up available space in nooks and crannies of

a disk array.

Raid-5 provides fault tolerance and an improved speed of access at the cost of drive space.

(An entire RAID-5 array can be mirrored, too).


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The volume will be called UserData. N.B. Under Windows Server 2003, volumes can only be

formatted as NTFS.

Click on Next to continue.

The Summary page will appear. Click on Finish to create the new volume.

The new volume has been created and spanned across two physical disks.

The new volume appears to the user as a single drive.


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Striped Volumes

Striped Volumes are similar to spanned in that they use the space available on both disks

and appear to the user as one single volume. There can be 2-32 disks in a striped set.

Striped Volumes are supported in both Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003.

When files are written to the disk they are striped across both disksso read & write

performance is improved.

Striped volumes are not fault tolerant. If

one of the disks were to fail, all data

contained within the volume would be

lost.

To create a striped volume using Disks 1

and 2, right-click on the Unallocated space

on Disk 1.

Select New Volume.

The New Volume Wizard will appear. Click Next to continue.

Choose the type of volume that you want to create, in this case Striped.

Click Next to continue.

Disk 1 has already been added to the striped set, to add disk 2, select Disk 2 from the

available dynamic disks box.

Disk 2 has been selected, click on Add to add the disk.

Since all partitions in a striped set have to be the same size the total sum of this volume is

24095 or 8190MB. Click on Next to continue.

The new partition will be assigned the next available drive letter, in this case D:. Click Next

to continue.

The volume will be called New Volume. Click on Next to continue.

The summary page will appear, click on Finish to create the new striped volume.


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The volume is displayed below and is striped across two physical disks.

The new striped volume appears as a single 7.99GB drive.


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Mirrored Volumes

Mirrored Volumes store exactly the same information on each drive, making the information

on the second drive available for fault tolerance. Mirrored Volumes are supported by

Windows Server 2003 but not Windows XP. When files are written to the disk they arewritten to both disks at the same time. It is beneficial to place each drive in a mirror on a

separate IDE channel.

If one of the drives were to fail then the information would still be available on the other

drive. Mirroring adds expense to the system as an additional drive is required.

To create a mirrored volume using Disks 1 and 2, right-click on the Unallocated space on

Disk 1.

Select New Volume.

The New Volume Wizard will appear. Click

Next to continue.

Choose the type of volume that you want to

create, in this case Mirrored. N.B. This option

will be greyed out on Windows XP computers.

Mirrored volume has been selected. Click on

Next to continue.

Disk 1 is already selected. To add Disk 2 to the mirrored set, click on Disk 2 in the available

dynamic disks box.

Disk 2 has been selected, click on Add to a