Windows Server Deployment: New Features of Windows Server 2012 - Assignment Example

New Features of Windows Server 2012 According to (Schaefer 112-140) the new features of Windows Server 2012 that WAI can take advantages of are. Server Manager: The new Server Manager has the multi-server capabilities, which makes it easy to set up roles and features distantly to physical and virtual servers and also with this server it is easy to produce a server group; a set of servers that are managed jointly. Interface Freedom choice: Installation of a Server Core provides performance and security advantages which in the past one had to make it a personal commitment. Windows Server 2012 has changed all this since currently, we have choices. Server 2012 has made the GUI just a feature that can turn on and off. This is done through the Remove Roles or Features option in Server Manager. SMB 3.0: SMB is the Server Message Block; this protocol has been considerably enhanced in Server 2012. Its new version of SMB supports new file server features: SMB Scale-Out, SMB Multichannel, SMB transparent failover, SMB Direct, SMB encryption, SMB directory leasing, VSS for SMB file sharing and SMB PowerShell. That's a lot of bang for the buck. It works beautifully with Hyper-V so that VHD files and virtual machine configuration files can be hosted on SMB 3.0 shares. Storage Spaces: This is a new feature in Windows Server 2012 that enables one to use cheap hard drives to make a storage pool which is then divided into spaces used like physical disks. Hyper-V Replica: This is a new Windows Server 2012 features. It is a replication mechanism that will be a tragedy recovery benefit to SMBs. It logs changes to the disks in a Virtual Machine and uses compression to save on bandwidth, replicating from a primary server to a replica server. Other features included: Improvements to VDI, Direct Access without the hassle factor and simplified licensing (Mitch 98). Deployment and Server Editions Worldwide Advertising needs a total of 4 servers, three servers in Los Angeles and 1 in New York. The two editions will be used: Server Manager will be used to enable and configure the Windows Server Essentials Experience role in Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter. Windows Server Essentials Experience it’s a new server role in these two editions which enables one to take advantage of all the features, e.g., Remote Web Access and PC backup this server role is enabled by default. No, server core will be used in any of the servers because it does not support Windows Deployment Service which is to be used to deploy the windows servers in all locations. The deployment of servers will be automated using windows deployment service. Manual deployment is not effective considering the time factor needed to accomplish the whole task since there are many devices and in different places thus using manual deployment will affect the usual business operations hence lowering its profits. Active Directory Creation of Active Directory site topology to map the organization’s WAN topology of being procedural, by creating a site per WAN location at a time. Each site must have a Global Catalog Server, a Domain Controller and a DNS Server. All of the listed three roles are able to share one domain controller. Concisely, make sure all the client traffic must be restricted by all means in servers carrying similar location as that of the client and schedule replications at off-peak hours such that business activities won’t be affected a great deal. The two sites will be connected using a WAN link using the Tier 1 line. The problem with several locations is to make a replication of domain controllers slow in between sites as compared to DC’s which belong to one site because site replication happens merely for every fifteen minutes hence controlled by the site structure designed. Intra-site domain controller replication takes place in every 5 minutes after there is an attribute change and the same process re-iterates on every domain controller attached to that site. A simple concept is that with less sites, a number of replication bandwidth utilization and therefore a short period to duplicate whereas more locations have less duplication bandwidth utilization and hence a long period to replicate. A site is created by default when an active directory is installed (Rand 156). This site should never be deleted; instead a connection between it and the hub site should be established. It has a great importance when during IP subnet encoding stage specific subnets are overlooked such that any additional domain controller installed belongs to that subnet and gets added into this default site, and thus guaranteed of directory replication. Worldwide Advertising is a large company with one branch and several departments in those two sites, thus the need for VLANs for each department to be independent from the rest and ensure their privacy and security is maintained. With VLANs in place, computers that interact frequently, it’s possible to connect them, provided they use IP segment no matter their geographical position. A badly planned VLAN infrastructure results to unworthy Active Directory retrieve as well as replication performance which influences the Microsoft Exchange server performance. Data can be encrypted or decrypted remotely in computers that have been enabled for remote encryption. However, if these encrypted files are opened over the network, the data that is transmitted over the network is not encrypted and thus therefore, other protocols like Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) or Secure Sockets Layer/ Private Communications Technology (SSL/PCT) must be in place to encrypt data over the wire. There is a clear delineation of Active Directory site topology set flanked by the physical as well as logical features of that directory. For suitably designing Active Directory physical structure, the following factors must put into consideration: IP addresses, Connections of WAN amid geographical locations, sites of Active Domain services e.g. domain controllers plus DNS servers. Therefore, the Active Directory topology site is dependent on the WAI’s IP addressing scheme where each site will be having one or several IP subnets which must be declared on single site (Samara, 77-90). DNS and DHCP The main benefits of DHCP: It offers Reliable IP address configuration by minimizing configuration errors that may result due to manual IP address configuration, reduced network administration, IP automation where DHCP dynamically provisions machines with an IP addresses. There are other automation tools such as PXE and leverage DHCP which are also relevant. If I want to get to a server by name, the DNS record and IP address might be different. This calls for the DNS service to maintain correct information. Dynamic DNS has developed along with DHCP where the two, when in a Windows settings work very well in maintaining the correct information.  To balance the scope for distributions of addresses WAI should employ 80/20 design rule because multiple DHCP servers will be deployed in WAI Company. The usage of these multiple DHCP servers over the same subnet offers increased fault tolerance for repairing DHCP clients attached to it. In architecture of two DHCP servers, the issues of contingency are well catered like in cases where one server can’t be accessed, the extra server is able to function in its place to continue to leasing fresh addresses as well as renewing the already existing clients. An ordinary practice when harmonizing a single network and a scope of a range of addresses linking dual DHCP servers can basically be by including 80% of the IP addresses spread using a sole DHCP server while the outstanding 20 percent given by a second. To avoid the problems of delays in the renewal of leases while using several DHCP server resting on similar subnet, superscope should be organized similarly on all servers as well as all applicable scopes of the subnet to be a member scopes. Reservations must be made for every DHCP server potential to repair the reserved client. Client reservation is used to make sure that each DHCP client machine at all times it obtains similar lease of IP address at startup. In case several DHCP servers are reachable to via reserved client, reservations should be added at each of DHCP servers. This will allow other DHCP servers to respect the reservation of client addresses prepared for the reserved client. Application Services The applications will be deployed using Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) in streaming mode. Group policy will be used to deploy the software solution which will meet the following requirements: Download application installation files from a server in the local site. Generate reports that contain information about the installed applications. Generate administrative alerts when the number of installed applications exceeds the number of purchased licenses. File and Printer Sharing The following Shares will be needed: Create, view, and set permissions for network shares, including shares running Windows server 2012. DFS will be needed for better manageability; which makes it easier to find and access files across growing networks. A new interface helps to manage operating system services easily; for instance, the new printer interface enables administrators and end-users to configure and manage their printing needs easily. DFS and (File Replication Service) FRS increases availability and reliability of data to users even when a server or disk drive fails or even a shared folder or file becomes corrupted. FSRM or File Server Resource Manager configurations are saved in the System Volume Information folder found in the server root directory and also on any other volume where quotas otherwise file screens are applied. These configurations can be backed up using a backup tool like windows server backup. FSRM can be used to: manage quotas in issues like Creating, updating and obtaining information about quotas, to automatically generate quotas by configuring FSRM to affect specific quota and replicate to all obtainable subfolders plus any fresh subfolders created in a folder or volume e.g. quotas can be automatically generate for roaming users and also new ones for the organization, manage file screens by updating and creating and providing information about file screens, which control the type of files that users can save and also define file groups that specify file extensions to include in or exclude from custom filtering, use quota and file screening templates; this can be achieved by applying rules of reuse resource management in an organization by setting standard storage restrictions or even file screens to fresh folders or volumes; modifying built-in templates and also creating fresh ones to confine system policies and to manage updates in quotas also file screens seated at a central location and updating template properties, run storage reports by choosing from a huge assortment of in-built reports, and also set report parameters specifically that environment, program periodic reports for identifying behaviors in file screening activity or disk handling , to instantly Generate reports on demand and lastly administer remote resources (Russel, Charlie and Crawford 78-112). File server benefits the following groups when it is put into place: Administrators in IT responsible for network storage resources and who want to professionally distribute these assets by making quotas, those who want to block given types of files from being stored in network storage resources and those who want to produce reports to enhance understanding on how server storage resources are being used the final people are User account executives interested in applying storage policies by making quotas plus file screening rules for shared storage resources and user folders. Works Cited Lynn, Samara. Windows Server 2012: Up and Running. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, 2012. Print. Morimoto, Rand. Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Unleashed. Indianapolis, Ind: SAMS Pub, 2004. Print. Russel, Charlie, and Sharon Crawford. Windows® Small Business Server 2011 Administrator's Companion. Sebastopol: Microsoft Press, 2011. Internet resource. Schaefer, Ken, Jeff Cochran, Scott Forsyth, Dennis Glendenning, and Benjamin Perkins. Professional Microsoft Iis 8. New York: Wiley, 2012. Internet resource Tulloch, Mitch. Introducing Windows Server 2012. Redmond, Wash: Microsoft Press, 2012. Print. Read More