Security for windows server support services

Windows Server 2008 was launched on February 27, 2008, and to some it is just the next-generation server operating system that replaces Windows 2003, but for others it is a significant improvement to a 5-year-old operating system that will drastically improve how IT will support business and organizational initiatives for the next several years. To the authors of this book, we see the similarities that Windows 2008 has in terms of usability and common graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with previous versions of Windows Server that make it easy to jump in and start implementing the new technologies.

However, after 3 1/2 years of early adopter experience with Windows 2008, when properly implemented, the new features and technologies built in to Windows 2008 really address shortcomings of previous versions of Windows Server and truly allow IT organizations to help organizations meet their business initiatives through the implementation of key technologies now included in Windows 2008.

This chapter provides an overview of what's in Windows 2008, explains how IT professionals have leveraged the technologies to improve IT services to their organization, and acts as a guide on where to find more information on these core technology solutions in the various chapters of this book.

he various server roles in Windows 2008 typically fall into three categories, as follows:

• File and print services—As a file and print server, Windows 2008 provides the basic services leveraged by users in the storage of data and the printing of information off the network. Several improvements have been made in Windows 2008 for file security (covered in Chapter 13, "Server-Level Security") and file server fault tolerance (covered in Chapter 28, "File System Management and Fault Tolerance").
• Domain services—In enterprise environments running Windows networking, typically the organization is running Active Directory to provide centralized logon authentication. Active Directory continues to be a key component in Windows 2008 with several extensions to the basic internal forest concept of an organization to expanded federated forests that allow Active Directories to interconnect with one another. There are several chapters in Part II, "Windows Server 2008 Active Directory," that address Active Directory, federated forests, lightweight directories, and so on.
• Application services—Windows 2008 provides the basis for the installation of business applications such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office SharePoint Services, SQL Server, and so on. These applications are initially made to be compatible with Windows 2008, and later are updated to leverage and take full advantage of the new technologies built in to the Windows 2008 operating system. Some of the applications that come with Windows 2008 include Windows Terminal Services for thin client computing access (covered in Chapter 25, "Terminal Services"), Windows Media Server for video and audio hosting and broadcasting (covered in Chapter 36, "Windows Media Services"), utility server services such as DNS and DHCP (covered in Chapter 11, "DHCP/WINS/Domain Controllers," and Chapter 10, "Domain Name System and IPv6"), SharePoint document sharing and collaboration technologies (covered in Chapter 35, "Windows SharePoint Services 3.0"), and virtual server hosting (covered in Chapter 37).

This focuses on the Windows 2008 operating system and the planning, migration, security, administration, and support of the operating system. Windows 2008 is also the base network operating system on top of which all future Windows Server applications will be built.

Source: informit.com