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Case Projects Chapter 1
Case Projects Chapter 1
Case Projects Chapter 1
One of the best ways to make the most of what you have learned is to apply that
knowledge in practical experience. The case projects at the end of each chapter are designed to
reinforce your learning by working through realistic situations that involve using Windows
Server 2008. In the case projects, you are asked to step into the shoes of an employee in a
consulting firm. In this role, you work with Windows Server 2008 in many different kinds of
organizations from small to large. Your cases and tasks are varied, just as they would be for any
versatile consultant.
Your role involves working for Aspen Consulting, which has clients throughout the United States
and Canada. Their staff specializes in server and network implementation, application
development, and providing on-site and remote support. Aspen Consulting works with small
businesses, departments in organizations, corporations, schools, universities, and government
agencies.
Case Project 1-1: Choosing a New Operating System
Cutting Edge is a company with 122 employees who make cutting boards
and a full line of knives and knife sets for home and commercial kitchens.
The company is divided into several departments, including Development,
Marketing, Business, Manufacturing, Information Systems (IS), and Inventory
and Shipping. There is also a management team consisting of the company
president, vice president, chief financial officer, and the managers of each
department. The company is housed in one building that is fully networked.
All employees have access to a desktop or laptop computer. These
computers are a mixture of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and seven Windows
Vista machines. At this point, there is a Windows 2000 Server in each
department, and the company is planning to gradually upgrade each server
to Windows Server 2008. The IS Department is the smallest department,
consisting of four very overworked employees. Considering the IS workload,
the IS manager hires you to help assess the server needs of the company
and make recommendations for the future.
1. The Marketing Department uses large name and address databases for
catalog and other promotions. Some of the databases are ones they own and
others are purchased from other catalog sales companies and from Internet
companies. The databases are currently on a standard Windows 2000 Server
computer, which is overloaded. When they perform sorts and queries of
addresses, the computer operates extremely slowly. Which Windows Server
2008 system do you recommend for them? Provide a justification for your
recommendation.
I would recommend Windows Server Datacenter Edition for this task.
Datacenter is designed for large databases and information that requires
high availability. This type of server would be a higher end but it would allow
for more users to connect allowing for more productivity and less time
waiting for the information requested.
2. The Marketing Department wants to establish an Internet business to
supplement Cutting Edge's catalog and outlet businesses. Which Windows
Server 2008 system would work for the Internet portion of the business? Be
sure to justify your recommendation.
I would recommend Windows Server Webserver Edition it is designed for
deploying Web services and applications. This version can host multiple
processors which allows for scalability.
3. The Business Department has a Windows 2000 Server system and is
concerned about security and reliability. To which Windows Server 2008
edition do you recommend they upgrade? Note some features that would be
important for the Business Department.
If they are worried about only security Windows Server Standard would be
the right version for this. All the Windows Server editions offer the same
security benefits which are great.
The IS staff wants to know about important management tools built into
Windows Server 2008. Prepare a summary of two management tools that will
be of use to them.
One of the great management tools that is built into Windows Server 2008 is
server manager. This versatile tool is where many of the important tools
necessary to run the server are located. From here you can view the current
DHCP tables or look at the computer configuration. We can also look at the
Remote Desktop configuration or configure it to allow remote access from
anywhere.
Another great tool is Active Directory. This tool allows for a database of
computers, users, groups of users, printers, shared folders and any other
network resource at your disposal. This great for easy configuring as the
information is all in one place. It also allows for easy additions such as new
users or printers or groups for a project.
connectivity, server security, and even raw computing performance are also
moving forward rapidly. To keep your business competitive, consider
transforming your datacenter. For all the technologies just mentioned,
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1enables you to take full advantage of
virtualization and added security. Additionally, you can discover new ways to
connect your employees or manage your datacenter more efficiently for cost
savings.
With Hyper-V you can consolidate servers to deliver significant cost savings
that directly affect your facilities costs, like power and cooling.
Windows Server 2008 introduced server roles, an easy way for you to
dedicate a server instance to a particular task - file and print, remote access,
domain and more. Windows Server 2008 R2 automatically activates only
those features required to perform that task, though you can modify those
settings if you choose. The result is a more secure server, since unnecessary
services are not enabled. This feature also lets you quickly build and assign
templates to specific server roles and workloads in case those servers need
to be rebuilt.
The Server Role feature, for example, means servers meant for specific tasks
enable only those services required to fulfill those tasks, automatically
disabling any unneeded services. That means a smaller attack surface for
malware and hackers to exploit.
Windows Server 2008 R2 has also included a new data encryption feature,
called BitLocker that applies encryption algorithms to specific data volumes,
locking down valuable data from prying eyes. We have also included new
Business Process Analyzers that automatically audit your servers to make
sure you are running those servers with the latest security patches and best
practices. This is a big help for businesses required to pass regulatory
requirements, like those imposed by SOX, HIPAA and credit card processing
auditors.
The server hardware industry has long been shipping CPUs capable of 64-bit
computing. Windows Server 2008 R2 was the first Microsoft product platform
to move to a 64-bit only model. That does not mean you cannot run 32-bit
applications on Windows Server 2008 R2, but it does mean that 64-bit
applications will run significantly faster and handle larger compute loads
than previous Windows Server platforms. We have also upgraded Windows
Server's network performance for much faster communication between