Case Projects Chapter 1
Content
Case Projects
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.
Case Project 1-2: Management Tools
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.
Case Project 1-3: Windows Server 2008 Features
The Cutting Edge management team wants to know more about Windows
Server 2008 before proceeding with upgrades. In response to their questions,
the IS manager asks you to deliver a presentation of Windows Server 2008
features. In your presentation, you should cover elements such as:
• Security
• Reliability
• Expansion options
• Other features valuable to Cutting Edge
If you have the access to Microsoft Office PowerPoint, consider putting your
presentation in a slide show for the managers.
Transform your Datacenter
Today's technology landscape is changing as quickly and as radically as any
time in its history. Virtualization and cloud computing are receiving most of
the press, but other technologies, including remote access and branch
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.
Reduce Costs with Virtualization
Virtualization, one of the most profound new IT development in recent years,
has changed the modern datacenters - how they are architected, organized,
leveraged, and managed. Users still running the 2003 edition are missing out
on the compelling ways that Hyper-V, Microsoft's powerful virtualization
platform, can assist the improvement of their datacenter's performance and
return on investment (ROI). While earlier versions of Windows Server can
accommodate rudimentary "bolted on" virtualization engines, Windows
Server 2008 R2 provides you with both a powerful server platform and a full
virtualization engine in a single box.
Hyper-V can impact your datacenter from the ground-up.
With Hyper-V you can consolidate servers to deliver significant cost savings
that directly affect your facilities costs, like power and cooling.
Hyper-V can improve reliability and redundancy by easing the administrative
burdens of mirrored servers, clustered servers, and rebuilding servers via
software templates instead of lengthy installation and migration procedures.
Hyper-V can combine with Microsoft's System Center virtualization
management suite to manage other hypervisors and virtual machines
running operating systems other than Windows including VMware and Citrix
platforms .
Virtualization is revolutionizing how IT designs and manages a modern
datacenter as well as how your employees can use that datacenter more
productively. Only Windows Server 2008 R2 can deliver all of these benefits
through a powerful server and management platform.
Simplify Datacenter Management
New advancements like virtualization mean that server platforms need to
upgrade and even change their management features to keep pace - and
Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers on that requirement in abundance. In the
Windows Server 2008 R2 box you will discover a host of new management
capabilities unavailable in previous versions.
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.
Windows Server 2008 R2 also adds a host of new management consoles
making tasks like Active Directory administration, server management, and
virtualization management easier and more intuitive.
Enabling many of these consoles is another game-changer available only on
Windows Server 2008 R2, and that's PowerShell. This simple scripting
language gives you a complete customizable way to automate rote
management tasks and create management workflows designed specifically
for your datacenter and your business. Windows Server 2008 R2 even
includes 240 PowerShell pre-built scripts as well as a graphical user interface
so your IT admins can create more scripts quickly and easily.
Improve Datacenter Security
Threats related to hacking, malware, viruses and even employee misuse of
computing resources make security an important consideration for every
datacenter manager. Windows Server 2008 R2 is equipped with powerful
new security features designed to keep your datacenter and your business
safe from danger, both inside and out.
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.
Companies remaining on older versions of Windows Server, including
Windows Server 2003, will have increasing problems passing such audits,
since those platforms are necessarily out of date. Windows Server 2003, for
example, entered its Extended Support phase in July of last year. That means
datacenters using this platform will not receive automatic security updates.
Migrating to a modern server platform is a necessary first step in keeping
your business more secure.
Reduce Power Consumption
Windows Server 2008 introduced a 'balanced' power policy, which monitors
the utilization level of the processors on the server and dynamically adjusts
the processor performance states to limit power to the needs of the
workload. Windows Server 2008 R2 enhances this power saving feature by
adding Core Parking and expanding on power-oriented Group Policy settings.
Active Directory Domain Services Group Policy in Windows Server 2008
provided you with more control over power management on client PCs.
These capabilities are further enhanced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and
Windows 7 to provide even more precise control in more deployment
scenarios for even greater potential savings.
Increase Application Performance
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
servers, workstations, remote computing sites, and users. New features
include a completely redesigned TCP/IP stack, support for SMB 2.0 and
making it easy for your IT administrators to enable IPv6 where appropriate.
Case Project 1-4: IP Addressing Issues
Cutting Edge has been using static IP addressing for all computer systems on
their network. One of the difficulties is that because the IS Department is
understaffed, they give written NIC configuration instructions to employees,
so that employees do their own network configurations. Often employees
make mistakes that cause conflicts on the network, and the IS staff has to
check out many connections anyway. Further, if the company decides on a
wholesale upgrade to Windows Vista, this means all employees will be
reconfiguring their computers at the same time. In this context, do you
recommend staying with the practice of static addressing? How might an
alternative method save time for the IS staff? Create a short report of your
recommendations for the IS manager.
I would not recommend staying with static addressing in the particular
instance for several reasons but the major reason is that it would increase
support calls for an issue that can be easily resolved with a DHCP table
within the Windows Server 2008 machine. This feature is included within the
server manager tool. By changing every NIC in the network to DHCP it will
get an address automatically without any addition configuration. This will
eliminate the duplicate addressing problems.
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.
Case Project 1-2: Management Tools
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.
Case Project 1-3: Windows Server 2008 Features
The Cutting Edge management team wants to know more about Windows
Server 2008 before proceeding with upgrades. In response to their questions,
the IS manager asks you to deliver a presentation of Windows Server 2008
features. In your presentation, you should cover elements such as:
• Security
• Reliability
• Expansion options
• Other features valuable to Cutting Edge
If you have the access to Microsoft Office PowerPoint, consider putting your
presentation in a slide show for the managers.
Transform your Datacenter
Today's technology landscape is changing as quickly and as radically as any
time in its history. Virtualization and cloud computing are receiving most of
the press, but other technologies, including remote access and branch
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.
Reduce Costs with Virtualization
Virtualization, one of the most profound new IT development in recent years,
has changed the modern datacenters - how they are architected, organized,
leveraged, and managed. Users still running the 2003 edition are missing out
on the compelling ways that Hyper-V, Microsoft's powerful virtualization
platform, can assist the improvement of their datacenter's performance and
return on investment (ROI). While earlier versions of Windows Server can
accommodate rudimentary "bolted on" virtualization engines, Windows
Server 2008 R2 provides you with both a powerful server platform and a full
virtualization engine in a single box.
Hyper-V can impact your datacenter from the ground-up.
With Hyper-V you can consolidate servers to deliver significant cost savings
that directly affect your facilities costs, like power and cooling.
Hyper-V can improve reliability and redundancy by easing the administrative
burdens of mirrored servers, clustered servers, and rebuilding servers via
software templates instead of lengthy installation and migration procedures.
Hyper-V can combine with Microsoft's System Center virtualization
management suite to manage other hypervisors and virtual machines
running operating systems other than Windows including VMware and Citrix
platforms .
Virtualization is revolutionizing how IT designs and manages a modern
datacenter as well as how your employees can use that datacenter more
productively. Only Windows Server 2008 R2 can deliver all of these benefits
through a powerful server and management platform.
Simplify Datacenter Management
New advancements like virtualization mean that server platforms need to
upgrade and even change their management features to keep pace - and
Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers on that requirement in abundance. In the
Windows Server 2008 R2 box you will discover a host of new management
capabilities unavailable in previous versions.
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.
Windows Server 2008 R2 also adds a host of new management consoles
making tasks like Active Directory administration, server management, and
virtualization management easier and more intuitive.
Enabling many of these consoles is another game-changer available only on
Windows Server 2008 R2, and that's PowerShell. This simple scripting
language gives you a complete customizable way to automate rote
management tasks and create management workflows designed specifically
for your datacenter and your business. Windows Server 2008 R2 even
includes 240 PowerShell pre-built scripts as well as a graphical user interface
so your IT admins can create more scripts quickly and easily.
Improve Datacenter Security
Threats related to hacking, malware, viruses and even employee misuse of
computing resources make security an important consideration for every
datacenter manager. Windows Server 2008 R2 is equipped with powerful
new security features designed to keep your datacenter and your business
safe from danger, both inside and out.
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.
Companies remaining on older versions of Windows Server, including
Windows Server 2003, will have increasing problems passing such audits,
since those platforms are necessarily out of date. Windows Server 2003, for
example, entered its Extended Support phase in July of last year. That means
datacenters using this platform will not receive automatic security updates.
Migrating to a modern server platform is a necessary first step in keeping
your business more secure.
Reduce Power Consumption
Windows Server 2008 introduced a 'balanced' power policy, which monitors
the utilization level of the processors on the server and dynamically adjusts
the processor performance states to limit power to the needs of the
workload. Windows Server 2008 R2 enhances this power saving feature by
adding Core Parking and expanding on power-oriented Group Policy settings.
Active Directory Domain Services Group Policy in Windows Server 2008
provided you with more control over power management on client PCs.
These capabilities are further enhanced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and
Windows 7 to provide even more precise control in more deployment
scenarios for even greater potential savings.
Increase Application Performance
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
servers, workstations, remote computing sites, and users. New features
include a completely redesigned TCP/IP stack, support for SMB 2.0 and
making it easy for your IT administrators to enable IPv6 where appropriate.
Case Project 1-4: IP Addressing Issues
Cutting Edge has been using static IP addressing for all computer systems on
their network. One of the difficulties is that because the IS Department is
understaffed, they give written NIC configuration instructions to employees,
so that employees do their own network configurations. Often employees
make mistakes that cause conflicts on the network, and the IS staff has to
check out many connections anyway. Further, if the company decides on a
wholesale upgrade to Windows Vista, this means all employees will be
reconfiguring their computers at the same time. In this context, do you
recommend staying with the practice of static addressing? How might an
alternative method save time for the IS staff? Create a short report of your
recommendations for the IS manager.
I would not recommend staying with static addressing in the particular
instance for several reasons but the major reason is that it would increase
support calls for an issue that can be easily resolved with a DHCP table
within the Windows Server 2008 machine. This feature is included within the
server manager tool. By changing every NIC in the network to DHCP it will
get an address automatically without any addition configuration. This will
eliminate the duplicate addressing problems.
