Thursday, March 10, 2011

Microsoft Windows Server 2003: Overview



                                      On:


Focus on:
                         
v RELIABILITY aspect.
v SECURITY aspect.
v EASY TO USE interface.
                         
          Developed by:

Name            :      OKOU SERGE ARNAUD

Student ID     :     

Program         :      MASTERMIND SERIES

Coordinator    :     Michael Nartey                         


                           


Acknowledgement

I am grateful to the many individuals whose efforts and contributions were helpful to the development of this ISAS report. Especially, I would like to thank my faculty Mr. Michael Nartey for the advice he gave to us.


 CONTENTS

                         Topic:

“Select five operating system provided by Microsoft. These operating systems should be discussed based on various factors such as security, reliability, and easy to use interface.”
                     
               
Definition


           I.      Introducing to Windows Server 2003.


       II.      Security.


   III.      Reliability.


    IV.      Easy to use interface.


Conclusion              
                

Definition :

What is an “Operating System”?
An Operating System (OS), in computer science, is the basic software that controls a computer. The operating system has three major functions: It coordinates and manipulates computer hardware, such as computer memory, printers, keyboard; it organizes files on a variety of storage media, such as floppy disk, hard drive; and it manages hardware errors and the loss of data. Operating systems are either single-tasking or multitasking.
 What is a “computer network”?
Computers can communicate with other computers through a series of connections and associated hardware called a network. A Network, indeed, links two or more computers. The need for networks arose due to an increase in the business requirements for sharing, processing and distributing information. Then, a network represents a strategic asset in our society. A network has three layers of components: application software, network software, and network hardware.
Moreover, in order to manage these networks, companies need special software: Network Operating System (NOS).
Some Network Topologies.

What is a Network operating system?
A Network Operating System (NOS) is an enhanced version of an operating system, with features that allow the management and connectivity of nodes (computer) within a network. Various companies have developed a wide range of NOS based on their own expertise. In this context Microsoft Corporation came up with his own “Windows Servers”.    Actually, the utmost of these servers operating system is “windows server 2003”. And in the word of Microsoft Corporation “windows server 2003 Enterprise Edition” is the cornerstone.


            I.      Introduction To Windows Server 2003 Operating System.

The birth of windows.
Microsoft announced in 1983  the development of “Windows”, a graphical user interface (GUI) for its own operating system (MS-DOS) that had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981. It was originally going to be called Interface Manager, but Rowland Hanson, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be a more appealing name to consumers.
The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, was released on
November 20, 1985. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system, but rather extends MS-DOS. In fact, the programs that came with this early version are considered "toy" applications with little or limited appeal to business users. Since then, the company has developed a wide range of servers, more powerful operating systems (NOS), to support business transactions.

Birth of windows server 2003.
On April 24, 2003 Microsoft launched Windows Server 2003 (which carries the version number 5.2) as the successor to Windows 2000 Server. It is the highest among “windows server system” line of business server products. Of course, Windows Server 2003 operating systems take the best of Windows 2000 Server technology and make it easier to deploy, manage, and use.

The result: a highly productive infrastructure that makes your network a strategic asset for an organization.
Windows Server 2003 is available in five editions:
v  Web Edition
v  Standard Edition
v  Enterprise Edition (32 and 64-bit)
v  Datacenter Edition
v  Small Business Server

Windows Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released on March 28, 2005, for all Windows Server 2003 operating systems. SP1 provides enhanced security, increased reliability, and a simplified administration to help enterprise customers across all industries.
Windows Server 2003 R2, an update of Windows Server 2003, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005.
However, in this report we focus mainly on the cornerstone: Enterprise Edition.

    II.   Security In Windows Server 2003.

What is Security? The term security refers to the protection of system resources from intentional or accidental disclosure, destruction, or modification. Thus, computer security includes all the techniques developed to safeguard information and information system stored on the computer.

Need for security: Hence Businesses have extended their local area network (LAN) by combining intranets, extranets, and Internet sites. As a result, increased system security is now more critical than ever before.

Key Security features: organization deploying windows server 2003 can take advantage of tools and processes that deliver important security benefits. These are the most important

 The Common Runtime Language.   
This software engine is a key element of windows server 2003 that helps ensure a safe computing environment. It reduces the number of bugs and security holes caused by common programming mistakes. As a result, there is less vulnerabilities for attackers to exploit. It also verifies that applications can run without error and checks for appropriate security permissions, making sure that code performs only appropriate operations.
Internet Information Service. To increase Web server security, internet information services (IIS) 6.0 is configured for maximum security. IIS 6.0 provide integrated Web server solution with fault tolerance, requesting queuing, application health monitoring, automatic application recycling, caching, and more.
Security Configuration Wizard
The Security Configuration Wizard reduces the attack surface of computers. The wizard asks the user a series of questions designed to determine the functional requirements of the server. Any functionality that is not required by the roles being performed by the server is then disabled.

Windows Firewall.  (Enhanced version).
Encrypting File System (EFS)
 to complements other access controls and provides an added level of protection for your data. Stronger encryption algorithms are available with larger keys
Software Restriction Policies
With software restriction policies, you can protect your computer environment from untrusted code by identifying and specifying which applications are allowed to run.


     III.      Reliability Of Windows Server 2003
“Reliability” indicates the capacity of a system to do accurately what it is supposed to and what it is design for. Better, this term refers to the frequency an application is available for fully functional use. A more reliable application is one that has less downtime, either planned or unplanned. Because some applications are critical to the operation and success of your business, Microsoft recommends Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition as the most secure and reliable platform for your company’s mission-critical applications.
“In our tests, more work was completed in the Windows Server 2003 environment (280 completed tasks and events) than in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0 environment (248 completed tasks and events) in less average elapsed time (18:44:14 versus 27:48:05)”[1]  says VERITEST.


Figure :( from left to right) Average downtime for Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Measurements were taken in a testing environment and include both planned and unplanned downtime.
Microsoft delivers increased reliability through the following developments:

v Providing Mission-Critical Services
Essential applications, such as e-mail, databases, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and other business applications, must be available to your customers, clients and employees all the time. Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition is the best platform to run such applications. Mission-critical services, such as Failover Clustering and fault-tolerant services, have been developed with your Enterprise’s mission-critical needs in mind, to ensure that your most essential applications remain available as often as possible.

v Eliminating Common Causes Of Downtime
Technologies imbedded in Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition have been designed by Microsoft to address the most common causes of downtime. Specifically, they decrease planned downtime, unplanned downtime and recovery time.
 “In our tests, the Windows Server 2003 environment had 4:20:19 of average end-user service loss time compared to 4:59:44 of average service loss time for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0 environment on measured service loss events. Lower results are better.”


     IV.      Easy To Use Interface.
An Interface is the point at which a connection is made between two elements so that they can work with one another. Thus it allows communication between computer and user.
 First of Windows operating systems provide users with a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which allows them to manipulate small pictures, called icons, on the computer screen to issue commands.
Computer-Aided Design
An automobile designer uses a computer-aided design (CAD) device to create a graphical design for a car.
 
 In addition, windows server 2003 provides tools that simplify deployment, management, administration and maximize productivity. Many wizards are available. Thus, even a non-experienced worker can make some vital configuration such as Security configuration wizard.
Finally, Windows Server 2003 is a multipurpose operating system capable of handling a diverse set of server roles, depending on your needs, in either a centralized or distributed fashion. Some of these server roles include:
v  File and print server.
v  Web server and Web application services.
v  Mail server.
v  Terminal server.
v  Remote access and virtual private network (VPN) server.
v  Directory services, Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS).
v  Streaming media server.
Then employees can interact more efficiently with networks using windows server 2003. Hence productivity is increased.
CONCLUSION  

The result: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition is the best enterprise-level server platform on the market. Last year, Computer Business Review Online reported that Unisys, a server technology consulting firm (www.unisys.com), chose Windows Server 2003 over UNIX based on reliability considerations.
"There is no reason anymore for customers to go with proprietary RISC/UNIX platforms," says Mark Feverston, Unisys Vice President of Platform Marketing for Enterprise Servers. "[Windows Server 2003] numbers are right up there with the best of any machine in the data center”.


ISAS SUBMISSION FORM


“Select five operating system provided by Microsoft. These operating systems should be discussed based on various factors such as security, reliability, and easy to use interface” 


Group project number             : 

Name                                          :      OKOU SERGE ARNAUD

Batch number                            :  





List of all the sources of information used


BOOKS:
                  “Data Communication and Network” by DAVE MILLER
                 
                   “Internetworking and Network Security” by NIIT (Qtr2)


SOFTWARE: Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2007 DVD                                             
                                                           
www.unisys.com
                        
                                                                   

                  












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