Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Operating System

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 represents a new integration of enhanced security, technical characteristic, management and its administration. It is based on the Windows operating system Vista with its features that it offers, however the 2008 version is the successor of the 2003 and the final product would be the mix of those two OS’s. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 includes a great number of different technologies and services included within it. The best description of what does the 2008 version have to offer would be description of those features that make the 2008 system.

Server Core

Server Core represents a minimal installation of 2008 installation pack, as it has almost no functions included that make the 2008 Server what it really is. For example .NET, IE and similar services are not included and all of the communication has been minimized to a CMD.exe (command line interface) of the Windows. There are advanced editions of the server core which includes a GUI which is more user friendly. Generally speaking if you intend on using this type of interface, then the level of knowledge in configuring clusters, Active Directories, DNS, DHCP, Print and File server including some other services like Hyper-V, should be relatively high as the difficulty is much greater than in normal Windows graphics surroundings with all services included. Advantages of configuring servers in such a way are reduction of the required resources, reduction in maintenance as well as management, because the actual components essential for these roles are actually pre-defined to set up as well as configure and reduction in the resources required for running a range of applications and services over the server. Some of the features that the Service Core allows are Load-Balancing, Failover Clustering, Removable Storage and other services and protocols.

Active Directory roles

When it comes to Active Directory, this specific service has ceased to exist with the Server version 2003 and is now replaced with Active Directory Domain Services. This represents an upgraded Active directory and the result is implementation of many additional features (ADDS). ADDS is a result of an extended Active Directory with identity services, rights managements services and certificate service. The technologies integrated and added to the ADDS are the following: Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS); Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS); Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS – it was originally called Active Directory Application Mode or ADAM); Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS). Identity and certificate services allow administrators to manage user accounts and the digital certificates that allow them to access certain services and systems. Federation management services enable enterprises to share credentials with trusted partners and customers, allowing a consultant to use his company user name and password to log in on a client's network. Identity Integration Feature Pack is included as Active Directory Metadirectory Services. Each of these services represents a server role.

Hyper-V

Hyper-V represents a probably an irreplaceable advance in the IT world, because of the achievements that have made easier implementation of virtualization technology and its advantages. Hyper-V is probably one of Microsoft greatest accomplishments yet, as it allows its users to create multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, which very much resulted in expansion of the VPS. In the original plan of distributing the Hyper-V it wasn’t intended to be placed together with the Windows Server 2008 release, but that changed after realizing its benefits, however the Hyper-V technology is limited only to x64 architecture versions. There is also a standalone version of Hyper-V for purchasing; however it is included for free if purchasing the Server 2008 version.

Power Shell

Power Shell has its first appearance in the Windows Server 2008 version, which is also the latest extensible shell command line from Microsoft that features task-based scripting technology. Putting it simple Power Shell is a part of the Server Core technology, however it has much more conditions to be satisfied if you want it to be operational on the Server Core, and it requires a bit of Google-ing if you want it up and running if you aren’t an expert on these kinds of things. PowerShell is dependent on object-oriented programming (OOP) and Microsoft dot.NET version 2, as well as it consists of more than 120 system administration tools, as well as an integrated ability to operate with data management standards. Power Shell is has been developed by the government informatics.

Self-Healing NTFS

Is a technology that has given a lot of improvement when it comes maintain NTFS drives and their restoring, but also evolving early warning system in case of failure. When the system started experiencing errors in the volume structure it would normally tagged it as dirty making the volume unusable. However with the self-healing NTFS such things don’t happen at all, as the corrupted parts of the volume are isolated and given a go of fixed in it in the background. The files and folders that are corrupted are left that way as they become unusable.  The operating system now features S.M.A.R.T. detection techniques to help determine when a hard disk may fail.

Windows System Resource Manager

This technology is also a part of the VPS that has a significant role when it comes to distributing resources between different users on a single physical server. The general idea of this service is to limit the quantity of resources that can be used per user. This option can be used in small and big server surroundings, but the full capacity is shown with its usage on dedicated servers intended for multiple users (Virtual Private Servers). Storage, Bandwidth, CPU, RAM, basically everything is limited to your configuration and another option available is the time and date adjustable restrictions.

Failover Clustering

Part of being a reliable and well-functioning system is its ability to adapt and provide support in cases that require high availability. Failover clustering is described in an article about Clusters. The thing that you need to know is the cluster validation wizard which works on the demand of the user and performs a series of tests to examine multiple nodes that make the cluster and therefore the level of failover clustering to which extent it goes. This feature however isn’t supported in the basic package of the Windows Server 2008.

Server Manager

Server Manager represents a merge of two old technologies from the server version 2003 to create a new improved technology that will be presented in the 2008 version. It is a combination of Manage Your Server and Security Configuration Wizard, and using the primary functions of the technologies that made it, provides with a feature that allows you to control the operations that you want to run in the server or be closed.

Enhancements associated with security policies

This has been mentioned earlier, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again. Windows Vista has implemented many security innovations and security policies and they all have been transferred on Windows Server 2008. Group Policy Indexes is just one of the features that is implemented in the system, but this one in particular gives us the more accessible search results then on Windows XP for example. Policy-based networking with Network Access Protection, improved branch management and enhanced end user collaboration. Policies can be created to ensure greater Quality of Service for certain applications or services that require prioritization of network bandwidth between client and server.

Enhancements associated with disk management as well as storage of files

This part of the Windows Server 2008 surroundings has become quite usful due to its storage managing and advanced back-up option ideal for High Availability machines. The Shadow Copy feature at present functions at the block level, which in turn allows for taking backups on optical media, network shares as well as Windows Recovery Environment. The role of Internet Storage Naming Server (iSNS) enables recording, removing as well as querying centralized iSCSI drives, which is also an important part of High Availability machines.

These are most of the improvements, however the extent of the features available is currently expanding and with the release of the Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 additional improvements are just waiting to be tested. The best features will only be available for the users who use Windows 7 OS, due to unique technologies they possess.

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