MCSE Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure: Exam 70-293 Study Guide and DVD Training System

Understanding Windows 2003 Server Network Protocols

• Windows Server 2003 supports multiple protocols at the same time using NDIS, allowing better integration and flexibility for network operations.

• Considerations for choosing the best protocol also help define why TCP/IP is best suited to enterprise environments.

• TCP/IP is a suite of protocols that includes applications and network protocols that can be used to access and share information with the world or to use the Internet as a means for implementing WANs.

• There are many enhancements to the TCP/IP protocol suite included in Windows Server 2003 that will improve your overall experience and reduce network load.

Planning an IP Addressing Strategy

• The number of hosts and the number of networks required define the basis for your addressing strategy.

• Planning for growth is critical for your networking address structure, but it is also beneficial to implement the addressing scheme in an efficient manner.

• CIDR can reduce the number of static routes and simplify your network implementation.

Planning the Network Topology

• Servers should be placed close to the clients that will be using the resources provided.

• DHCP provides automatic addressing and other IP address configuration settings to network machines, which prevents errors typically encountered when manually configuring IP address settings.

• DHCP servers must have an interface on the same segment as the DHCP clients, or you must implement a DHCP relay.

• DNS is used for host name resolution.

• You should have one DNS server for each LAN and define which DNS servers are forwarders and perform iterative queries over the Internet.

• WINS is used for NetBIOS name resolution, and it is not necessary if you do not use NetBIOS to access network resources and have only Windows 2000/XP/2003 machines on the network.

• You should minimize the number of WINS servers on your network. WINS replication uses a lot of network bandwidth.

Planning Network Traffic Management

• Network Monitor can be used to examine data transmissions sent over the network. It provides a means for tracking down network issues.

• System Monitor is a local or remote performance utility that you can use to identify bottlenecks and issue alerts when undesirable situations occur.

• Bandwidth requirements vary, but by using the tools provided, you can allocate resources appropriately and optimize your system’s performance by reducing and perfecting data delivery.