Five Things About Windows Server 2008 You Might Not Know

Expert Reference Series of White Papers
Five Things About
Windows Server 2008
You Might Not Know
1-800-COURSES www.globalknowledge.comFive Things About Windows Server
2008 You Might Not Know
Brad Werner, Global Knowledge Instructor
IntroductionI learn new things every day. Sometimes they're really totally new and, of course, occasionally they're things I had forgotten or kind of knew, but the new part casts new light on the idea. Then there are those rare moments in which I have a "blinding flash of the obvious" and get the big picture on something, like when the tenth time you visit a new city things really start to connect.
Here five things about Windows Server 2008 that are the less obvious, more esoteric, yet useful features or quirks. You probably knew that Windows Server 2008 is really Windows NT 6.0 so I'll save that for the "things you probably already know" list. The following is a brief list of some things that I tend to assume that many people know and am constantly amazed by clients and students who really don't know them. How many do you already know? Were any or all of these new to you? We'd love to hear from you.
1. Windows Server 2008 can be the prevailing central authority on which computers, devices, and people access your network via Ethernet, Wireless (e.g. 802.11), VPN, and dial-up.Small businesses, medium-sized shops, and humongous enterprises could all potentially benefit from this net-work authentication feature which expands what was possible in Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2003 R2. With services such as 802.1x, EAP, TLS, PPPoE, Kerberos, X.509v3 certificate-based authentication, RADIUS, LDAP, and more, Windows Server 2008 provides a centralized way for administrators to choose by policy or individual specification which devices (Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, Windows Mobile, etc.), computers (Linux, Mac OS, Solaris, Windows, etc.), and people (employees, contractors, customers, guests) are allowed on the network.
But wait, there's more! Windows Server 2008 goes beyond the basics for who or what is allowed on the network from a sheer identity standpoint. State of health can be considered, too. No, the server isn't going to check each human's temperature or check their breath for contagious microbes and choose if they can be on the network right now, but Network Access Protection, Network Policy Services, and Health Registration Authorities are elements of a framework that can be used to ensure proper service packs, hot fixes, patches and such for certain operating systems. Non-compliant systems can be placed on a virtually isolated remediation network on which these systems can get the necessary updates or potentially even fixes for a nasty virus. It's a flexible, expandable, customizable framework, not just a one-size-fits-all kind of proposition.
Copyright ©2009 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 2Even if you knew all that, consider this. All of this is fairly easy and inexpensive to set up on Windows Server 2008, assuming you have the right firmware in your Ethernet switches and wireless access points. Windows can even provide the VPN and dial-in services as well.
2. T here is an amazing new automation environment for administrations of Windows Server 2008 that can also be used on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Win-dows Vista. It looks like Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 will get a newer, snazzier version.Of course, you might have known I'm referring to Windows PowerShell. Some people think it's just a new com-mand line interface with different syntax than the classic Windows Command Prompt and old Disk Operating System (and virtual DOS machine of Windows ilk). And it is a hot little shell, but the automation and scripting capabilities are where it's at. There is such an incredible wealth of tools and utilities available for download to extend the reach and capabilities of Windows PowerShell. Did you know that Windows PowerShell version 1.0 does indeed work with XP, Server 2003, and Vista as well? All of those versions of Windows could be managed with one shell. One shell to rule them all - just think about it. And yes, there are certainly graphical interfaces for PowerShell. When PowerShell version 2.0 comes out of Community Technology Preview (CTP) and hopefully gets bundled with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, we get even more remote ad... [download for more]