Server Manager

Server 2008 as a Workstation, Chapter 3: Simulating Vista

Glenn Weadock — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:28:25 -0400

Because I often teach classes about Vista in which Vista runs in a virtual machine, where you can't see the AERO interface, I like to use my laptop to demo certain Vista AERO features: live thumbnails, Flip3D, and so forth. So it was relevant to ask whether Server 2008 could put forward a reasonable facsimile of the Vista GUI.

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Get Smart, Microsoft!

Glenn Weadock — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:59:07 -0400

I’ve been reading, writing, living, and breathing Server 2008 for months now, and if there’s one gargantuan design oversight that has muscled aside all others in my consciousness, it’s the fact that Server Manager doesn’t have the built-in capability to connect to another computer. How Server 2008 was released with this huge omission really baffles me.

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How to setup Features in WS2008

Glenn Weadock — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:04:06 -0500

In the lingo of Server Manager, features are operating system components that cross role boundaries. If a role is analogous to a job title, a feature is analogous to a job skill. Some skills are useful no matter what your role is.

For example, a server that uses the BitLocker full volume encryption feature will be more secure, whether it performs the role of a DNS server or that of a file server.

The Telnet Server feature will allow Server 2008 to host incoming telnet connections, whether the server holds the role of a domain controller or that of a Web server.

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Configuring a Role in WS2008: NOT as easy as can be

Glenn Weadock — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:11:23 -0500

Just because your server roles are installed and the services are running doesn't mean they will be configured. You'll need to access the specific administrative tools for each role in order to do that. For example, you could now go to your Start menu, choose Administrative Tools, and see that the DNS console has been added. Although you may have to close and re-open Server Manager to get them to show up, Microsoft has integrated the role-specific consoles with Server Manager. Note in Figure 5 that the DNS console is now available under the Roles node in the navigation pane. You can fire up the New Zone Wizard by right-clicking the Forward Lookup Zones node and choosing New Zone, just as you would in the standalone DNS console.

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Adding a role to WS2008: Easy as can be

Glenn Weadock — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:17:49 -0500

The roles that you can add to Server 2008 appear in a checkbox list that you will see after you click the Add Roles link in the context menu of the Roles node. You can add multiple roles at one session; for example, in Figure 2 (click "read more" to see), we've selected DNS, File Services, and Network Policy and Access Services as the three roles to add to the machine.

Figure 2. Select the role or roles you want for your Windows 2008 box.

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The purpose of roles in Windows Server 2008

Glenn Weadock — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:39:41 -0500

Roles are the primary responsibilities that a server may hold. They are analogous to job titles in a company. You may have been introduced to this term if you ever used the Security Configuration Wizard (scw.exe) that Microsoft bundled with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. SCW would go through your server, identify the services it was running, and assign roles based on what it found. You can also think of roles as being similar to the old "optional Windows components" that you used to install via the Add/Remove Programs wizard. (That function, by the way, is gone; if you go to the new Programs and Features control panel and try to turn Windows features on or off, guess what-you get routed to Server Manager!)

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Meet Windows Server 2008 'Server Manager' -- your new management cockpit

Glenn Weadock — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:28:58 -0500

Server Manager is an administrative "cockpit" for managing virtually everything about a Windows 2008 Server machine. It combines capabilities that were spread across several consoles in Windows 2003: Configure Your Server, Manage Your Server, the Windows Optional Components wizard of the Add/Remove Programs control panel, the Security Configuration Wizard, and so on. It is quite possible that many server admins will be able to do almost everything they need to do from this one console. Of course, like other MMC consoles, you have the flexibility to create your own customized version of this tool, but I'd recommend spending some significant time with the "vanilla" Server Manager before you do so.

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The Look and Feel of Server 2008

Glenn Weadock — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:23:50 -0500

When you take your first look at Windows Server 2008, you'll find that many of the traditional tools that graced Server 2003 are still around: the Computer Management console; the System Information utility; the Services console; and so forth. Administrative Tools are still in a Start menu folder named "Administrative Tools," and you can start feeling fairly comfortable with the GUI if you have background with prior versions of Windows.

If you have logged some flight time with Windows Vista, things will look even more familiar. Windows Server 2008 has the look and feel of Windows Vista.

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