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Windows Server 2003 Networking

Discussion in 'All other topics' started by paiste, Mar 9, 2005.

  1. paiste

    paiste Guest

    Hey,

    I ran into a huge problem yesterday. My sister had me go to her workplace and try to setup a network with 4 wireless laptops (3 new/all dell), a new dell server (windows server 2003 software), DSL, and a Linksys router. Now I'm familiar with the internet connection and how to get that up and running but when it came time to setup a whole server with four clients, I was lost! They want to setup a network in which the 4 laptops/clients can save and access files through the use of a wireless network. It is a small business, 2 emplyees and one employer.
    I need help desperately because this was the first time I tried to do this and I explained to my sister that I'm not knowledgeable in this field. In return she says to just try it. Then when I couldn't figure it out, she blows up on me! Also, not to mention the horrible working environment. The workspace was like a storage space and the height of the floor to the ceiling was half my height and I'm 5'/10". So PLEASE>>>>>> if anyone can help me, I'd really appreciate it. I am not familiar with the 2003 server software whatsoever. I did meddle around with it. I won't have much access to it, until I go back to finish it.
     
  2. paiste

    paiste Guest

    Also, I don't know how to access files from the laptops to the server. Generally, they just want to be able to access and save the files ONLY to the server, from the laptops. They don't want a workgroup, I guess they want something more structurized and complex than that. (how did I ever get into this mess....)
     
  3. haymarket

    haymarket Regular member

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    Calm Down

    We're here to help.

    A Midget Fortune Teller escapes form Prison - Headlines in the newspaper "Small Medium at Large"

    Just trying to break the anxiety.

    OK

    The obvious point is that there is a large amounts of data on the net, but I'll try and walk you through this in English.

    I guess you know this is not the hardest task in the World but not the quickest either.

    Are you planning to set up a Domain? As you have a Server it is the best thing to do.

    If you don't know what a domain is - you probably shouldn't be doing this!

    [bold]***!!!### I would Ghost the Server before attempting this as it doesn't always work first time. ***!!!### [/bold]

    1. Start the DCPROMO wizard--go to Start, Run, then type "DCPROMO"

    2. At the introduction screen, click Next.

    3. When you see the warning that Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 SP3 and earlier versions won't be able to log on to Windows 2003 domain controllers (DCs), click Next.

    4. When the wizard asks you whether this domain is a new domain or an additional DC for an existing domain, select "Domain controller for a new domain," then click Next.

    5. Select the appropriate forest option (i.e., domain in a new forest, a child domain of an existing domain tree, a new domain tree in an existing forest), then click Next. (If you select anything other than "Domain in a new forest," the wizard will prompt you to enter the name of the parent/forest domain and an account for the forest.)
    If the wizard determines that DNS isn't correctly configured, it will ask you to either configure the DNS client or let the DCPROMO process install and configure DNS. Select "No, just install and configure DNS on this computer," then click Next.
    Enter the DNS name for the new domain You need to understand the concept "local" It is highly unlikely that this little company has its own DNS so instead of typing in abc2xyz.com type in abc2xyz.local - then click Next.

    6. When the wizard asks you to supply a NetBIOS name for backward compatibility with older clients and servers, accept the default (typically the left half of the DNS domain name) or provide another NetBIOS name, then click Next.

    7. After the wizard displays the locations for the database and log files (by default, these components are located in the \%systemroot%\NTDS folder), click Next.

    8. After the wizard displays the location of the System Volume (SYSVOL) folder (by default, this folder is located under %systemroot%), click Next.

    9. When the wizard asks you to establish permissions for the new domain, you have two options: "Permissions compatible with pre-Windows 2000 server operating systems" or "Permissions compatible only with Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 operating systems." Select the appropriate permissions for your domain, then click Next.

    10. When the wizard asks you to enter a Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password, type the password in both locations as requested, then click Next. [bold]Make sure you remember this password[/bold] --Windows 2003 requires that you provide this credential if you encounter a problem and need to restore Active Directory (AD) or the system state.

    11. When the wizard presents a summary of the options you've selected, ensure that everything is as it should be, then click Next.

    12. The DCPROMO process will begin. (If you asked the wizard to install DNS, the system might prompt you for the Windows 2003 installation media.) When the process completes, the system will display a confirmation dialog box. Click Finish, then restart the machine for the changes to take effect.

    That is the domain set up

    All you need to next is set up Users

    Then Connect the Laptops to the Domain Server

    Easy Peasy - come back if you understand the first bit and I or one of those nice people on Afterdawn will explain adding a User to Active Directory.

    Don't forget Ghost the Machine first as you may have to restore the image!
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2005
  4. paiste

    paiste Guest

    What is "ghosting the machine?" I pretty much understand everything except [bold]"ghosting the machine"[/bold] and [bold]"Enter the DNS name for the new domain You need to understand the concept "local" It is highly unlikely that this little company has its own DNS so instead of typing in abc2xyz.com type in abc2xyz.local - then click Next."[/bold] Btw, thank you so much for responding. It means a lot. I havne't been able to get my hands on the server as of yet and I plan on going in on Monday to finish it. Also, I just need to know how to add users to the server and how to connect the laptops to the domain server through the wireless connection I have setup. (I apologize if I'm asking too much..) Thanks!

     
  5. haymarket

    haymarket Regular member

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    Hi again

    Ghosting - I am talking about a product called Norton Ghost. It images the Hard Drive i.e. its like a photograph of the hard drive, which it takes, on a sector by sector basis, rather than just the files. The way I use it, it to image "Ghost" a partition, at different stages, to another hard drive or partition. This allows me to go back to the previous stage, if something goes wrong.

    In your case I would partion the hard drive, or have a second one available - each image is about 3 Gig.

    Take a Ghost image:

    1. Now while the machine is brand new and working without problems.
    2. After you have created the Domain - without problems.
    3. After you have it loaded with software and configuration requirements.
    4. When finished and working.

    This means you can easily and very quickly return the computer back to a known state and also if you have a corrupt image, go back to the previous state. This saves Hours and Hours. Takes 20 minutes to create an image and 5 minutes to restore from one.

    Keeping this simple DNS - Domain Name Server domain name system

    The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address.

    What that means is - Your ISP issues out IP addresses from the Internet. In Large Company cases, they have their own DNS. The DNS links the IP address to the name of the PC/Domain e.g. 80.229.40.152 from the outside is www.abc2xyz.com (happens to be my domain, whereas MS have created internal IP addresses to protect PCs not directly registered on the Internet, e.g. 192.168.0.1 so internally the DNS translates to the computer name "Server"

    A little over simplified, but you get the idea.

    So, by using a domain name ending in".local" you are saying that the Server deals with DNS for local network PCs, whereas the ISP deals with the external Internet DNS. So when it comes to entering the domain name, you will probably enter "CompanyName.local" So when people log on, the will logon to the company name as a domain.

    I hope that makes sense.
     
  6. haymarket

    haymarket Regular member

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    After that you must next consider how and where data -"File Server" will be stored -again not on the C Drive.

    Adding PCs is easy and setting up users - needs thought but easy. Thats the next lesson.
     

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