Book Image

Mastering Windows Server 2016

By : Jordan Krause
Book Image

Mastering Windows Server 2016

By: Jordan Krause

Overview of this book

Windows Server 2016 is the server operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems, developed concurrently with Windows 10. With Windows Server 2016, Microsoft has gotten us thinking outside of the box for what it means to be a system administration, and comes with some interesting new capabilities. These are exciting times to be or to become a server administrator! This book covers all aspects of administration level tasks and activities required to gain expertise in Microsoft Windows Server 2016. You will begin by getting familiar and comfortable navigating around in the interface. Next, you will learn to install and manage Windows Server 2016 and discover some tips for adapting to the new server management ideology that is all about centralized monitoring and configuration. You will deep dive into core Microsoft infrastructure technologies that the majority of companies are going to run on Server 2016. Core technologies such as Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Certificate Services, File Services, and more. We will talk about networking in this new operating system, giving you a networking toolset that is useful for everyday troubleshooting and maintenance. Also discussed is the idea of Software Defined Networking. You will later walk through different aspects of certificate administration in Windows Server 2016. Three important and crucial areas to cover in the Remote Access role -- DirectAccess, VPN, and the Web Application Proxy -- are also covered. You will then move into security functions and benefits that are available in Windows Server 2016. Also covered is the brand new and all-important Nano Server! We will incorporate PowerShell as a central platform for performing many of the functions that are discussed in this book, including a chapter dedicated to the new PowerShell 5.0. Additionally, you will learn about the new built-in integration for Docker with this latest release of Windows Server 2016. The book ends with a discussion and information on virtualizing your datacenter with Hyper-V. By the end of this book, you will have all the ammunition required to start planning for and implementing Windows Server 2016.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Mastering Windows Server 2016
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

What is a domain controller?


If we are going to discuss the core infrastructure services that you need in order to piece together your Microsoft-driven network, there is no better place to start than the domain controller role. A domain controller, commonly referred to as a DC, is the central point of contact, sort of a central hub that is accessed prior to almost any network communication that takes place. The easiest way to describe it is a storage container for all identification that happens on the network. Usernames, passwords, computer accounts, groups of computers, servers, groups and collections of servers, security policies, file replication services, and many more things are stored within and managed by DCs. If you are not planning to have a domain controller be one of the first servers in your Microsoft-centric network, you might as well not even start building that network. They are essential to the way that our computers and devices communicate with each other and with the server...