Module 1

Introducing Windows Server 2016

Objectives
1.1 Explain the role a server operating system has in a
network
1.2 Describe Windows Server 2016 roles and features
1.3 Explain the core technologies of Windows Server 2016
1.4 Summarize the new features of Windows Server 2016
The Role of a Server Operating System
• The functions a server performs depend on:
– Type of business using the server
– Size of the business
– Extent to which the business has committed to using
technology to aid operations
• A server is used to provide services that aid the operations of
an organization
The Role of a Server Operating System

• A computer becomes a server when software is installed on it

that provides a network service to client computers
• OSs such as Windows 10 and its predecessors are designed to
be on desktop computers
– These OSs can perform server functions such as file and
printer sharing, Virtualization and a basic web server
• Windows Server 2016 and its predecessors are designed as
server operating systems
– But you can use Windows Server 2016 on your desktop
computer
Server Versus Desktop Operating Systems
• Windows Server 2016 deemphasizes many of Windows 10’s
user interface bells and whistles
– In favor of a less flashy and less resource-intensive user
interface
• Microsoft makes the Server Core version with no graphical
interface the default Windows Server 2016 installation option
• Nano Server
– A new installation option that nearly strips away the user
interface altogether
Server Versus Desktop Operating Systems
• Windows Server 2016 network services:
– File and Printer sharing
– Web server
– Routing and Remote Access Services (RRAS)
– Domain Name System (DNS)
– Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
– File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server
– Active Directory
– Distributed File System (DFS)
– Hyper-V
– Fax Server
Server Versus Desktop Operating Systems
• Windows 10 desktop OS supports only Hyper-V, File and
Printer Sharing, Web Server, and FTP Server in limited
capacity
• Windows 10 is restricted to 20 logged-on network users
• Windows Server 2016 includes fault-tolerance features such
as:
– Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) 5 volumes
– Load balancing
– Clustering
Server 2016 Roles and Features
• A server role is a major function or service that a server
performs
• Role services add functions to the main role
• Windows server roles and role services are installed in Server
Manager by clicking Manage and clicking Add Roles and
Features
• Server features provide functions that enhance or support an
installed role or add a stand-alone function
• A server can be configured for a single role or several roles
Server 2016 Roles and Features
Server 2016 Roles and Features
Server 2016 Core Technologies
• Server Manager
• New Technology File System (NTFS)
• Active Directory
• Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
• Disk Management
• File and printer sharing
• Windows networking
• PowerShell
• Hyper-V and cloud computing
• Storage Spaces
Server Manager
• Provides a single interface for installing, configuring, and
removing a variety of server roles and features
• Summarizes server’s status and configuration
• Includes tools to diagnose problems, manage storage, and
perform general configuration tasks
• Can be used to manage all servers in your network
• Dashboard - shows a list of tasks, summarizes installed roles,
and shows available servers to manage
Server Manager
NT File System (NTFS)
• New Technology File System (NTFS)
– Introduced in Windows NT in early 1990s
• Important feature - capability to set user and group permissions
on both folders and files
– Administrators can specify which users can access a file
and what users can do with a file if granted access
• Increases a server environment’s security
• Supports encryption, compression, quotas and the use of
volumes
Microsoft Management Console
• Creates a centralized management interface for administrators
• Uses snap-ins, which are designed to perform specific
administrative tasks (such as disk management)
• Important feature: the capability to connect to servers remotely
• Most Administrative tools are based on this interface
Microsoft Management Console
Disk Management
• To manage disk and volumes on a Windows Server 2016
computer:
– Use the Disk Management snap-in or the File and Storage
Services role (which is integrated into Server Manager)
• Both tools can be used to:
– Monitor disk and volume status
– Initialize new disks
– Create and format new volumes
– Troubleshoot disk problems
– Configure redundant disk configurations (RAID)
• File and Storage Services also lets you create storage pools for
Storage Spaces (discussed later)
File and Printer Sharing
• Offers advanced features such as:
– Shadow copies
– Disk quotas
– Distributed File System (DFS)
• Also offers:
– Redundancy
– Version control
– User storage restrictions
Windows Networking Concepts
• The Workgroup Model
– A small collection of computers that share common roles,
such as sharing files or printers.
– Also called a peer-to-peer network
– Decentralized logons, security, and resource sharing
– Easy to configure and works well for small groups of users
(fewer than 10)
– A Windows Server 2016 server that participates in a
workgroup is referred to as a stand-alone server
Windows Networking Concepts
• The Domain Model
– Preferred for a network that has several computers or
requires centralized security and resource management
– Requires at least one computer to be a domain controller
– A domain controller is a Windows server that has Active
Directory installed and is responsible for allowing client
computers access to domain resources
– A member server is a Windows Server that’s in the
management scope of a domain but doesn’t have Active
Directory installed
Windows Networking Components
• Network connection - a collection of networking components
working together
• Network Interface
– Composed of two parts: the network interface card (NIC)
and the device driver software
– Configured in the Network Connections window (see Figure
1-6)
• Network Protocol
– Specifies the rules and format of communication between
network devices
– Today, most administrators need to work with only
TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6
Windows Networking Components
Windows Networking Components
Windows Networking Components
• Network Client and Server Software
– A network client is the part of the OS that sends requests to
a server to access network resources
 In Windows, the client software is Client for Microsoft
Networks
– Network server software receives requests for shared
network resources and makes those resources available to
a network client
 In Windows, this server software is File and Printer
Sharing for Microsoft Networks
Active Directory Domain Services
• The Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) role installs
Active Directory and turns a Windows Server 2016 computer
into a domain controller
• The main purpose of AD DS is to handle authentication and
authorization for users and computers in a Windows domain
environment
• Active Directory stores information in a centralized database,
giving administrators:
– A tool for deploying user and computer policies
– Installing software
– Applying patches and updates to client computers in the
domain
Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory’s main purposes and features:
– To provide a single point of administration of network
resources (Users, groups, shared printers, etc.)
– To provide centralized authentication and authorization of
users to network resources
– Along with DNS, to provide domain-naming services and
management for a Windows domain.
– To enable administrators to assign system policies, deploy
software to client computers, and assign permissions and
rights to users of network resources
PowerShell
• A command-line interactive scripting environment that
provides commands for almost any management task
– Used much like a command prompt
• PowerShell uses the term “cmdlets” to describe
commands and scripts
• Hundreds of cmdlets are available in PowerShell
– Ranging from performing simple tasks to managing aspects of
Active Directory
• Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 are equipped
with PowerShell 4.0
• Microsoft has continued updating PowerShell in Windows
2016, which is equipped with PowerShell 5.0
– And a new feature, called PowerShell Direct, for managing virtual
machines with PowerShell directly from the host computer
PowerShell

• Using PowerShell
– Names of PowerShell cmdlets are structured as verb-noun
pairs with one or more parameters
– Example, the following cmdlet lists the available disks on
the computer with the output shown in Figure 1-8:

Get-Disk
PowerShell
• Using PowerShell (continued)
– To see information about a particular disk, you could use
the following cmdlet:
Get-Disk –Number 1
• In the preceding cmdlet, – Number is called a parameter
– An input to a cmdlet
• The 1 that follows – Number is a value for the parameter
• Not all parameters require values
• In some cases, the value for a parameter can be stored in a
variable
– A temporary storage location that holds values
PowerShell
• A few useful tips for using PowerShell:
– To list all the cmdlets that start with Get, type Get-
Command Get-*
– To list all the cmdlets that have the word disk in them, type
Get-Command *disk*
– To get help on a cmdlet, type Get-Help cmdlet where
cmdlet is the name of the cmdlet
– Update-Help
– PowerShell can take the output of one cmdlet and pipe it to
another cmdlet
 Use the pipe character (|)
Hyper-V and Cloud Computing
• Cloud computing - a collection of technologies for abstracting
the details of how applications, storage, network, and other
computing resources are delivered to users
• Virtualization - a core technology of cloud computing
– Uses software to emulate multiple hardware environments
so that multiple operating systems can run on the same
physical server simultaneously
• Virtual machine (VM) - the virtual environment that emulates a
physical computer’s hardware and BIOS
• Host computer - the physical computer on which VM software
is installed and VMs run
Hyper-V and Cloud Computing
• Virtualization software - software for creating and managing
VMs and creating the virtual environment in which guest OS is
installed
• Hypervisor - virtualization software component that creates and
monitors the virtual hardware environment
• Hyper-V
– Provides services to create and manage virtual machines on a
Windows Server 2016 computer
• As mentioned, a virtual machine is a software environment that
simulates the computer hardware an OS requires for installation
• Installing an OS on a virtual machine is done using the same
methods used on a physical machine
Hyper-V and Cloud Computing
• Public Cloud Versus Private Cloud
– Public could - cloud computing service provided by a third
party
 Examples: DropBox, OneDrive, Google Apps
– Private cloud - cloud computing service provided by an
internal IT department
 Typical services include virtual desktops, storage, and
applications
– Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) - users connect to
private cloud with a Web browser or client software
 Can access their desktop from any Internet connection
Storage Spaces
• A tool that uses virtual drives to give you a platform for creating
volumes of storage pools that can be dynamically expanded
and fault tolerant
• Volumes can be created from multiple drive types
– Including USB, SATA, and SAS
• Drives can be internal or external
• RAID volumes need not be created from same-sized disks
• Permits thin provisioning
– Means the physical disk space isn’t allocated for a volume
until it’s actually needed
New Features in Server 2016
• Nano Server
• Windows containers
• Storage Spaces Direct
• Storage Replica
• PowerShell Direct
• Nested Virtualization
Nano Server
• Geared toward virtual machines (VMs) and is not
intended to be a full-fledged server
• Targeted at specific uses:
– A server that provides processing, storage, networking, and
memory resources needed to run an application
– A cloud-based application server
– A file server as part of a cluster or standalone
– A web server
– A DNS server

• Has no real user interface other than the Nano

Server Recovery Console
– You can use to configure a network interface so you can manage
the server remotely
Nano Server
Windows Containers
• Container
– A software environment in which an application can run but is
isolated from much of the rest of the OS and other
applications
– Almost everything an application needs to run is “contained” in
the container, so any changes made only affect that
application
• Containers make application portable between Windows systems
– Can be moved to another Windows server without the usual
installation process
• One or more containers deployed on Windows Server 2016 still
share a single Windows Server 2016 kernel between the host OS
and other containers
Storage Spaces Direct
• Storage Spaces Direct expands upon the software-defined
storage nature of Storage Spaces
– Leverages the storage contained on a network of servers
• Example: if you have three servers, each with three hard disks
available for storage, Storage Spaces Direct can use all nine of
those disks in its storage pool
• Adds a new level of fault tolerance
– Fault tolerance volumes can be spread among multiple
servers, not just multiple disk drives
• Targeted primarily at highly available applications
Storage Replica
• Storage Replica
– Provides the storage manager with peace of mind in the event of
a disaster
– Enables block-level data replication to occur automatically
between datacenters located in different buildings or geographic
locations
– With block-level replication, only the data blocks that have
changed need to be replicated rather than entire files
– Much more efficient and less susceptible to data loss due to files
being locked while in use
– Utilizes synchronous replication techniques so data is replicated
as soon as it changes with no delays
– Can be used in failover cluster scenarios with standalone servers
PowerShell Direct
• PowerShell Direct
– Allows you to manage VMs directly from a PowerShell
prompt running on the Hyper-V host
– You can run PowerShell commands directly on a VM from
the host server without having to configure the firewall,
security policies, or even a network interface on the VM
– Discussed in Chapter 6
Nested Virtualization
• Nested virtualization
– The ability to run a VM on a VM
– Not intended for production applications, but is important
for training and test environments
– You can install Windows Server 2016 in a VM on a
Windows Server 2016 computer running Hyper-V and
install Hyper-V on the VM
– Allows you to test VM movement scenarios such as live
migration and Hyper-V clusters without having to actually
set up physical computers