Microsoft Windows 2003, Standard Edition Review

Bottom Line: Microsoft evolutionary foray into the NOS market continues.  Windows 2003 Standard Ed. gets it right for all the right reasons. 

Microsofts' Windows 2000 had one fatal flaw that was hard to ignore: the native security implementation was-and is-awful.  Not that it isn't relatively easy to lock down a Windows 2000 Server, but the administrator has to actually manually tighten several different settings, leaving amble room for confusion and human error.  Sure Microsoft issued patches to correct the security holes as they were found and exploited by those bent on wanton destruction, but applying new patches every other day is tiresome, not to mention disruptive if the server has the be rebooted to properly apply them.   

Enter the new NOS in town, Windows 2003 Server Standard Edition.  For those skeptics among you, who think Windows 2003 Server is only a minor upgrade, let me reassure you it is not.   Microsoft, not surprisingly, has been attentive to the desires of System (Network) Administrators and Developers alike and offers each with solutions that each community can be proud of, resulting in a product has been massaged and tweaked scrupulously over the past three years.  Gone are the apparent security holes that plagued Windows 2000.  Gone too is the interface of old and in is the universal interface of Windows XP.

A feature of note Microsoft has added in Windows 2003 is the Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS).  The VSS is a new service in 2003 similar in functionality to the Salvage Bin in Netware.  When enabled, this service will periodically take snapshots of the server's hard drive, storing data files that end users can recover if they have been deleted, or even retrieve a previous version of a file if it is needed.  This data archiving feature can help alleviate the oft time-consuming need to restore a file(s) from tape saving time and productivity.

Windows 2003 Standard Features:

• VSS
• Manage Your Server
• Web Based Administration
• Enhanced Group Policy
• Active Directory in Application Mode (ADAM)
• Internet Information Service 6.0 (IIS 6)
• Microsoft Terminal Server/ Terminal Services (MTS)

Those familiar with the Windows XP installation process will feel right at home with Windows 2003 Standard Ed.; only difference: there is no accessories install sub process (more on that later).  The installation process, not unlike Windows XP took approximately 40 minutes to complete.

My Viewpoint

To date the new NOS has been rock solid and very secure; yes I said very secure.  Everyday operations barely tax the NOS, this despite hundreds of simultaneous connections to the servers pulling and pushing files.  A new AD snap-in afford me access to the still largely Windows 2000 schema, and security is evident from the moment you try to access the Internet.  That is not to say that there have not been critical patches to install, but they have been far fewer then under Windows 2000.  

Make no mistake; this is a serious NOS groomed for applications, file & print services, and heavy database number crunching.  This is not an OS for gamers, or those interested in simple word processing and or surfing the web.  The new feature set is rich and offers a number of tool Administrators and Developers will find useful.   

Mange Your Server

Under Windows 2000 the installation of server applets such as Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and Domain Naming Service (DNS), was accomplished during the installation of the NOS.  But under Windows 2003, those decisions are made after the install is complete via the Manage Your Server applet.  Manage Your Server suggests roles for the server, such as file & print, application, web server, active directory services, terminal services etc.  I prefer to make those choices during the installation of the NOS; less work after the system reboots, but I began to install new Server services, this utility became a very usable administrative tool.  As you install additional services, like Active Directory, DHCP, WINS, or IIS, the functionality and practicality of Manage Your Server increases.  The applet and shows you common tasks associated with each service installed on the server. 

Enhanced Group Policy

Group Policy-the ability to push down common user and computer policies via Active Directory-has grown tremendously, not modified, just grown with many new additions throughout.  These enhancements have to do with Wireless Technology, Windows Messenger, IIS, Windows Media Digital Rights Management, Time Server Synchronization, File Replication etc.  Note, however that many of these enhancements are only applicable to Windows XP and 2003 Server.  The Group Policy interface, once simple has changed as well to include the new "Extended View" which was first introduced in Windows XP.   The Extended View of Group Policy provides the administrator with the ability to select a policy option from the right pane and see a description of what the policy does on the left pane; very, very, useful. 

Active Directory in Application Mode (ADAM)

One of the really useful features of the Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory (AD) is the ability to extend the Schema.  For those not familiar with the Schema of Active Directory, it's the bottom partition of the database that contains all of the potential objects that you can create and all of their subsequent attributes.