an introduction to file server services & management guidelines

8/9/2019 An Introduction to File Server Services & Management Guidelines

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An Introduction to File Server Services & Management Guidelines

Overview:

In large growing networks of today, it has become difficult for network administrators to keep a record of shared files andfolders and maintain access on every single file and folder that is shared. There is a need of a server that has a record oevery shared folder and can also configure security for these files.

File Server:

File servers help manage access to files such as data files and network-accessible applications. If you plan to use diskspace to store, manage, and share information such as files and network-accessible applications, configure the server aa file server. File server is any computer that allows other computers to access files stored on its hard drive or otherstorage media. The file server also controls access permissions to these files.

File Server Objectives:

Following are the key goals of a file server.

y Provide users 24 hours access to their files and folders located on file server.y Prevent unrestricted access on file server. Only authenticated users should access the file server.y Users can only access those files that they are given access to.

File Server Availability:

When you plan for file server availability, the following things are needed to be considered.

1. Uptime of the physical file server.2. Number of user accessing the file server.3. Type of data that is to be accessed.4. Future increase in data.


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Choosing File Server Hardware:

Implement a well-planned hardware strategy to increase file server availability while reducing support costs and failurerecovery times. You can choose hardware for reliability and availability by following these guidelines:

y Use fault-tolerant network components, server cooling, and power supplies.y Use error checking and correcting (ECC) memory. ECC memory uses a checking scheme to guarantee that the

failure of any one bit out of a byte of information is corrected.y Use fault-tolerant storage components, such as redundant disk controllers, hot-swappable disks and hot spares,

and disks configured as redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID).y Keep a log or database of changes made to the file server. The log should contain dated entries for hardware

failures and replacements, service pack and software installations, and other significant changes.y Maintain proper temperature and humidity.y Protect servers from dust or contaminates.y For power outages, provide a steady supply of power for the servers by using uninterruptible power supply (UPS

units or standby generators.y Maintain server cables.y Secure the server room.y Create a plan for backup.

y Monitor backups.

y Decide between local and network backups.

y Check the condition of backup media.y Select software that supports the high-availability features you require, such as server clusters and online backu

y Perform trial restorations on a regular basis. A trial restoration confirms that your files are properly backed up andcan uncover hardware problems that do not show up with software verifications

Simplest File Server:

The simplest way to create a file server is to share a folder on a server.When you share a folder on a server, the folder isavailable for users on the network. You can share a folder against every user name and thus users have their own sharefolders. However, this solution does not provide file server manageability, scalability, availability, or security.

Windows Server 2003 as a File Server:

File servers running the MicrosoftWindows Server 2003 operating system are ideal for providing access to files forusers in medium and large organizations.Windows Server 2003 offers a number of file server solutions, such asDistributedFile System (DFS), File Replication service (FRS), Windows server clusters, NTFS permissions, disk quotas,and shadow copies, for enhancing the manageability, scalability, availability, and security of file servers.

Shadow copies:

If users frequently require administrators to restore deleted or overwritten files from tape, shadow copies provide point-intime copies of files in shared folders, allowing users to recover files that were accidentally deleted or overwritten.

DFS:

If users need to access files on multiple file servers without having to keep track of all the server names, you can use DFSto logically group physical shared folders located on different servers by transparently connecting them to one or morehierarchical namespaces. DFS also provides fault-tolerance and load-sharing capabilities.

FRSand Windows server clusters:


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Windows Server 2003 provides two independent solutions,FRS and server clusters, to ensure that important businessdata is always available, even if a server fails or is taken offline for maintenance.

Disk quotas:

By using the disk quotas feature inWindows Server 2003, you can track files on a per-volume, per-user basis to monitordisk space use and to prevent file servers from filling to capacity without warning.

NTFS permissions:

To prevent unauthorized users from accessing folders, you can use NTFS file system permissions to specify the groupsand users whose access you want to restrict or allow and then select the type of access

New and Enhanced File Server Features in Windows Server 2003

The following are the new and enhanced features inWindows Server 2003

Shadow copies:

The shadow copy feature provides point-in-time copies of files on a volume, allowing users to view the contents of sharefolders as they existed at points of time in the past. After you enable this feature, users can recover files that they

accidentally delete or overwrite.

DFS enhancements:

Windows Server 2003 includes the following DFS enhancements:

y You can create multiple DFS roots on servers runningWindows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition andWindowsServer 2003, Datacenter Edition.

y You can configure DFS to choose an alternate target based on the lowest connection cost if no same-site targetsare available.

y You can use the DistributedFile System snap-in to choose replication topologies that complement your networkinfrastructure.

y

You can move a root target or a link target from one Active Directory site to another, and DF

S will update the rootor link information for the new site within 25 hours.

y To reduce network traffic to the server acting as primary domain controller (PDC) emulator master, you canconfigure DFS to get namespace updates from the closest domain controller, instead of from the server acting asthe PDC emulator master. This mode is known as root scalability mode.

y By using the OfflineFiles feature, you can make shared folders that correspond to DFS link targets availableoffline to clients running MicrosoftWindows XP Professional andWindows Server 2003. (You cannot makeDFS link targets available offline to clients runningWindows 2000.)

FRS enhancements:

Windows Server 2003 includes the followingFRS enhancements:

y FRS detects and suppresses excessive replication.

y FRS manages the staging directory to prevent it from becoming full.

y FRS supports connection priorities, which allow you to control the sequencing of the initial synchronization thatoccurs when you add a new member to the replica set or when you perform a nonauthoritative restore, which isused to bring a failed replica member back into synchronization with its partners.

Security enhancements:


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When you share a folder, the default permission is the Read permission for the Everyone group. This default is differentfrom the default share permission inWindows 2000, which was theFull Control permission for the Everyone group.

Server cluster enhancements:

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition andWindows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition include the following servercluster enhancements:

y You can store encrypted files by using EncryptingFile System (EFS) on cluster storage.

y You can create multiple stand-alone DFS roots on a clustered file server, and the roots can reside on any of thenodes in the cluster.

y You can enable client-side caching to cache files from a cluster file share onto client computers. Clients can thenaccess these files even when the client computer is disconnected from the network.

File Server Management Console:

The following is the diagram of the file server management console inWindows Server 2003.

Summary:

You can use this information to design yourorganizations fileservices. Or, if yourorganization already has fileserversrunning Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 orMicrosoft Windows 2000 operating systems, you can use

the following information to improve the design of yourexisting fileservices to take advantageof the new andenhanced features in the Microsoft Windows Server2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server2003,

Enterprise Edition; and Windows Server2003, DatacenterEdition operating systems.

an introduction to file server services & management guidelines

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