Critical thinking - Outfitting a Branch Office with Server Core

Critical thinking: Outfitting a Branch Office with Server Core

The following activities give you critical thinking challenges. Case Projects offer a scenario with a problem to solve for which you supply a written solution.

make it all in two pages, try to make it simple.

3-1

Outfitting a Branch Office with Server Core

You have been supporting CSM Tech Publishing’s Windows Server 2016 server network for over a year. The office has two Windows Server 2016 servers running Active Directory and a number of other roles. Management has informed you that a small sales office is opening in the same building three floors up. The sales manager wants to install a sales application on a server located in the sales office. This server will have limited physical security because there’s no special room dedicated for it, which means it will be accessible to non-IT personnel and visitors. You’re considering installing Windows Server 2016 Server Core on the new server because accessing its console regularly probably won’t be necessary, and this server will be managed from one of the other CSM Tech Publishing servers. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Server Core for this branch office? What are some things you should do to set up this server management environment?

3-2

Dealing with Server Core Angst

The owner of CSM Tech Publishing was at the sales office last week and out of curiosity wanted to sign in to the server there. The owner is somewhat tech savvy and has even worked a little with Active Directory in Windows Server 2012. He was shocked when he signed in and didn’t see a familiar user interface—only a command prompt. He asked you about this and accepted your explanation of Server Core and why you chose this installation option. However, he was wondering what would happen if you stopped providing support or were unavailable for an extended period, and your replacement wasn’t familiar with Server Core. Write a memo explaining how this situation could be handled easily.

3-3

Case Project 3-3

Ensuring Proper Server Configuration

You are called to consult with an organization that has well over 100 servers including virtual servers. The manager you spoke with told you that the organization is having problems keeping the servers properly configured. Different administrators make changes to the configuration or add and remove services to keep up with user demand. However, the manager finds that changes are not well documented and often cause problems. The manager would like to know if there is a way to automate control of changes to server roles, features, services, and so forth. What Windows Server 2016 feature can you suggest and why?

4-1

Case Project 4-1

Dealing with a Disk Crash

Last week, a disk containing CSM Tech Publishing’s current project manuscripts crashed. Fortunately, there was a backup, but all files that had been added or changed that day were lost. A new disk had to be purchased for overnight delivery, and the data had to be restored. Several days of work time were lost. The owner of CSM Tech wants to know what can be done to prevent the loss of data and time if a disk crashes in the future. The server currently has two disks installed: one for the Windows boot and system volumes and one for manuscript files. The disk used for manuscript files is about one-third full. There’s enough money in the budget to purchase up to two new drives if needed. What solution do you recommend, and why?

4-2

Case Project 4-2

Creating a Shared Folder Structure

CSM Tech Publishing has asked you to develop a file-sharing system for the company’s departments, which include Management, Marketing, Sales, Development, and Editorial. The following are some requirements for the file-sharing solution:

• Management must be able to access all files in all the shares unless stated otherwise and must be able to create, delete, and change files.
• The Management Department must have a share that only it can access, and each member of the department must be able to create, delete, and change files in the share.
• Marketing and Sales should have one common folder that both departments’ users have access to. Members of both departments should be able to create new files, have full control over files they create, and view and change files created by other group members. They should not be able to delete files created by other members.
• Sales should have its own share that only Sales and Management have access to. The Sales users must have full control over all files in the share.
• Development and Editorial have their own shares that only these departments and Management have access to. The users from these two departments must have full control over all files in their department shares.
• There should be a public share in which users in the Management Department can create, change, and delete documents, and all other users have the ability only to read the documents.
• There should be a share available to management that no other users can see in a browse list. It contains confidential documents that only selected users in the Management Department have access to.
• Users must be able to restore files they accidentally delete or restore an earlier version of a file without having to use a backup program.
• Sales users must be able to access the files in the Sales share when they’re traveling whether they have an Internet connection or not. When Sales users are back in the office, any changed files should synchronize with their mobile devices automatically. All Sales users have a Windows 8.1 laptop or tablet computer running Windows RT 8.1.
• All users except Management users should be limited to 10 GB of space on the volume housing shares. Management users should be limited to 50 GB.

Given these requirements, perform the following tasks and answer the following questions:

1. Design the folder structure and include information about the permissions (sharing and NTFS) you plan to assign to each share and group of users. Name each share appropriately.
2. What tool will you use to create the shares? Why?
3. What protocols and technologies (including file system) will be used to set up these shared folders? Explain the reason for using each protocol or technology.