Server role details in windows server 2003

Server role means to a computer which perform a certain role in windows server 2003 or server family. After installing Windows Server successfully it is time to configure the server to play a certain role. When you logon in Windows Server for first time a window will open name Manage Your Server. See below picture

From here you may configure your server for what kind of role the server should play. Before you configure about what kind  of role your server should play have a look in server role details below

File Server Provides convenient, centralized access to files and directories for individual users, departments, and entire organizations. Choosing this option allows you to manage user disk space by enabling and configuring disk quota management and to provide improved file system search performance by enabling the Indexing service.

Print Server Provides centralized and managed access to printing devices by serving shared printers and printer drivers to client computers. Choosing this option starts the Add Printer Wizard to install printers and their associated Windows printer drivers. It also installs Internet Information Services (IIS 6.0) and configures Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) and installs the Web-based printer administration tools.

Application Server (IIS, ASP.NET) Provides infrastructure components required to support the hosting of Web applications. This role installs and configures IIS 6.0 as well as ASP.NET and COM+.

Mail Server (POP3, SMTP) Installs POP3 and SMTP so that the server can act as an e-mail server for POP3 clients.

Terminal Server Provides applications and server resources, such as printers and storage, to multiple users as if those applications and resources were installed on their own computers. Users connect with the Terminal Services or Remote Desktop clients. Unlike Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 provides Remote Desktop for Administration automatically. Terminal Server roles are required only when hosting applications for users on a terminal server.

Remote Access/VPN Server Provides multiple-protocol routing and remote access services for dial-in, local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Virtual private network (VPN) connections allow remote sites and users to connect securely to the network using standard Internet connections.

Domain Controller (Active Directory) Provides directory services to clients in the network. This option configures a domain controller for a new or existing domain and installs DNS. Choosing this option runs the Active Directory Installation Wizard.

DNS Server Provides host name resolution by translating host names to IP addresses (forward lookups) and IP addresses to host names (reverse lookups). Choosing this option installs the DNS service, and then starts the Configure A DNS Server Wizard.

DHCP Server Provides automatic IP addressing services to clients configured to use dynamic IP addressing. Choosing this option installs DHCP services and then starts the New Scope Wizard to define one or more IP address scopes in the network.

Streaming Media Server Provides Windows Media Services (WMS). WMS enables the server to stream multimedia content over an intranet or the Internet. Content can be stored and delivered on demand or delivered in real time. Choosing this option installs WMS.

WINS Server Provides computer name resolution by translating NetBIOS names to IP addresses. It is not necessary to install Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) unless you are supporting legacy operating systems, such as Windows 95 or Windows NT. Operating systems such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not require WINS, although legacy applications on those platforms may very well require NetBIOS name resolution. Choosing this option installs WINS.

The advantages of Active Directory

Most computers running Windows XP Professional on large networks are clients in an Active Directory domain running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003. Much like a phone book acts as a directory of people’s phone numbers and street addresses, Active Directory acts as a directory for resources on a network. Active Directory catalogs information about all the objects on a network, including users, computers, and printers, and makes that information available throughout a network. Active Directory provides a consistent way to name, find, manage, and secure information about these resources.

In a workgroup environment, each computer running Windows XP Professional is responsible for maintaining its own security database. Local user accounts are used to log on to the computer and to control access to resources on the computer. Security and administration in a workgroup are distributed. You must create local user accounts on each computer, and although you can often manage a computer remotely, you must manage each computer separately. The larger the network you are working with, the more overhead this distributed management creates. Active Directory simplifies the security and administration of resources throughout a network (including the computers that are part of the network) by providing a single point of administration for all objects on the network. Active Directory organizes resources hierarchically in domains, which are logical groupings of servers and other network resources. Each domain includes one or more domain controllers. A domain controller is a computer running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 on which Active Directory is installed. The domain controller stores a complete replica of the domain directory. To simplify administration, all domain controllers in the domain are peers. You can make changes to any domain controller, and the updates are replicated to all other domain controllers in the domain.

One big advantage that Active Directory provides is a single logon point for all network resources, so a user can log on to the network with a single user name and password, and then access any resources to which the user account is granted access. An administrator can log on to one computer and administer objects on any computer in the network. Windows XP Professional provides a wide range of security settings that you can enforce. You can enforce these settings locally by configuring them on each computer (and that is the way you have to do it in a workgroup environment). In an Active Directory environment, you can use a feature named Group Policy to enforce settings on all computers on the network. This allows the network administrator to make changes faster and improve network functionality without requiring user intervention to invoke changes.

What is a Directory Service ?

A directory service is a network service that identifies all resources on a network and makes that information available to users and applications. Directory services are important, because they provide a consistent way to name, describe, locate access, manage, and secure information about these resources.

When a user searches for shared folder on the network, it is the directory service that identifies and provides that information to the user.

Active Directory is the directory service in the Windows Server 2003 family. It extends the basic functionality of a directory service to provide the following benefits :

Domain Name System (DNS) integration 

Active directory uses DNS naming conventions to create a hierarchical structure that provides a familiar, orderly, and scalable view of network relationship. DNS also functions to map host name, such as www.microsoft.com, to numeric TCP/IP addresses, such as 192.168.19.2.

Scalability

Active Directory is organized into sections that can store a large number of objects. As a result, Active Directory can expand as an organization grows. An organizational that has a single server with a few hundred objects can grow to thousands of servers and millions of objects.

Centralized Management

Active Directory enables administrators to manage distributed desktops, network services, and applications from a central location, while using a consistent management interface. Active Directory also provides centralized control of access to network resources by enabling users to log on only once to gain full access to resources throughout Active directory.

Delegated administration

The hierarchical structure of Active Directory enables administrative control to be delegated for specific segments of the hierarchy. A user authorized by a higher administrative authority can perform administrative duties in their designated portion of the structure. For example, a users might have limited administrative control over their workstation settings, and a department manager might have the administrative rights to create new users in an organization unit.

Windows Server 2003 Editions

Windows Server 2003 is an incremental update to the platform and technologies introduced in Windows 2000. If you are coming to Windows Server 2003 with experience from Windows 2000 servers, you will find the transition a relatively easy one. If your experience is with Windows NT 4, welcome to the new world!

Windows Server 2003 is available in five editions. Each edition is developed to be used in a specific server role. This enables you to select the operating system edition that provides only the functions and capabilities that your server needs.

Web Edition : Windows Server 2003, Web edition, is designed to be used specifically as a Web Server. It is available only through selected partner channels and is not available for retail. Although computers running Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, can be member of an Active Directory domain, you can not run Active Directory  on Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.

Small Business Server Editions : Windows Server 2003, Small Business Server Edition, delivers a complete business server solution for small businesses with up to 75 workstations and is available in two editions : Standard and Premium. Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides technologies and tools, including e-mail, shared documents and calendars, security-enhanced Internet access and data storage, reliable printing and faxing, and remote administration on a single server.

Standard Edition : Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, is a reliable network operating system that delivers business solutions quickly and easily. This flexible server is the ideal choice for small business and departmental use. Use Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, when your server does not require the increased hardware support and clustering features of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

Enterprise Edition : Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Editions, has all the features in Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. It also provides features not included in Standard Edition that enhance availability, scalability, and dependability. Windows server 2003, Enterprise Edition, is designed for medium to large business. It is the recommended operating system for applications, XML web services, and infrastructure, because it offers high reliability, performance and superior business value.

Datacenter Edition : Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, is designed for business-critical and mission-critical applications that demand the highest levels of scalability and availability. The major difference between Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, is that Datacenter Edition Supports more powerful multiprocessing and greater memory. In additions, Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition is available only through the Windows Datacenter program offered to Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs).

What is the OSI Model ?

The OSI model is an architectural model that represents networking communications. It was introduced in 1978 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to standardize the levels of services and types of interactions for computers communicating over a network.

What does the OSI model do ?

The OSI model defines the generic tasks that are performed for network communication. You can think of each layer of the OSI model as a piece of software that performs specific tasks for that layer. Each layer communicates with the layer below and the layer above. Data that is transmitted over the network must pass through all layers.

How to use the OSI model ?

The OSI model is used as a common reference point when comparing the function of different protocols and types of network hardware. Understanding the OSI model is important for comparing different products.

The architecture of the OSI model :

The OSI model divides network communication into seven layers. Each layer has a defined networking function, as described in below

1. Application =  The application layer provides the interface between the networking protocol stack and the software running on the computer. For example, this layer provides the interface for e-mail, file transfers, Telnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications. Applications use the services provided by applicationlayer protocols, which in turn use the services provided by the other layers beneath them.

2. Presentation layer =  The presentation layer (sometimes referred to as the syntax layer) is responsible for translating each computer’s native syntax into a common transfer syntax readable by the other computers on the network. In some cases, the transfer syntax can provide functions such as data compression and encryption.

3. Session Layer = The session layer provides many functions involved in the regulation of the dialog between two computers communicating over the network. For example, the session layer sets up, regulates, and terminates exchanges between the applications at each end of the communication.

4. Transport Layer = The transport layer provides functions that complement those of the network layer, including guaranteed delivery (which uses packet acknowledgments to ensure data is received), flow control (which regulates transmission speed to avoid dropped packets), and end-to-end error detection (which enables the receiving system to detect damaged packets).

5. Network Layer = The network layer defines the functions that provide end-to-end communications between computers on different networks. Chief among these functions is routing, which enables computers to relay traffic through intermediate networks to a destination on a remote network any distance away. Other functions include packet sequencing, end-to-end error detection from the sender to the recipient, congestion control, and addressing. While the data-link layer is responsible for local traffic on a single network, the network layer is responsible for directing traffic to its ultimate destination.

6. Data-Link Layer = The data-link layer defines the interface between the network medium and the software running on the computer. Among the data-link layer functions are packet addressing (which allows computers to direct traffic to specific destinations on the local network); media access control (which allows multiple computers to share a single network medium without conflicting); and formatting the frame used to encapsulate data for transmission over the network. The data-link layer divides into two sublayers. The logical link control (LLC) sublayer controls elements such as error checking from node to node on the same LAN, frame synchronization, and flow control. The media access control (MAC) sublayer controls the movement of data packets to and from one network interface card (NIC) to another across a shared channel.

7. Physical Layer = The physical layer defines the nature of the network medium—the actual fabric of the network that joins all the computers together—and the nature of the signals transmitted over the medium. In most cases, the network medium is a form of copper cable that uses electric currents for signaling, but fiber-optic and wireless media are becoming increasingly prevalent.

What is a GPT Disk ?

As operating systems evolve and hard disks grow larger, the inherent restrictions of an MBR partitioned disk limit the viability of this partitioning scheme as an option in many scenarios. Consequently, a new disk partitioning system has been developed: Globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table or GPT.

GPT contains an array of partition entries describing the start and end LBA of each partition on disk. Each GPT partition has a unique identification GUID and a partition content type. Also, each LBA described in the partition table is 64-bits in length. The GPT format is specified by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), but is not exclusive to UEFI systems. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for data disks on BIOS systems, but they cannot boot from them. The 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for boot disks on UEFI systems.

GPT disks features

GPT-based disks address the limitations of MBR-based disks. GPT disks support:

* 128 partitions per disk: This is a vast improvement over MBR-based disks.
* 18 Exabyte (EB) volume size: This is a theoretical maximum because hard disk hardware is not yet available that supports such vast volume sizes.
* Redundancy: The GPT is duplicated and protected by Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC).

You can implement GPT-based disks on Windows Server® 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. You cannot use the GPT partition style on removable disks.

GPT architecture

On a GPT partitioned disk, the following sectors are defined:

* Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk.
 
   * The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously-released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator.

These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned.

   * Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

* Sector 1 contains a partition table header. The partition table header contains the unique disk GUID, the number of partition entries (usually 128), and pointers to the partition table.

* The partition table starts at sector 2. Each partition entry contains a unique partition GUID, the partition offset, length, type (also a GUID), attributes, and a 36 character name.

* The following table describes the partitions.

Partition	Type	Size	Description
A	EFI System Partition (ESP)	100 MB	Contains the boot manager, the files that are required for booting an operating system, the platform tools that run before operating system boot, or the files that must be accessed before operating a system boot. The ESP must be first on the disk. The primary reason for this is that it is impossible to span volumes when the ESP is logically between what you are attempting to span.
B	Microsoft Reserved (MSR)	128MB	Reserved for Windows components. This partition is hidden in Disk Management and does not receive a drive letter. Usage example: When you convert a basic GPT disk to dynamic, the system decreases the size of the MSR partition and uses that space to create the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) Metadata partition.
C	Operating system (OS)	Remaining Disk	Contains the OS and is the size of the remaining disk.

Question: How does a GPT partitioned disk on a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system use an MBR?

Answer

On a GPT partitioned disk, Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk. The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator. These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned. Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

What is the differences between Internet Protocol Version IPv4 and IPv6 ?

Internet Protocol Version IPv6 is a newer version of Internet Protocol Version IPv4. In IPv6 significant changes has been created to overcome the Internet  Protocol Version IPv4 limitations. In IPv4 limitations include the following :

Limited address space: IPv4 uses only 32-bits to represent addresses. IANA has allocated the majority of these addresses.

Difficult routing management: IANA has not provisioned allocated IPv4 addresses for efficient route management. As a result, Internet backbone routers have over 85,000 routes in their routing tables.

Complex host configuration: Automatic configuration of IPv4 hosts requires that you implement DHCP.

No built-in security: IPv4 does not include any method for securing network data. You must implement Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) and other protocols to secure data on IPv4 networks, but this requires significant configuration and can be complex to implement.

Limited Quality of Service (QoS): The implementation of QoS in IPv4 relies on the use of TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports to identify data. This may not be appropriate in all circumstances.

IPv6 improvements

IPv6 enhancements help enable secure communication on the Internet and over corporate networks. Some IPv6 features include the following:

Larger address space: IPv6 uses a 128-bit address space, which provides significantly more addresses than IPv4.

More efficient routing: IANA provisions global addresses for the Internet to support hierarchical routing. This reduces how many routes that Internet backbone routers must process and improves routing efficiency.

Simpler host configuration: IPv6 supports dynamic client configuration by using DHCPv6. IPv6 also enables routers to configure hosts dynamically.

Built-in security: IPv6 includes native IPSec support. This ensures that all hosts encrypt data in transit.

Better prioritized delivery support: IPv6 includes a Flow Label in the packet header to provide prioritized delivery support. This designates the communication between computers with a priority level, rather than relying on port numbers that applications use. It also assigns a priority to the packets in which IPSec encrypts the data.

Redesigned header: The design of the header for IPv6 packets is more efficient in processing and extensibility. IPv6 moves nonessential and optional fields to extension headers for more efficient processing. Extension headers are no more than the full size of the IPv6 packet, which accommodates more information than possible in the 40 bytes that the IPv4 packet header allocates.

What Are Public and Private IPv4 Addresses?

Devices and hosts that connect directly to the Internet require a public IPv4 address. Hosts and devices that do not connect directly to the Internet do not require a public IPv4 address.

Public IPv4 addresses

Public IPv4 addresses must be unique. IANA assigns public IPv4 addresses. Usually, your ISP allocates you one or more public addresses from its address pool. The number of addresses that your ISP allocates to you depends upon how many devices and hosts that you have to connect to the Internet.

Private IPv4 addresses

The pool of IPv4 addresses is becoming smaller, so IANA is reluctant to allocate superfluous IPv4 addresses. Technologies such as Network Address Translation (NAT) enable administrators to use a relatively small number of public IPv4 addresses, and at the same time, enable local hosts to connect to remote hosts and services on the Internet.

IANA defines the following address ranges as private. Internet-based routers do not forward packets originating from, or destined to, these ranges.

Class	Mask	Range
A	10.0.0.0/8	10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
B	172.16.0.0/12	172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
C	192.168.0.0/16	192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Note: RFC3330 defines these private address ranges.

What is a Default Gateway?

A default gateway is a device, usually a router, on a TCP/IP internet that forwards IP packets to other subnets. A router connects groups of subnets to create an intranet.

In an intranet, any given subnet might have several routers that connect it to other subnets, both local and remote. You must configure one of the routers as the default gateway for local hosts. This enables the local hosts to transmit with hosts on remote networks.

When a host delivers an IPv4 packet, it uses the subnet mask to determine whether the destination host is on the same network or on a remote network. If the destination host is on the same network, the local host delivers the packet. If the destination host is on a different network, the host transmits the packet to a router for delivery.

When a host on the network uses IPv4 to transmit a packet to a destination subnet, IPv4 consults the internal routing table to determine the appropriate router for the packet to reach the destination subnet. If the routing table does not contain any routing information about the destination subnet, IPv4 forwards the packet to the default gateway. The host assumes that the default gateway contains the required routing information.

In most cases, use a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to assign the default gateway automatically to a DHCP client. This is more straightforward than manually assigning a default gateway on each host.

A default gateway is a device, usually a router a TCP/IP internet that forwards IP packets to other subnets

How to share a Printer over a network using Windows XP?

To share a printer over a network using windows XP is helpful for a large business organization. To share a printer over a network using windows xp follow this

To share a Printer

1. First login to your windows XP with administrative right.
2. Click Start and  Go to Control Panel
3. Click Printers and other hardware, and then click Printers and Faxes. (From category view)
4. In the Printers and Faxes folder, right click on the installed printer and choose Sharing. See below picture

Printer Share

Note : Make sure you've enabled File and Printer sharing for Microsoft Networks on network card's properties. See below picture

Printer Sharing

5. Now from the Sharing option choose "Share this Printer" and give a name. Then click apply and OK. See below picture

Printer sharing

That's it. The printer will immediately available for the other computers to use over the network.

To connect to the printer

From the desired computer to use the printer over a network follow this

1. Click start and go to control panel
2. Click Printers and other hardware, then click Add a Printer.(In category view)
3. A wizard will open, Click Next. See below picture

Printer sharing

4. From here choose "A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer" and click Next. See below picture

Printer sharing

5. In Next step you will get three options to connect to share printer. Choose the appropriate option and finish the wizard. See below picture

Now you are ready to use remote printer to do your job.

Mission accomplish

What is a SUBNET MASK ?

A subnet mask defines the part of an IP address that is the network ID and the part of an IP address that is the host ID. A subnet mask is composed of four octets, similar to an IP address.

In simple IP networks, the subnet mask defines full octets as part of the network ID and host ID. A 255 represents an octet that is the part of the network ID, and 0 represents an octet that is part of the host ID. In complex IP networks, octets can be subdivided.

Why a subnet mask is required ?

When a computer delivers an IP packet, it uses the subnet mask to validate whether the destination is on the same network or on a remote network. If the destination is on the same network, the packet can be delivered by the computer. If the destination is on the different network, the computer must send the packet to a router for delivery.

To make you understand about subnet mask, I give you a simple example

Subnet Mask

In this above picture I have taken 3 users named emdadblog, blogspot, com.

For the first user Emdadblog I use 192.168.1.1 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

For the Second user Blogspot I use 192.168.1.2 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

For the Third user Com I use 192.168.2.1 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

Now if I want to send a file through internet from Emdadblog to Blogspot, I can send the file easily. Because the subnet mask between Emdadblog and Blogspot are same. Although their Host ID is different but their Network ID are same

If I want to send to a file through internet from Emdadblog to Com, I can not send the file. Because Emdadblog user is using 192.168.1.0 Network ID and Com user is using 192.168.2.0 and their Network ID are not same. In this situation to send a file through internet from Emdadblog user to Com user, we need to use ROUTER.

Note : Router helps you to connect two different Network and it's works like as a connector.

Valid Subnet Masks
In a simple IP network, a subnet mask is composed of only 255s and 0s. Other values are not used. In addition, 255s appear at the beginning of the subnet mask and 0s appear at the end. In a valid subnet mask, 0s cannot be interspersed with 255s. Example of valid and invalid subnet masks are shown in the following table

Valid Subnet Mask	Invalid Subnet Mask
255.0.0.0	0.0.255.255
255.255.00	255.0.255.0
255.255.255.0	0.255.255.0

What is an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) address ?

To troubleshoot network connectivity problems for your users, you must me familiar with Internet Protocol /IP address and how they work. Assign a unique Internet protocol version 4 /IPv4 address to each network computer, the IPv4 address the computer to other computers on the network.

Internet Protocol Version 4 / IPv4

Components of an Internet Protocol version 4/IPv4 address
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, so if you view the address in its binary format, it has 32 characters, as the following example shows:

11000000101010000000000111001000

IPv4 divides the address into four octets, as the following address shows :

11000000.10101000.00000001.11001000

To make the Internet Protocol Address more readable, binary representation of the address typically it in decimal form. For example :

192.168.1.200

The address, in conjunction with a subnet mask, identifies:
1. The unique identity of the computer, which is the host ID.
2. The subnet on which the computer resides, which is the network ID.
3. This enables a networked computer to communicate with other networked computers in a routed environment.

Internet Protocol address version 4 /IPv4 classes
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizes IPv4 addresses into classes. The number of hosts that a network has determines the class of addresses that is required. IANA has named the IPv4 address classes from Class A through Class E.

Class A  = Any IP address in which the first octet has a value between 1 and 127 is a part of a Class A network. there are only 126 available Class A network, each with up to 16,777,214 hosts.

Because Class A networks are very large, they are allocated to very large organizations. It is no longer possible for individual companies to obtains Class A Networks.

Class A subnet Mask is 255.0.0.0

Note : All IP address on the network 127.0.0.0 refer to the local host. The Internet Protocol / IP addre4ss on this network are used for diagnostics only.

Class B  = An Internet Protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 128 and 191 is part of a Class B Network. There are 16,384 Class B Network, each with up to 65,534 hosts .Class B Networks are assigned to a variety of large companies and universities. For example, the 131.107.0.0 network is allocated to Microsoft Corporation.

Class B subnet Mask is 255.255.0.0

Class C  = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 192 to 223 is part of a Class C Network. There are 2,097,152 Class C Networks, each with up to 254 hosts.Class C address are assigned to many small and medium-size organization. In some cases, companies are assigned a Class C Network for each of their locations.

Class C subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0

Class D  = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 224 to 239 is part of a Class D Network. Class D address are not assigned to a individual hosts. Class D addresses are assigned to groups of computers called multicast groups. Using multicast groups is an efficient way to deliver information on a network when multiple hosts need the same information at the same time.

Class E  = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value 240 is part of a Class E Network. This Class E network are reserved for experimental use and are never used on TCP/IP networks except for the broadcast address. The address 255.255.255.255 is a broadcast. Packets addressed to this Internet Protocol Address are delivered to all host on the local network.

Broadcasts are used when applications are not configured with the Internet Protocol address of the host that they should be contacting. For example, Dynamic Host Control Protocol / DHCP clients use broadcasts to communicative with a DHCP server and obtain an Internet Protocol / IP address.

How to make my important data secure with New Technology File System (NTFS) ?

With the New Technology File System (NTFS) now you can make your important data 99.99% secure. None can see your important data even administrators group members. In NTFS you can use encryption option to secure your important data.You can encrypt files and folders. To encrypt your important data with  New Technology File System(NTFS) follow this



Go to your desired files or folders location and right click on it. Go to properties ->from general option click on advanced -> from here check the "Encrypt contents to secure your data" -> click OK  twice. See below pictures

make my important data secure with National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) ?

Most of us know about this tricks but here have a little bit extra tricks that have to know.

Compression and encryption never works together. It means that compression and encryption works against each other. If you don't believe try yourself to do this.

Most important matters is that, when you use encryption on your files or folders, a security KEY will be implemented immediately between user account and files or folders. And this security KEY makes your files and folders 99.99% secure. This security KEY never shared with others user accounts even with administrators groups related user accounts.

This ENCRYPTION utility has a side effects. If you by mistake delete your user account that carried a security KEY, no longer you will be able to use this encrypted files and folders.

How to make a batch a file to clean your Computer ?

By making a batch file you can easily clean your computer recent,temp,history and others file. Temporary file use huge space on hard disk.

How to make a batch a file to clean your Computer

 

Here I have a created a batch file to do the job that i have mentioned. You have to just simply copy below text in your notepad and save as yourname.cmd
 
@echo off if %username% == Administrator.WINDOWS goto admin REM ** Delete User Files ** rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Recent" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temp" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\History\History.ie5" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\content.ie5" goto end :admin REM ** Do some extra stuff here ** REM ** What ever you want..... ** ECHO You are a Administrator rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Recent" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temp" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\History\History.ie5" rmdir /S/Q "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\content.ie5" REM ** Do more stuff here ** REM ** Blah, blah, blah......** :end exit

Now after saving this above text as yourname.cmd just double click on it. Your  recent,temp,history and others file will be clean.

What is Disk Quota and how to use disk quota with NTFS ?

NTFS supports the use of disk quota. Disk quota enable you to specify the amount of disk space that is available to a user. By enabling disk quota, you can track and control disk space usage. You can configure weather users allowed to exceed their limits, and you can also configure windows XP professional to log an event when a user exceeds a specified warning level or disk quota limit.

I will show you in this post on how to use disk quota with NTFS.



I create two user in my PC named emdad(administrative user) and emdadblog(non administrative user). I will implement disk quota limit on emdadblog. Now I have logged in my PC with emdad user. See below picture.

How to use disk quota in NTFS

Emdad user account belongs to administrators group. Now to use disk quota go to my computer -> select desired HDD drive, right click on it and go to properties - > navigate to disk quota. See below picture

How to use disk quota in NTFS

Now from the disk quota tab check the "Enable quota management" and click on "Quota Entries". A new window will appear and from here go to -> Quota -> New Quota Entry. A window will appear like below this.

How to use disk quota in NTFS

Now from here type your desired user name that you want to implement disk quota limitation. I used emdadblog user to implement disk quota limitation. After giving user name click OK. New window will appear like below picture

How to use disk quota in NTFS

Now from here specify the disk space that a user can use. You can specify disk space KB to EB as well as also set a warning level. I use 300 KB to disk space use and set 150 KB as a warning level for emdadblog user. Now close the window and click apply and OK. Login to emdadblog user account.

How to use disk quota in NTFS

After logging to emdadblog user account check out the drive properties that I have implemented at earlier time.

How to use disk quota in NTFS

FAQ :

1. Why my drive does not showing disk quota option ?

Answer : Because you have not used NTFS drive.

2. How to convert file system to NTFS without loosing data ?



Answer : To convert your drive into NTFS without loosing data  type below command into your command prompt (CMD)

convert x: /fs:ntfs

where X is the drive name. If you use any name instead of your drive letter type the name in X.

3. Why quota option is not working on my implemented user account ?

Answer : Your disk quota option will not work if you implement this option on administrative rights related users.

4. How to implement this disk quota  on administrative user accounts ?

Answer : To implement disk quota option on administrative rights related user account just enable  "Limit disk space to" and set the disk space quota limit. See below picture

How to use disk quota in NTFS

What is computer acronym ?

Computer acronym

An acronym is a short word that is made from the first letter of a group of words. Here is the list of computer acronyms and elaborations.

--- A ---
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---

BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---

CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)



--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---

ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---

FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---

GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---

HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---

IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---

JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---

Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---

LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Area Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---

MAC - Media Access Control
MB  -  MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---

NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---

OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---

PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit



--- R ---

RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---

SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---

TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---

UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---

VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---

WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---

XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

What is File Compression and how to use compress?

Use compression when you need more space on your hard-disk drive. Compressing files, folders, and programs decrease their size and reduces the amount of space they use on drives or removable storage device. You can also compress disk drives.

Windows supports two types of compression : NTFS file compression and compressed (zipped) folders. You can use Microsoft Windows Explorer to configure both types.

Uses of Compression : you will get the most compression from txt files, bitmap files, spreadsheets, and presentation files. You will have less compression with graphic and video files that are already compressed Avoid compressing system folders and files because this affects the server and operating system performance.

NTFS file compression : volume, folders and files on an NTFS volume are either compressed or uncompressed. Compression is configured as an attribute of a file or folder. New files created in a compressed folder are compressed by default. A file an be compressed but have an uncompressed file within it. The compression state of a folder does not necessarily reflect  the compression state of files within that folder.



Space allocation : when files are copied, NTFS calculates disk space based on the size of the uncompressed file. This is important because files are uncompressed during the copy process and the system must be sure there is enough space for the uncompressed file. If you copy a compressed file to an NTFS partition that does not have enough space for the uncompressed file, an error message notifies you that there is not enough disk space for the file.

Comparison of compression methods : The two compression methods are compared in the following table

Attribute	NTFS file compression	Compressed (zipped) Folders
File system	NTFS	NTFS or FAT, FAT32
Compressible objects	Files, folders and drives	Files and Folders
User interaction	Transparent, when saving a file to a folder that is compressed	Manual
Performance	Decrease if system files are compressed	No decrease
Password Protection	No	Yes
Encrypt	No	Yes
Change display color	Yes	No

How to use Compression ?

To compress a file, folder or drive right click on it and go to properties. From the general tab check the "Compress this disk drive to save disk space" click apply and OK. See below picture.

What is File Compression and how to use compress?

Which file system you are using FAT, FAT32 or NTFS ?

A file system is the structure in which files are named, stored and accessed. Microsoft windows XP supports three types of file system on hard disk FAT, FAT32 and NTFS. It is important that you understand how file system work so that you can select the file system or file system that are best suited for your environment and tasks.
When choosing a FAT, FAT32 or NTFS file system, you must consider the features and functions that are associated with the file system. You must also consider limitations, such as maximum volume size, cluster size, and compatibility with other operating systems. In this post I will give a clear idea to choose FAT, FAT32, and NTFS file system.

FAT file system :

FAT file system works best on small disks that have simple folder structures. FAT file system supports volume sizes up to 2 gigabytes(GB). You must divide a large disk into volumes and no volume should exceed 2 GB.FAT file system supports cluster sizes up to 64 KB for large volumes. It supports dual-boot configurations. It support Microsoft Xp Professional, Microsoft Winodws 2000 Professional, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Microsoft 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, MS-DOS operating system.

FAT 32 file system :

FAT 32 file system works well on larger disks that have more complex folder structures. FAT32 supports volume size up to 32 GB. Volumes can be as large as 2 terabytes, but Windows XP Professional limits the volume that you can format to 32 GB.It has greater flexibility on how you organize large disks from many small volume up to a single large volume. Not exceeding 32 GB.It also supports smaller cluster size 16KB. Small cluster size helps reduce to waste space on Hard Disk.FAT 32 supports dual-boot configuration on operating systems. It support window xp professional, windows 2000 professional, windows 95, windows 98 and Windows Millennium.

NTFS File System :

NTFS file system is difference from among FAT and FAT32 file system. NTFS file system use 4 KB cluster size. It reduce to waste space on hard disk. It support Microsoft Windows NT workstation 4.0, Windows 200 Professional, Windows XP Professional and later version of Microsoft Windows Operating System

The most important noticeable matter is NTFS has following features :



Reliability : NTFS uses log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system when the computer is restarted. In the event of a bad-sector error, NTFS dynamically remaps the cluster containing the bad sector and allocates a new cluster for the data. NTFS also marks the cluster as bad and no longer uses it.

Greater Security : NTFS files use Encryption File System (EFS) to secure files and folder. If NTFS file system enabled, files and folder can be encrypted for use by single or multiple users. The benefits of encryption are data confidentiality and data integrity, which can protect data against malicious or accidental modification. NTFS also enables you to set access permission on a file or folder.

Improved management of storage growth : NTFS supports the use of disk quotas. Disk quotas enable you to specify the amount of disk space that is available to a user.By enabling disk quotas, you can track and control disk space usage. You can configure whether users are allowed to exceed their limits, and you can also configure Windows XP Professional to log an event when a user exceeds a specified warning level or quota limit.With NTFS you can easily create extra disk space by compressing files, extending volumes, or mounting a drive.

Support for larger volume sizes : Theoretically, you can format a volume up to 32 exabytes by using NTFS. NTFS also supports larger files and a larger number of files per volume than FAT or FAT32. NTFS also manages disk space efficiently by using smaller cluster size.



For Example : A 30 GB NTFS volume uses 4-KB clusters. The same volume formatted with FAT32 uses 16-KB clusters and 64-KB for FAT file system. Using small clusters reduces to waste space on hard disks.
 

Considerations for choosing the appropriate file system :

When choosing the appropriate file system to use, you need to determine  :

If the computer has a single operating system or is a multiple-boot system. On computers that contain multiple operating system, file-system compatibility can be complex because different version of windows support different combinations of the file system.

The number and size of locally installed hard disk :

Each file system has a different maximum volume size. As volume sizes increase, your choice of file systems becomes limited. For example, both FAT32 and NTFS can read volumes larger than 32 GB; however only NTFS can be used for formal volumes larger than 32 GB in windows XP Professional.

If you benefit by using advanced file system features.

NTFS offers features such as disk quotas, distributed link tracking, compression, and mounted drives. These features are not available on FAT or FAt32 volumes.

Now I give a example using a text file. See below picture

It is my created text file which contain only 1 line text. Now I put this file on FAT file system supported Hard Disk Partition. See below picture

Notice my red arrow mark. see the size on disk of this file is 32.00 KB
Now I put this file on FAT32 supported file system hard disk partition. See below picture

Notice the above picture red arrow mark. It uses only 4 KB in FAT32 file system supported hard disk partition. Now move to this file on NTFS file system supported hard disk partition. See below picture

Now notice the red arrow mark here. In NTFS file system supported Hard Disk partition it use only 512 bytes.

Now it is your turn to choose which File System you are using FAT,FAT32 or NTFS ?