This page intentionally left blank 223 Chapter 16 Installing and Setting Up Windows Server 2008 224 Networking: A Beginner’s Guide I n this chapter, you learn how to install Windows Server 2008. Before you install Windows Server 2008, however, you first must conduct a variety of preinstallation checks that prepare the system for the process. Next, you perform the actual installation, providing information that the installation program needs. Finally, you test the installation by having a client computer log in to the server properly and perform some basic network duties. All these steps are described in detail in this chapter. Understanding Windows Server 2008 Editions Windows Server 2008 is an entire family of products, all built on essentially the same programming code, but with significant feature and tuning differences. Standard Edition is the mainstream server version of Windows Server 2008. It includes all the power of Active Directory, as well as the following features: N New management tools (compared with those provided with Windows Server 2003) based on the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) N Windows Terminal Services, which allows Windows Server 2008 to host graphical applications, much like a mainframe hosts applications for dumb terminals N Internet and web services, including Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), Internet Information Services (IIS), and Index Server N Remote access and VPN services N Transaction and messaging services N Support for up to four processors N Support for up to 4GB of RAM (32-bit version) or 32GB of RAM (64-bit version) N Support for the latest versions of the standard network protocols Enterprise Edition is the mid-range offering of Windows Server 2008 products. It enhances the features of Windows Server 2008 by adding the following: N Support for up to 64GB of installed RAM (32-bit version) or 2TB of RAM (64-bit version) N Network load balancing (for example, Enterprise Edition can share a heavy TCP/IP load among a number of servers and balance their loads) N Windows Server 2008 clustering N Support for up to eight processors N Support for 16-node clusters Datacenter Edition is the most powerful version of Windows Server 2008. This version is used when extremely large databases need to be hosted for thousands of 225 Chapter 16: Installing and Setting Up Windows Server 2008 users or when other very heavy demands will placed on the server system. It includes all the features of the other versions, plus the following: N Support for up to 64GB of installed RAM (32-bit version) or 2TB of RAM (64-bit version) N Support for up to 32 processors (32-bit version) or 64 processors (64-bit version) N Support for 16-node clusters On the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft also sells Windows Web Server 2008. This is a more limited edition of Windows Server 2008 that is designed purely as a single-purpose web server. This edition is the most cost-effective for setting up a Windows-based web server. It supports up to four processors (32- and 64-bit versions) and up to 4GB of RAM (32-bit version) or 32GB of RAM (64-bit version). Preparing for Installation Before installing Windows Server 2008, you first must prepare the server computer that you will use and make important decisions about the installation. This preparation stage consists of a number of tasks, including the following: N Make sure the server hardware is certified for use with Windows Server 2008. N Make sure the server is properly configured to support Windows Server 2008. N Carry out any needed preinstallation testing on the server hardware. N Survey the hardware prior to performing the installation. N Decide how you will install Windows Server 2008, after gathering all the configuration information you will need during the installation. N Back up the system prior to an upgrade. These tasks are discussed in the following sections. Checking Hardware Compatibility Microsoft maintains an extensive Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) that lists different hardware components and their testing status on various Microsoft products, such as Windows Server 2008. To avoid problems with your server, make sure that the server itself and any installed peripherals have been tested with Windows Server 2008 and work properly. The latest version of the HCL can be found at http://www.microsoft .com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx. You can also find a text-based copy on the Windows Server 2008 CD-ROM. Using the web HCL is preferred, however, because it might have more current data than the file included on the installation CD-ROM. If a particular hardware component in your planned server isn’t listed on the HCL, all is not lost. For one thing, the HCL might not have the most current data, and the 226 Networking: A Beginner’s Guide hardware that you wish to use might be certified but not yet listed. It’s best to check with the hardware’s maker, because that company will know the current status of the hardware’s certification. NOTE Products not listed in the HCL might work fine with Windows Server 2008. If you are deploying a server for testing purposes or to support limited services, and you are comfortable doing so, you can still proceed to install Windows Server 2008 and begin working with it. You should not do this for production servers that many people will depend on, however. Not only might an undiscovered incompatibility cause serious problems with an uncertified server, but you will be unable to get the highest level of support from Microsoft for hardware that is not yet certified. For this reason, you should avoid deploying important servers that are not yet certified by Microsoft. Checking the Hardware Configuration Purchasing a computer for use as a server can be a complex task. You must contend with the myriad details of installed RAM, processor configuration, disk configuration, and so forth, as well as factor in your anticipated needs to come up with a reasonable server configuration. (Chapter 13 contains information about different server technologies and about specifying a server for general use.) Windows Server 2008 requires the following minimum hardware configuration: N One 1 GHz (x86 processor) or 1.4 GHz (x64 processor) or greater N 512MB of RAM N About 20GB (32-bit version) or 32GB (64-bit version) of free disk space N A DVD-ROM or network connection from which to install Windows Server 2008 For any kind of server (even one that will support only a few users), you should consider using more capable hardware than that specified as the minimum by Microsoft. Here is some advice for configuring a server for Windows Server 2008: N Processor Start with at least an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.4 GHz or greater. Intel Xeon processors are a benefit in a server, and you should carefully consider the price of such systems relative to the expected performance improvement. (All else being equal, an Intel Xeon family processor will perform about 15 to 20 percent faster than an equivalent core 2 processor.) Also, consider using a system that has either two or more processors, or the capability to add processors later if your needs grow faster than expected. N RAM Windows Server 2008 runs best on systems that have plenty of RAM. For a server, make sure you have at least 1GB of RAM. If you plan on supporting all the different services available with Windows Server 2008 (such as Terminal Services, Routing and Remote Access Service, DHCP, DNS, and so forth), then 2GB to 3GB of RAM might be a better choice than 1GB of RAM. . myriad details of installed RAM, processor configuration, disk configuration, and so forth, as well as factor in your anticipated needs to come up with a reasonable server configuration. (Chapter. current data, and the 226 Networking: A Beginner’s Guide hardware that you wish to use might be certified but not yet listed. It’s best to check with the hardware’s maker, because that company will. reason, you should avoid deploying important servers that are not yet certified by Microsoft. Checking the Hardware Configuration Purchasing a computer for use as a server can be a complex task.