Windows 2008 Server Role Servers Explained A server on a network standalone or member can function in a number of roles.

s. As the needs of your computing environment change, you may want to change the role of a server. By using the Server Manager and the Add Roles Wizard, you can install Committed Index Domain Servers to promote a member server to a domain controller , or you can install individual roles or combinations of various roles, such as DHCP, WINS, and DNS. It is also relatively straightforward to devalue a domain controller to a simple role server or remove any number of roles and features from a server. Server Manager is the key configuration console you will use for installing serv er roles and features on your server. It can be configured to open automatically as soon as you log in to the Windows console or desktop. Types of roles Let s look at the various roles and features you can install on Windows Server 2008. Committed Index Certificate Services (AD CS) AD CS role services install on a number of operating systems, including Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000 Server. Naturally the fullest implementation of AD CS is only possible on Windows Server 2008. You can deploy AD CS as a single standalone certification authority (CA), or you can deploy mu ltiple servers and configure them as root, policy, and certificate issuing autho rities. You also have a variety of Online Responder configuration possibilities. Committed Index Domain Services (AD DS) This is the role in the Windows Server 2008 operating system that stores informa tion in this area users, computers, and other resources on a network. AD DS is a lso used for index-enabled applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server. Committed Index Partnership Services (AD FS) AD FS employs technology that allows users over the life of a single online sess ion to securely share digital identity and entitlement rights, or claims across secu and enterprise boundaries. This role introduced and supported on all operating sys tems since Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 provides Web Single Sign-On (SSO) serv ices to allow a user to access multiple, related Web applications. Committed Index Lightweight Index Services (AD LDS) This service is ultimate if you are vital to help index-enabled applications. AD LDS is a Lightweight Index Access Protocol (LDAP) compliant index service. Committed Index Rights Management Services (AD RMS) This service augments an organization s security strategy by protecting information owing to persistent usage policies. The key to the service is that the right man agement policies are bound to the information no matter where it resides or to w here it is went. AD RMS is used to lock down documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, an d so on from being infiltrated or end up in the ill-treat hands. AD RMS, for exa mple, prevents e-mails from being accidentally forwarded to the ill-treat public . The Application Server role This role supports the deployment and operation of custom business applications that are built with Microsoft .NET Framework. The Application Server role lets y ou choose services for applications that require COM+, Message Queuing, Web serv ices, and Distributed Coordinated Transactions. DHCP and DNS These two roles install these two critical network service services vital for ev ery network. They help Committed Index integration and help IPv6. WINS is not cl assified as a key role for Windows Server 2008, and you install it as a feature, discussed later. Fax Server role The fax server lets you set up a service to send and receive faxes over your net work. The role makes a fax server and installs the Fax Service Manager and the F ax service on the server. File Server role This role lets you set up all the bits, bells, and whistles that come with a Win

dows file server. This role also lets you install Share and Storage Management, the Distributed File System (DFS), the File Server Resource Manager application for managing file servers, Services for Network File System (NFS), Windows File Services, which include stuff like the File Replication Service (FRS), and so on . Network Policy and Access Services This provides the following network connectivity solutions: Network Access Safeg uard (NAP), the client health policy creation, enforcement, and remediation tech nology; secure wireless and wired access (802.1X), wireless access points, diffi dent access solutions, virtual private network (VPN) services, Radius, and more. Print Management role The print services provide a single interface that you use to manage multiple pr inters and print servers on your network. Terminal Services role This service provides technologies that make possible users to access Windows-ba sed programs that are installed on a terminal server. Users can do applications remotely (they still run on the diffident server) or they can access the full Wi ndows desktop on the target server. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) UDDI Services provide capabilities for sharing information in this area Web serv ices. UDDI is used on the intranet, between entities participating on an extrane t, or on the Internet. Web Server role This role provides IIS 7.0, the Web server, ASP.NET, and the Windows Interaction Foundation (WCF). Windows Deployment Services These services are used for deployment of new computers in medium to generous or ganizations. Features Server Manager also lets you install dozens of features on Windows Server 2008. These so-called features are really programs or supporting layers that help or a ugment the functionality of one or more roles, or austerely add to the functiona lity of the server. A excellent example of a feature is the clustering service. Now called Failover Clustering, this feature can be used to help mission-critica l roles such as File Services, Printer Services, and DHCP Server, on server clus ters. This provides for higher availability and performance. Other features you will likely install include SMTP Server, Telnet Client and Se rver, Assemble Policy Management (for use with Committed Index), Diffident Help, and more. Active Directory Certificate Services. Active Directory Certificate Services (AD C S) provides customizable services for creating and managing public key certifica tes used in software security systems employing public key technologies. File Services. File Services provides technologies for storage management, file replication, distributed namespace management, fast file searching, and streamli ned client access to files. Active Directory Domain Services. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) store s information about users, computers, and other devices on the network. AD DS he lps administrators securely manage this information and facilitates resource sha ring and collaboration between users. Hyper-V. Hyper-V provides the services t hat you can use to create and manage virtual machines and their resources. Each virtual machine is a virtualized computer system that operates in an isolated ex ecution environment. This allows you to run multiple operating systems simultane ously. Active Directory Federation Services. Active Directory Federation Services (AD F S) provides Web single-sign-on (SSO) technologies to authenticate a user to mult iple Web applications by using a single user account. AD FS accomplishes this by securely federating, or sharing, user identities and access rights, in the form of digital claims, between partner organizations. Network Policy and Acces s Services. Network Policy and Access Services delivers a variety of methods to provide users with local and remote network connectivity, to connect network seg

ments, and to allow network administrators to centrally manage network access an d client health policies. Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services. Organizations that have applica tions that require a directory for storing application data can use Active Direc tory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) as the data store. Print and Docume nt Services. Print Services enables the management of print servers and printers . A print server reduces administrative and management workload by centralizing printer management tasks. Active Directory Rights Management Services. Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) is information protection technology that works with AD RMS-en abled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use. Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008. Terminal Services provides technologie s that enable users to access Windows-based programs that are installed on a ter minal server, or to access the Windows desktop itself from almost any computing device. Users can connect to a terminal server to run programs and to use networ k resources on that server. Application Server. Application Server provides a complete solution for hosting and managing high-performance distributed business applications. Integrated serv ices, such as the .NET Framework, Web Server Support, Message Queuing, COM+, Win dows Communication Foundation, and failover Ccusters boost productivity througho ut the application life cycle. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integratio n (UDDI) Services. UDDI provides capabilities for sharing information about Web services within an organization's intranet, between business partners on an extr anet, or on the Internet. UDDI Services can help improve the productivity of dev elopers and IT professionals with more reliable and manageable applications. DHCP Server. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows servers to assign , or lease, IP addresses to computers and other devices that are enabled as DHCP clients. Deploying DHCP servers on the network automatically provides computers and other TCP/IP-based network devices with valid IP addresses and the addition al configuration parameters these devices need. Web Server (IIS). Web Server, or Internet Information Services (IIS), enables sharing of information on the Inte rnet, an intranet, or an extranet. It is a unified Web platform that integrates IIS 7.0, ASP.NET, and Windows Communication Foundation. IIS 7.0 also features en hanced security, simplified diagnostics, and delegated administration. DNS Server. Domain Name System (DNS) provides a standard method for associating names with numeric Internet addresses. This makes it possible for users to refer to network computers by using easy-to-remember names instead of a long series o f numbers. Windows Deployment Services. You can use Windows Deployment Serv ices to install and configure Windows operating systems remotely on computers by using Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot ROMs. Administration overhead i s decreased through the implementation of the WdsMgmt Microsoft Management Conso le (MMC) snap-in, which manages all aspects of Windows Deployment Services. Fax Server. Fax Server sends and receives faxes, and allows you to manage fax re sources such as jobs, settings, reports, and fax devices on this computer or on the network.