If you have Windows 95, don’t panic. You may have Microsoft System Information anyway: Microsoft includes it with Office. To start Microsoft
System Information from any of the Office programs Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, choose the Help➪About command. When the About dialog
box appears, click the System Info button.
To Dedicate, or Not to Dedicate: That Is the Question
One of the most basic questions that a network plan must answer is whether the network will have one or more dedicated servers or whether it will rely
completely on peer-to-peer networking, with no single computer acting as a dedicated server. If the only reason for purchasing your network is to share a
printer and exchange an occasional file, then you may not need a dedicated server computer. In that case, you can create a peer-to-peer network by using
the computers that you already have. However, all but the smallest networks will benefit from having a separate, dedicated server computer.
⻬ Using a dedicated server computer makes the network faster, easier to work with, and more reliable. Consider what happens when the user of a
server computer, which doubles as a workstation, decides to turn off the computer, not realizing that someone else is accessing files on his or her
hard drive.
⻬ You don’t necessarily have to use your biggest and fastest computer as your server computer. I’ve seen networks where the slowest computer
on the network is the server. This is especially true when the server is mostly used to share a printer or to store a small number of shared files.
So if you need to buy a computer for your network, consider promoting one of your older computers to be the server and using the new com-
puter as a client.
Types of Servers
Assuming your network will require one or more dedicated servers, you should next consider what types of servers the network will need. In
some cases, a single server computer can fill one or more of these roles. Whenever possible, it’s best to limit each server computer to a single
server function.
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File servers
File servers provide centralized disk storage that can be conveniently shared by client computers on the network. The most common task of a file server
is to store shared files and programs. For example, the members of a small workgroup can use disk space on a file server to store their Microsoft Office
documents.
File servers must ensure that two users don’t try to update the same file at the same time. The file servers do this by locking a file while a user updates
the file so that other users can’t access the file until the first user finishes. For document files for example, word-processing or spreadsheet files, the
whole file is locked. For database files, the lock can be applied just to the portion of the file that contains the record or records being updated.
Print servers
Sharing printers is one of the main reasons that many small networks exist. Although it isn’t often necessary to do so, you can dedicate a server computer
for use as a print server, whose sole purpose is to collect information being sent to a shared printer by client computers and print it in an orderly fashion.
⻬ A single computer may double as both a file server and a print server, but performance is better if you use separate print and file server
computers. ⻬ With inexpensive inkjet printers running about 100 or less each, just
giving each user his or her own printer is tempting. However, you get what you pay for. Instead of buying a cheap inkjet printer for each user,
you may be better off buying one really good laser printer and sharing it.
Web servers
A Web server is a server computer that runs software that enables the com- puter to host an Internet Web site. The two most popular Web server programs
are Microsoft’s IIS Internet Information Services and Apache, an open-source Web server program managed by the Apache Software Foundation.
Mail servers
A mail server is a server computer that handles the network’s e-mail needs. It is configured with e-mail server software, such as Microsoft Exchange Server.
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Part II: Building Your Own Network
Your mail-server software must be compatible with your e-mail program; Exchange Server, for example, is designed to work with Microsoft Outlook,
the e-mail client software that comes with Microsoft Office.
Most mail servers actually do much more than just send and receive elec- tronic mail. For example, here are some of the features that Exchange Server
2000 offers beyond simple e-mail:
⻬ Collaboration features that simplify the management of collaborative projects
⻬ Audio and video conferencing ⻬ Chat rooms and instant messaging IM services
⻬ Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer, which lets you develop customized forms for applications such as vacation requests or purchase orders
Database servers
A database server is a server computer that runs database software, such as Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000. Database servers are usually used along
with customized business applications, such as accounting or marketing systems.
Choosing a Server Operating System
If you determine that your network needs one or more dedicated servers, the next step is to determine what network operating system those servers
should use. If possible, all of the servers should use the same NOS so you don’t find yourself awash in the conflicting requirements of different operat-
ing systems.
Although you can choose from many network operating systems, from a practical point of view, your choices are limited to the following:
⻬ Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 ⻬ Novell NetWare
⻬ Linux or another version of UNIX For more information, refer to Chapter 8.
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